Soul
Food restaurant Cornbread is expanding its services into three
Pittsburgh-area Wal-Mart stores. The three restaurants will open this
year, with the first being opened on July 5 in the Walmart in West
Mifflin.
Adenah
Bayoh, who co-founded Cornbread with Elazie “Zadie” Smith in
2017, said the expansion is the conclusion of two hard-working years.
The women raised $1.3 million in private funding for their startup
costs. Cornbread is a farm-to-table eatery that focuses on
traditional soul food dishes that uses only hormone and steroid-free
hormones.
Bayoh
said Cornbread was developed out of a belief that people could eat
healthy foods with family and friends while also investing in the
employees. She said the goal was also to make the food accessible,
which is a big reason they teamed up with Wal-Mart.
Along
with offering soul food in Wal-Mart, the initial Cornbread location
will offer 35 new jobs, and many of its menu items’ ingredients
will come from farmer’s markets and local farms. Bayoh and her
partner chose to expand in Pittsburg because of its citizens’
interest in food. She said the key is to increase Cornbread
recognition across the nation.
Bayoh,
who owns three New Jersey IHOP franchises, said she wants to increase
the accessibility of soul food to the communities in the area. She
said both of them feel people should be able to enjoy a nice meal in
a restaurant and feel good about the food they’re consuming.
Bayoh
said she’s looking forward to making the restaurant become a
franchise.
