Adolf Dulan, the self-proclaimed “King of Soul Food”, began learning to cook on a farm in Luther, Oklahoma while working next to his mother as she made the family’s meals. While watching his mother, he learned to prepare her beloved farm raised fried chicken, fresh collard greens, and many other tasty dishes. These informal lessons laid the foundation for what would one day become a soul food empire.
Before the empire could be established, Adolf would graduate from Langston University, join the Army, work for the U.S. Postal Service, and serve families in Los Angeles County as a social worker. Just as his mother’s lessons in the kitchen motivated him to cook, his love for his children and the realization that he would have three children in college at once, motivated him to enter the restaurant business. In 1975, he left his job with the County of Los Angeles, and invested his personal savings into opening an Orange Julius in South Los Angeles. This was the start of the empire.