Soul food restaurant with a tasty menu, promise of `phenomenal service’ opens in O’Fallon

A new restaurant offering hearty meals opens this week in O’Fallon.

Ray’s SoulFood & Turkey Legs, at 1334 Central Park Drive, Suite 1, opens Friday and will offer comforting soul food.

“This is, literally, a dream come true,” said owner Ray Watson, who is also a pastor at Faith Family Life Church in Belleville.

“I owned a couple of restaurants some years ago, and I started pastoring about 8 years ago,” he said. “And I thought I would never be able to have another restaurant just because of being full time [in the] church and ministry.”

But what started as occasional meal events at the church turned into something more.

“We started to cook online, and someone said, ‘Hey you should sell that,’” said Watson.

“The following week I sold something and I sold out within the hour. And so from there we continued to sell,” he said.

His previous restaurants were take-out only or drive-thru places. Ray’s SoulFood & Turkey Legs will offer dine-in service.

“So this is very different than what we had in the past,” he said.

Customers will also be able to come in to place to-go orders or order online.

Watson said getting the restaurant ready was a long process and took a lot of work to transform the space.

“We try to handle as much as we can on our own,” said Diane Watson, Ray Watson’s wife.

And the restaurant, which can accommodate up to 175 people, looks great with its sharp black and red color scheme.

The Soul Food

To start, Ray’s will offer a limited menu that will include fried and baked chicken, smothered pork chops, stuffed turkey legs, catfish fillet, mac & cheese, greens, candied yams and desserts of peach cobbler and banana pudding.

More menu items will become available at a later date. Diners can look forward to the addition of meatloaf, spaghetti, potato salad and dressing.

Watson said that vegetarian and vegan options are in the works and may be introduced in a month or two.

Preparations and celebrations

The Watsons and their family and friends celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Aug. 8, and it was quite the event.

With quite the turnout.

Those also in attendance were multiple members of the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber, O’Fallon City Administrator Walt Denton, Cahokia Heights Chamber of Commerce President Darwyn Buchanan, District Director Katie Main from Congressman Mike Bost’s office and State Sen. Chris Belt.

“If you are looking for a great-tasting food … phenomenal, phenomenal service at a reasonable price, Ray’s is your spot,” said Belt, adding that he speaks from experience having had their “scrumptious” food.

During the ceremony, Watson said he has an amazing support system and thanked his wife and kids, mother, grandmother, and his church, among many others.

After the ribbon cutting, Watson provided a lunch of fried chicken, mac & cheese, candied yams and soft drinks.

As part of the final prep for Friday’s grand opening, Ray’s hosted a friends and family night Wednesday evening.

The invitation-only event was an opportunity to train the staff, according to Watson.

As the restaurant gains its footing, enhanced systems will be introduced, including a QR code for ordering at each table and a new digital system for making reservations.

“I look forward to this ride ahead, and we are excited,” said Watson.

About Ray’s SoulFood & Turkey Legs

Ray’s SoulFood & Turkey Legs is located at 1334 Central Park Drive, Suite 1, in O’Fallon.

Current hours are 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

For more information, call the restaurant at 618-589-3133 or visit the Facebook page.