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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
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Crystal Wise
After the Sausage Shoppe changed digs — they recently reopened at 6513 Brentwood Stair Road — the spot was quickly snagged by another cook adept at both soul food and barbecue. Fort Worth, meet Renelle Davis and her new spot, R&R's Soul Food.
A native of Long Island, New York, and a business analyst at Wells Fargo, Davis is a first-time restaurateur with a box full of recipes that go back years.
“Decades and decades, I’d say — dishes my grandmother used to make, my mom used to make, my aunts, plus my own,” she says. “There’s a little bit of all of us in these dishes.”
R&R’s menu includes smoked brisket, oxtails, housemade sausage, meatloaf, and what Davis calls her signature dish, smothered pork chops.
Sides include collard greens, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and candied yams. Her candied yams are the stuff of our childhoods, she says, all butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows.
Davis and business partner Randy Harrison, who make up the R&R in the restaurant’s name, had wanted to open a restaurant for years, even though neither had much experience in the restaurant industry. Still, when a friend turned them onto the newly vacated Sausage Shoppe space, they met with the owners, then, with very little hesitation, signed the lease.
“I just packed up everything and moved here, just for this restaurant,” she says. “Some people move for love or to get married. I moved for this restaurant.”
Since opening the restaurant in May, Davis and Harrison have spent their time building a following through social media and word of mouth.
All the while, Davis is perfecting recipes. In particular, she often toys with the sausage, ensuring it’s the perfect combination of snappy skin and smoky flavor.
“I know Sausage Shoppe’s sausage was fantastic, and those are hard shoes to fill,” she says. “But wait till you taste ours.”
3329 Alta Mesa Blvd., facebook.com/rrsoulfoodfortworthtexas
