Kitchen Savages
Restaurant in Washington, DC
- Address
- 1211 Marion Barry Ave SE, Washington, DC, 20020
- Phone
- (202) 931-1782
- Website
- kitchensavages.com
About Kitchen Savages
Kitchen Savages is a fine-dining soul food restaurant in Ward 8, Washington, D.C., founded by chef and owner Darrell Gaston. Gaston, who was born and raised in Southeast D.C., left a career as an attorney working for judges in the district after growing frustrated with inequities he witnessed in the justice system, particularly the unequal treatment of Black men. Without formal culinary training, he taught himself to cook by observing and learning recipes passed down from his mother and aunts, drawing on the soul food traditions of his family. Gaston launched his food business as a soul food takeout operation inside an Anacostia grocery store during the early days of the pandemic, building a following before opening the brick-and-mortar Kitchen Savages restaurant in February 2023. The response was immediate: within the first six weeks of opening, the restaurant served 5,000 customers. Beyond the food, Gaston built Kitchen Savages around a mission of providing employment and opportunity to residents of his own underserved neighborhood. He has intentionally hired staff with felony records and limited prior work experience, and 18 of the restaurant's 23 employees live in Ward 8. By offering dignified, stable jobs in a neighborhood that has faced high unemployment and violence, Gaston aims to create what he describes as a safe space for his community. Kitchen Savages serves Southern cuisine with Cajun and Creole influences, reflecting the layered culinary traditions Gaston grew up with. The restaurant has been recognized as a Black-owned business by directories including EatOkra.
Darrell Gaston did not set out to become a chef. A Howard University Law School graduate, he worked as an attorney for judges in Washington, D.C., before walking away from the legal profession entirely. He later explained that he could not continue working within a system where he saw Black men, in particular, treated unequally. Without any formal culinary training, Gaston turned to cooking, teaching himself by watching and learning from the soul food recipes of his mother and aunts. He began serving that food to the public through a takeout counter inside an Anacostia grocery store during the early months of the pandemic, slowly building a loyal customer base. That momentum carried him to open Kitchen Savages as a full restaurant in Ward 8 in February 2023, a neighborhood that had seen relatively little investment. The restaurant's early success, 5,000 customers in its first six weeks, validated Gaston's belief that quality soul food and genuine hospitality could thrive there. For Gaston, the restaurant became more than a business: it became a vehicle for hiring people the job market often overlooks, including residents with felony records, most of whom live in Ward 8 itself.
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