Doris Suber-Young and her brother Rev. David Suber are the owners of Daddy D’s Soul Food and Country Cooking Restaurant.  Photo: Wallace Bohanan

by Wallace Bohanan

Just over a year and a half ago, Doris Young, David Suber, and Odell Suber Sr. took on the challenge of opening up a soul food restaurant. 

After years of work, the sister-and-brothers team had restored a building on Seventh Avenue in Hendersonville and turned it into a place for customers to relax and enjoy the restaurant’s wide variety of home-cooked meals.

The urge to open a restaurant came from Doris, who had been catering for a number of years. She recruited her brothers David and Odell to help, and together with other family, friends, and members of the church where David pastored, they set to work. It took three years and much sacrificing to complete the restoration before they were ready to launch the business.

The family had planned to open the restaurant on Good Friday to see how things would go and then have a grand opening at a later date. Seventh Avenue is still undergoing a rebirth, so how strong business would be was an open question. But business has been so brisk that so far they still have not had time to plan or hold their grand opening. Meanwhile, the mayor of Hendersonville has already honored the restaurant with an award for helping the historic district come back to life.

Although they now have hired staff to cook and clean, at the beginning the siblings had to do all the work themselves. Even now any of them might pitch in to cook, wash dishes, or clean the bathrooms – whatever it takes to keep the restaurant going and the customers happy.

Their father, known to neighborhood children as Daddy D, passed away while the three were still in the process of restoration, and the family decided it would be a fitting tribute to name the restaurant in his honor. The business is nonstop work behind the scenes, what with getting supplies, prepping the kitchen, cooking, and keeping the restaurant clean – as well as catering both private and corporate functions. But, in what might be a reflection of Daddy D’s reputation, the easygoing, hard-working David

Suber said he likes to create a friendly atmosphere that feels like home.

In David’s opinion, success – even during a severe economic downturn – is due to word of mouth from satisfied customers, a wide variety of delicious home-cooked food, and lots of prayer. The family stays involved at all levels, especially Helen McDowell, who makes all the desserts from scratch.

“The most challenging aspect of opening a restaurant is the finances,” says David, “and the most rewarding is the interaction with customers.” When asked if there were anything else that contributed to the restaurant’s success, David answered, “Give God the praise.”