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Soul Food Eatery Wins James Beard America’s Classics Award

Soul Food Eatery Wins James Beard America’s Classics Award

The Serving Spoon, led by Executive MBA student Justin Johnson, earns national recognition for its multigenerational legacy and community impact.

by: Alexander Bernard
03.30.26
Justin Johnson and his sister Jessica Bain

Justin Johnson and his sister, Jessica Brain, co-owners of The Serving Spoon.

[Photo courtesy of Johnson]

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For three generations, The Serving Spoon has been a family affair for Executive MBA (EMBA) student Justin Johnson. Founded in 1983 by his grandfather Harold E. Sparks, the soul food eatery has served as a cornerstone of the Inglewood community, offering patrons authentic home recipes from Johnson’s great-grandmother’s cookbook for the past four decades.

Now, the Serving Spoon is gaining nationwide recognition. This June, it will receive the America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation — an honor bestowed to locally owned establishments that serve world-class food and play vital roles in their communities. Since the category’s inception in 1998, just over 100 restaurants have received the honor. Now, The Serving Spoon joins the select and illustrious group.

“It’s really cool to see that we were recognized by an organization like the James Beard Foundation because it holds a lot of weight and it means a lot for me and my family,” Johnson said.

While Johnson claims The Serving Spoon’s food is unbeatable, he knows they earned the America’s Classics Award for more than their everything omelets or tuna croquettes; it’s their personal touch. The Spoon’s regular customers have been coming for years. In fact, Johnson says, if they don’t show up, the family will call to make sure everything is okay.

Johnson himself has been an employee since high school, when his parents — who owned the restaurant at the time — put him to work on the weekends bussing tables and washing dishes. Although initially frustrated to spend his weekends at the family business, over time, the teenage Johnson came to see the restaurant as a second home and its customers, a second family.

“Our customers are our family,” Johnson said. “There are people that have been coming since our granddad owned the restaurant and since our parents owned the restaurant … We have employees that have worked for our granddad, siblings have worked for our granddad. I believe we are truly the epitome of a family business.”

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the restaurant’s existence. Unable to make payroll and facing closure, Johnson’s mother made a desperate plea for GoFundMe donations. The community answered her call, raising over $150,000 for the diner.

While Johnson appreciated the community’s deep support for the restaurant, he could see the personal and professional toll the economic downturn had taken on his mother and father. Along with his older sister, Jessica Bain, the pair purchased The Serving Spoon in June 2022, freeing their parents to enjoy retirement.

I believe we are truly the epitome of a family business.

— Justin Johnson

Co-owner, The Serving Spoon / EMBA Student, Class of 2026

For Johnson and Bain, who has an MBA of her own, running The Serving Spoon represented more than a business opportunity; it was a responsibility to the generations that came before them and the countless employees and regulars who have become like uncles, aunts, and cousins.

“I wanted to make sure that it stayed in my family,” Johnson said.

Like his sister, Johnson decided to develop his technical business skills and leadership abilities through an MBA program. Yet, he didn’t want a typical MBA. He wanted a curriculum that would give him the tools to lift The Serving Spoon to new heights. He enrolled in USC Marshall’s EMBA program, a 22-month part-time program centered around leadership strategies and tight-knit cohorts.

“You don’t think of executives when you think of somebody having pancake batter and chicken dust and grease on you, but at the end of the day, [The Serving Spoon] is a business,” Johnson said. “My goal was to understand how to operate a mom-and-pop operation like an executive business, not just [a diner] on the corner of Centinela and Enterprise.”

Johnson says the program has already improved his technical business skills. In one course, he conducted a financial analysis of the costs that go into The Serving Spoon’s most popular plates, zeroing in on new models of efficiency. Throughout the program, he’s also connected with C-suite executives, exchanging notes and advice over lunch at the restaurant.

“I don’t get the opportunity to be around executives day in and day out. I’m not around C-suites. I’m not around consultants and suits and ties on a day-to-day basis,” Johnson said. “I think it’s important to have that fluidity to go in and out of different areas and different rooms. I feel like the EMBA program has allowed me to do that — to not forget necessarily where I come from, but appreciate what’s to come for The Serving Spoon.”

Despite his and his sister’s hard work, Johnson thought it was a prank when the James Beard Foundation called with news that they’d won the America’s Classics Award. Yet, upon reflection, Johnson believes The Serving Spoon is the quintessential American restaurant.

“If you come in our doors, you get to see a representation of America,” Johnson said. “We have all different walks of life that come through these doors. They all get treated great. They get treated like family. We want you to leave better than you came. Whether you’re full, whether you leave with a smile, whether you’re full and have a big smile on your face, we make that a huge priority at The Serving Spoon.”

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