When Mercer University alumna Chelsea Hughes started construction on her restaurant in 2019, she couldn’t have foreseen what was coming: a global pandemic that would shut down in-person dining just before her grand opening.
“I had to cancel over 100 reservations and then — everyone’s favorite COVID word — pivot, figure out how to operate the restaurant without being able to use the restaurant,” Hughes said.
Today, Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails is thriving. Located at the corner of Second and Poplar streets, Kinjo serves hungry diners Asian-inspired comfort food alongside craft cocktails. The restaurant is part of a growing and vibrant downtown whose transformation led Macon to receive the 2024 Great American Main Street Award.
Kinjo’s success is largely due to Hughes’s determination and grit. Many established restaurants did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and just over half of new businesses in the food industry survive the first five years.
“I pivoted by focusing solely on takeout because that was all that we could do,” she said.
As Hughes watched restaurants around her shut down, she invited chefs she knew from other restaurants to take turns cooking at Kinjo, offering a multi-course, fixed-price meal that was specific to the chef’s restaurant. A portion of the sales went to the chef’s restaurant, and tips from to-go orders went to the restaurant’s service staff.
“I was trying to keep Kinjo relevant and on people’s minds,” she said. It also “helped the chefs to feel like they were still helping their staff, and it gave us all something to do because we were bored out of our minds and stressed out.”
Hughes also had the support of her business partners and investors, who “were tremendously gracious in helping make sure that the expenses that I had to cover were covered,” she said. One man donated a generous amount monthly to help her pay her staff and stay afloat during the pandemic.
“This restaurant is here for a reason because people don’t just do that. I don’t know of any other restaurant that had the opportunity to experience that kind of blessing through the pandemic,” Hughes said. “I survived both through the grace and generosity of the people who were watching out for me.”
Hughes has been in the restaurant industry since she was in high school, working at a Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Columbus before she moved to Macon in 2005 to attend Mercer. She worked as a waitress and hostess throughout her time in college, drawn to the hospitality industry because of the people she got to interact with. She majored in psychology, fascinated with the group dynamics of working in customer service.
But when it came time to graduate in 2009, Hughes discovered she was two credits short and didn’t receive her diploma. By that time, she’d worked in enough restaurants to notice a pattern of poor management, lackluster leadership and discrimination. She also saw it as a career path.
“I just really felt passionate about this industry, so I decided I wanted to try and start my own and treat my people in a way that I had never been treated at a restaurant and see if there was a place for a concept that focuses as much attention on growth and upward momentum for their staff as they did for their bottom line,” she said.
“I really care about people, and I think that positive reinforcement and just leadership and empowering leadership changes people’s lives, whether they are servers or line cooks or dishwashers or bartenders or people who need help navigating their relationship. I’ve just really been drawn to helping people find the best in themselves and understanding how to grow.”
Hughes, who also owns Black Cat Liquor & Libations, recently began thinking about pursuing a master’s degree in counseling and realized that in order to do so, she needed to complete her bachelor’s degree.
Mercer Executive Vice President Dr. Penny Elkins, who frequently dines at Kinjo, wanted to help. She reached out to School of Business Dean Dr. Julie Petherbridge, and they determined Hughes could earn her final two credits in spring 2024 through an independent study course focused on her business.
“One of the best parts of my job at Mercer is when a student comes back to finish their degree and then pursues another step in their educational journey,” Dr. Petherbridge said. “Chelsea was successful and has a great story to share with our students. Each student at Mercer has their own journey, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of this one. I’m looking forward to seeing where her next steps lead her.”
Hughes said Dr. Elkins sent her “really thoughtful, meaningful” questions about her business plan and challenged her to think about what she would have done differently opening her business if she had known what the next five years would bring.
“I put a tremendous amount of thought into them and wrote an email essay outlining the things that I’ve learned about myself as a leader in response to her questions, and the impact that COVID had on everything that I had thought I was about to create as a new business owner. And then she and I just sat down one day and talked through it. It was a really impactful way for me to finish my degree.”
Dr. Elkins and Mercer President William D. Underwood recently surprised Hughes at Kinjo to give Hughes her diploma.
“This is why I love Mercer so much. Everybody just works together to get it done. We were so excited about seeing one of our students through to completion,” Dr. Elkins said. “We are thrilled when students first choose to engage in the Mercer educational experience. The next best day is when they complete their degrees and become successful Mercerians who are committed to making this world a better place. Chelsea is doing just that and we couldn’t be more proud of her.”
