INDULGE cover star Marcus Samuelsson brings his love of chasing flavors to Red Rooster Overtown

A decade after debuting the game-changing Red Rooster in New York City’s Harlem, chef Marcus Samuelsson is poised to open his restaurant’s second US location in a Miami neighborhood that was once known as the Harlem of the South. Overtown, the area just west of downtown Miami, had its heyday in the 1930s through 1950s when jazz and R&B greats like Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and Sammy Davis, Jr. headlined music halls and nightclubs across its bustling Little Broadway district.

When Samuelsson, the James Beard Award-winning chef, opens Red Rooster Overtown this year inside the former Clyde Killen’s Pool Hall space, he hopes to create a new landmark destination alongside longtime community cornerstones like Jackson Soul Food where locals gather for fried catfish and grits, the recently revitalized historic Lyric Theater (now home to the Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida) and the murals of the late folk artist Purvis Young.

“Our goal is to become that place that people go to when they’re in Overtown,” says Samuelsson. “We have to earn the right — and the trust — to be a part of the larger Miami conversation. It takes a lot of humility and a lot of training and a lot of people to do that.”

A vision five years in the making, Samuelsson and business partner Derek Fleming partnered with Grove Bay Hospitality, the restaurant group that launched chef Jeremy Ford’s Stubborn Seed in South Beach and chef Giorgio Rapicavoli’s Glass & Vine in Coconut Grove, as well as Overtown developer Michael Simkins. They’re also working hand-in-hand with the Southeast Overtown/ Park West Community Redevelopment Agency with the aim of creating jobs and economic stimulus.

“We are humbly stepping into a rich culture that hopefully we can add a lot of positivity to,” says Samuelsson.

Traveling frequently to Miami for South Beach Wine & Food Festival, as well as to explore the food and culture of Little Haiti for his PBS documentary series No Passport Required, (which debuted its second season in January), Samuelsson has immersed himself in Miami’s neighborhoods and restaurant scene over the years and gotten to know its chefs.

When considering where to open a second US outpost of his Harlem institution, Samuelsson, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, says,

“I wanted to do it in a place that has a strong connection to African American and African Caribbean culture. When I started to read up on the history of Overtown, looking at the similarities with entertainment — like Sam Cooke performed at the Harlem Square and Muhammad Ali stayed there — and its similarities to Harlem, I was like wow, this is not just history, it’s meaningful to the city.”

GLOBALLY INSPIRED SOUL FOOD

Red Rooster Harlem is known for its masterful preparations of traditional soul food with a playful twist. Popular items include the hot honey fried yardbird, chicken with snickerdoodle waffles, and Poppa Eddie’s shrimp and grits with gumbo stew, chorizo and okra, as well as classics from Samuelsson’s Swedish childhood like Helga’s veal meatballs with mustard gravy and blackberry jam.

In Overtown, guests can expect these favorites, as well as a fresh, seasonal menu inspired not only by Miami’s melting pot of Caribbean and Latin cultures, but also by the region’s abundance of local seafood, citrus farms and warm, sunny weather. Under the tutelage of executive chef Tristen Epps, who is from Trinidad, he and Samuelsson look forward to developing an inspired take on creole and a strong ceviche and crudo program with seafood towers. They also plan to grill outside and diners will enjoy alfresco meals year round on the expansive patio and balcony.

Like Red Rooster Harlem, the Overtown location will celebrate art with works on display by established, emerging and local artists, including the paintings of Derrick Adams and the interventionist sculptures of Hank Willis Thomas. And just like the historic neighborhoods that Red Rooster calls home, music is a part of the restaurants’ DNA. On any given night in Overtown, guests can expect live performances by musicians and DJs in styles ranging from Afrobeats to R&B, soul and jazz.

“It’s the same spirit as Red Rooster New York,” says Samuelsson, “but this is a local restaurant.” And that will be reflected through its cuisine and its music and arts programming.

“Overtown has such an incredible history and I can’t wait for people to come back to our roots and rediscover it,” says Samuelsson. “If we can be a part of bringing people back, that’s wonderful. It’s also about the people who didn’t go anywhere, the people who have stayed and worked really hard.”

AN EVERYDAY LEGEND

In appreciation of his culinary contributions, when South Beach Wine & Food Festival returns February 19-23, Samuelsson will be honored with a Tribute Dinner, one of the marquee events of the weekend. Chefs bestowed with this recognition in recent years include José Andrés, Nancy Silverton and Jonathan Waxman.

“That I’m being honored the year that we’re opening the restaurant, it’s just funny how these two worlds come together,” says Samuelsson. “It’s a huge honor and also a reflection of the support I’ve had from all the cooks, dishwashers and servers who are part of the team and the guests — without the guests it doesn’t work. I’m deeply grateful for that.”

Ultimately, Samuelsson says, “Red Rooster is about people. It’s inspired by cultures of immigration, but it’s for everyone. It’s a place where the mayor is sitting next to a musician who’s sitting next to a painter sitting next to a writer — we want to create this layered experience. It’s about the everyday person who’s working hard.”