Some restaurants have been founded on an old "Mom's recipe" at the start. If they keep that recipe and add only genuine 'down home' type recipes, they can often keep a winner going.
Once, while travelling south, we stopped by to see our Grandson's wife, while he was deployed in Iraq.
As I recall, it was at Jacksonville, NC near Camp Lejeune. . When dinner time came, I let her pick out a 'down home' type restaurant. When she announced that we would visit a black owned and operated establishment, I thought.."OK, what's the game?".
Knowing they as we, eschewed drinking establishments, and were of the same mind as we...we knew it would be no "dive".
WE drove through some side streets, to find a neat little place. Going in..first thing I noticed a troop of small waitresses..in black silk , short dresses..with nice little white aprons and caps..all very polite!
The menu, ethnic of course....and I had to ask about each. I settled on something called "neck bones", thinking,
"what can be done with neck bones"?
Surprise for me... THe bones came with it, but the meat was falling off those bones..and sooo GOOD !
..But then stop to think..for so long, those folks got only the leftovers from butchering, and after generations of practice, probably came up with some ingenious recipes. Their tip was commensurate...