Southern Belles’ Bistro a soulful addition to downtown Ferndale

We know soul food is where the heart is. It connects us to memorable, homemade tastes that remain on our palates and our experiences. Tapping into that nostalgia is downtown Ferndale’s newest restaurant, Southern Belles’ Bistro, which makes all its recipes fresh daily.

Indulge in homemade sides like collard greens and macaroni and cheese (oven-baked, of course). Go ahead and take in hearty entrees of catfish, chicken, ribs and pork chops. Don’t forget to finish off with desserts that will leave one in the abyss of Southern tradition.

The bistro was born from combined efforts of two families to fulfill their soul food dining dreams. “The idea came up because there is not enough restaurants that are sit down,” co-founder Tony Murry says. “Soul food is comfort food that deserves a dining atmosphere, but there are a lot of soul food places in Metro Detroit that are strictly takeout only, and fine soul food restaurants exist but are too expensive.”

With a grand opening during Mother’s Day weekend, the bistro instantly became a new style of restaurant from others in Ferndale.

“We are the only Douthern cooking bistro in the area. It is very family-oriented with a classical touch,” manager Darnell Wilson says. “We sell breakfast, lunch and dinners at a fair price. All of our food is made fresh and we shop at the market daily.”

“We have employees coming in at 4:00 am to prepare fresh dishes for the restaurant,” Murry adds.

Drawing on African-American cooking traditions has been a selling point, with customers immediately giving their approval.

“Since we opened, I saw a lot of support from the black community and it brought me tears of joy,” Murry says. “This restaurant is a point of destination and we have returning customers.

“Another goal of ours is to recreate and build up the black community,” he adds. “There should be places for families to dine and support black owners. But our food is not discriminatory our food is welcomed to all. We get a diverse of range of customers.”

For more information on Southern Belles’ Bistro, including a menu and hours, click here.