Soul To Go opens a Gahanna express location; grand opening planned for May 1

Mayor Laurie Jadwine spoke with Keith and Will Hightower about the recent soft opening of Soul To Go’s new Gahanna location and the business’s plans for a larger grand opening the weekend of May 1.

Will Hightower, the restaurant’s chef and co-owner, said the concept grew out of the pandemic, when the business began as a delivery-focused cloud kitchen tied to the Hightowers’ Buns and Brews operation. “Soul To Go is, was actually born out of a pandemic,” Will Hightower said, describing how demand for delivery led to a downtown brick-and-mortar and now a third location in Gahanna.

Keith Hightower, who handles operations and legal/administrative work for the business, said customer data showed strong support from Gahanna residents. “The strongest area of our customers are coming from Gahanna,” he said, and the availability of a ready-made restaurant footprint made the move attractive.

The Gahanna site is operating in a soft-opening mode with limited hours, currently listed as 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.; the owners said they are evaluating shifts to earlier lunch openings and later weekend hours to match local demand. Delivery through the location is available via Soul To Go’s website, but the owners said they have not yet partnered with third-party platforms such as DoorDash or Uber Eats for this site.

On the menu, the Hightowers described traditional soul-food offerings—fried chicken, fried catfish, collard greens, mac and cheese and candied yams—alongside items influenced by New Orleans and Italian cuisines, such as shrimp and grits and a blackened salmon pasta. Will Hightower said the business is also exploring plant-based options and possible collaborations with local vegan pop-ups to expand choices for residents.

Addressing operations and customer service, Will said the business carries a simple promise: “If we don't get it right, we'll make it right.” The owners emphasized that the Gahanna location is intended as an ‘express’ site while catering and other company operations continue from their other locations. They also said they are actively recruiting employees and plan to use pop-ups, community events and social media to hire locally.

The owners plan a multi-day grand opening the weekend of May 1 with a ribbon cutting, tented outdoor activities, music and radio participation. Mayor Jadwine invited the owners to include city events and noted opportunities such as Taste of Gahanna and Juneteenth celebrations for future participation.

Soul To Go’s Gahanna address is 134 North Hamilton Road; the owners gave their website as www.soultogoohio.com and said an app is available on Google Play and the App Store. The mayor closed the episode urging residents to support the new local business and thanking guests and listeners.

The owners did not announce any formal permits, ordinance references or city actions during the conversation; staffing numbers and exact delivery partnerships for the Gahanna site were described as “not specified” and under development.