Proprietor Sean Fords of stay Focused Café presents a plate of greens, mac n’ cheese, and smothered fried chicken. — Photos by Scarlett Lindeman

A stroll down Hancock Street, a beautiful, tree-heavy row-house block in South Bushwick, is made even more pleasant by the destination — Stay Focused Café, a family run business built on turkey meatloaf and candied yams, a soul food island in a sea of rice and beans.

There is no soul food "from Moffat to Myrtle" says owner Sean Fords, who grew up in Bushwick and also owns a barbershop across the street. He opened Stay Focused Café one year ago, with a partner, with whom he eventually parted ways. Now it is just Fords and George Thompson, the chef, who, with some help from Fords’s wife and their 16-year-old son, make it all happen. "It’s a joint effort," says the owner.  

	Stay Focused Café 509 Wilson Avenue Mon-Thurs: 11am-9:30pm Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm 347-442-3667 Prices: $4-8.50
	Look at those glistening yams. Click to see more.

The restaurant is bare bones but charming, like an old-school coffee shop with a steam-table full of greens and smothered pork chops. Thompson cooks trays of food in the early morning, rushes off to a second job, and then back to the fryers for the lunch rush.  Always topped with a starched white chef’s toque, Thompson learned to cook at an early age, starting his culinary career like some of the best: as a dishwasher, ten-years-old working in the cafeteria at camp.  The chef there taught him basic technique and seasoning, and his passion bloomed.

"My mom and father used to work a lot," the chef says, "I had a younger brother, and I would come home from school and put dinner on. Once they realized I could cook, well, that’s all she wrote."

After stints at Harlem stalwarts Londel’s and Wells’ (the birthplace of the holy chicken-and-waffle combination), Fords, who would eat the chef’s cooking at Edmonds Café, tried to convince Thompson to man the kitchen at Fords’ own venture in Bushwick. "George would say, ‘Nah, you jokin’. Stop playin’!" relates Fords. "Then he saw it and fell in love."

The sweet slick of homemade BBQ sauce, crispy catfish sandwiches, and tangy coleslaw draw in the locals.  The peach cobbler keeps them coming back. The mac n’ cheese is home style — no homogenous yellow goop but real cheese, crispy corners, and a peppery boldness. There are occasional gaps in the menu but whatever they are offering, be it syrupy yams, tart collard greens, or juicy fried chicken, you’ll be eased into a comforted stupor.

On a chilly Wednesday afternoon people waiting for the bus step inside to stay warm, chatting with regulars. On most Sundays the restaurant provides food for the K Norris sports program that operates out of the Salvation Army on Putnam. The name of the café is actually an admonishment to the kids they sponsor.

"We’re always telling the kids to stay focused, stay focused." Fords chuckles, "That goes for everybody too, in general."

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