Our mission is to bring people of all walks of life and backgrounds together through Soul Food.
2925 Williams Parkway SW, CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 52404
319-396-2229
Our Mission is to bring people of all walks of life and backgrounds together through Soul Food. We have manifested this, clearly. At any given time when you walk into Vivian’s Soul Food, you are liable to see a table of construction workers next to businessmen; Bone Thugs & Harmony next to the Red Hat Ladies (this happened!); White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, everything in between young and old.
Creating a space with so much diversity in a city with little diversity is what we do, every single day.
Meet our team, #TeamVivs
December 27, 2020
First Annual VSF Holiday Party & Award Ceremony (internal celebration)
Photos by Trevor Riley
2020 has easily been the hardest year we’ve seen since being in the Small Business Arena. We have been forced to grow through what we go through. While we as owners have had many sleepless nights watching our business bank accounts fluctuate worst than the stock market, and we’ve been discouraged by seeing dozens of restaurants and small businesses around us close their doors because the pressure, stress and sacrifice became more and more evident as 2020 went on, and less and less worth it; We have preserved. That is why we made it our DUTY to celebrate our people this year, Team Viv’s. We know our team has been feeling it too, and we are obsessively grateful to call them our team.
At the First Annual VSF Holiday Party & Award Ceremony, we honored the following people who showed up and showed out:
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TTG (Trained to Go) Award 2020: Patrick Robinson
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2020 Top Hustler: Brianna Carr
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2020 Hardest Flex: Savannah Bryant
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Best Collab of 2020: Wes Johnson & Wes Thompson (BOH Leadership & Line Management), Brianna Carr (Expo), Tearrance Miller (Togo Lobby), Therrick Ruffin (FOH Management), Cici Bryant (Host), Alexis Riley & Kiana Stephens (Serve)
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2020 Put On Award: Ashlee Koch
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The Ultimate Soul Star of 2020: Wesley Johnson
Them: 2020, 86'd!
Us: Heard!
2020
Horizons Family Services (community service)
Photos by Ashlee Koch, Wild & Free Photography
At VSF we are obsessively grateful for the people who are a part of our lives and who share their lives with us. Giving back is our way of saying thank you. We've been fortunate to build a beautiful relationship with Horizons, who welcomes us and values the time we give. Volunteering not only serves our community, but doubles as team bonding, and keeps our young people active.
Ashlee & Patrick
April 25, 2020
VSF BBQ Drive Up (public event)
Photos by Ashlee Koch, Wild & Free Photography
At the wake of the Pandemic of 2020, Vivian's saw an immediate drop in business. The first few weeks had everyone on edge. Two VSF Veterans, Ashlee and Patrick came up with a plan and proposed it. The goals:
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To lift the team's spirit and have fun
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Drive new business
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Keep the doors open!
The results: SUCCESS!
45 minutes before the event was planned to start, Vivian's Soul Food had a line of cars 50 deep. Just over 300 meals were boxed and the team was SOLD OUT within 90 minutes of beginning.