Cochran said his menu is a reflection of several Dayton restaurant pioneers such as Shield’s Barbecue, Huffies BBQ and Hook’s Bar-B-Que.
Homestyle cooking learned from his loved ones
Customers can expect Tony’s Famous Meatloaf, Meaty & Tender Rib Bones, Rib Slabs, Smoked Beef Polish Sausage and Crispy Whole Chicken Wings on the menu.
“Every Sunday my grandmother would cook big dinners and she would feed her 11 kids,” Cochran said. “She would feed her unlimited grandkids and then if somebody in the community was home she would feed them too.”
He recalled telling people he would have his own hot dog cart someday, which eventually morphed into a restaurant.
Side items on his menu are named in honor of his loved ones such as Stella’s Collard Greens, CC’s Mac & Cheese and Uncle Kenney’s Baked Beans. Other side items include potato salad, cabbage, candied yams and corn bread.
Choosing the life he wanted
Cochran grew up on the west side of Dayton in the Hilltop Homes neighborhood. He dropped out of school in seventh grade, started selling drugs at 12 years old and ended up in prison 17 years later for drug trafficking.
“I became a product of my environment,” Cochran said. “When I got incarcerated I said, ”No this is not the life I want," and so I went to high school and got my high school diploma in four years and then I went to culinary school."
He also cooked in prison for the officer’s dining room.
“During that incarceration, it allowed me to start tapping into who I really was verses the choices that I was given,” Cochran said.
From landscaping to cooking
When he got out of prison — nearly 15 years ago — he started his own landscaping business called, “New Direction Services.”
“Once that took off and started doing good, in the back of my head I kept saying restaurant, restaurant, restaurant,” Cochran said.
He registered The Gem City Kitchen with the state in 2022, but didn’t take “the leap of faith” until August 2024.
“Within 45 days of starting in Clayton, I outgrew it and moved down here,” Cochran said.
He credits the team at 6888 Kitchen Incubator for giving him the foundation he needs to become a successful restaurant owner. His goal is to open a food truck.
“The Gem City Kitchen is for the community,” Cochran said. “All of my food, I cook it with love.”
Cochran grew up in poverty and one of his goals is to help feed the poor and homeless in downtown Dayton.
MORE DETAILS
The Gem City Kitchen, located at 32 S. Ludlow St., is open 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Catering and DoorDash is available. For more information or to preorder, call 937-245-0023.
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