Every weekend, Emma Lee's Kitchen on Park Avenue opens up a little before noon to offer hungry patrons "comfort food made with love," cooked from family recipes passed down through the generations.
Courtney Sanders said, before she passed, his grandmother bestowed upon him the family recipes.
"She said 'These are a lot of recipes that have been in the family for over 100 years. Take these recipes and make me proud,'" he said. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should do a cookbook. I didn't know if I should do a restaurant. I had no idea."
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So Sanders said he started experimenting with the recipes. People liked them, so they began catering. During a previous coaching job at Missouri State University, for instance, he said they would cater food for the staff at events like Christmas parties.
One day, after moving back to Hot Springs, Sanders said they spotted a vacant building on Park Avenue and knew they had found the right spot for a restaurant. Emma Lee's Kitchen, named after his grandmother, opened at 765 Park Ave. in 2019. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and takes catering orders throughout the week.
"We always say 'fresh comfort food made with love.' We put our love into our food." said Veronica Sanders, Courtney Sanders' wife. "We take these recipes passed down from his grandmother and prepare them just like we do for our own family, and that's what we try to do. When people come in those doors, we try to treat them like family."
"So that's a big part of what Emma Lee's is all about. We try to take her legacy of how she operated and how she treated people and loved on people and we try to bring that here," she said.
Their comfort food options include fresh greens, meatloaf, dressing and more, Veronica Sanders said.
Two standouts include the shrimp and grits and the hot water cornbread.
"If anybody wants to challenge me to a shrimp and grits making contest, I got $500 that say my shrimp and grits is hands down way better than yours," said Courtney Sanders.
And the hot water cornbread, the couple said, is uniquely made.
"I've seen a lot of hot water cornbread, but the way my auntie make it, prepare it, love on it, as she's patting it down before she puts it on the skillet, she's talking to that hot water cornbread. I don't know what she's saying, but she's actually talking to the hot water cornbread," said Courtney Sanders.
Though she's shown him how to make the cornbread several times, he said he still can't make it like her.
"So it's something that she's not showing me, or I'm not talking to that cornbread the way she's talking to it," he said.
But whether it be the cornbread, peach cobbler, the mac and cheese, or whatever dish is ordered at Emma Lee's Kitchen, it's all made with love.
"Love is in you. We all have love in us. You can take the meanest person in the world. He loves something or she loves something. So, when you're cooking, you might not feel like it, but you know what you're preparing ain't for you, it's for somebody else. That's the love," said Courtney Sanders.
"You might have sprained your ankle. You might have pulled a muscle. But you know somebody waiting on that hot water cornbread ... that's the love right there," he said.
Q&A with Courtney and Veronica Sanders
The following are excerpts from the interview with Courtney and Veronica Sanders, presented in a question-and-answer format:
Q: Favorite food?
V: That's a hard question. I love food so it's hard to point out just one thing.
C: I got a favorite food. I'm gonna sum it up. Seafood. Seafood is my favorite food of all time. If you got some fresh seafood, you got me. I'm good. I'm good with it.
V: I really love yams and I love fried catfish. Yams are one of the things that I make and people just really love it, so I always try to take special care when I make those. I have a technique to it.
Favorite part of working in Hot Springs?
C: The people. There's some really good people here in Hot Springs, man. We've lived a lot of places, Georgia -- we've lived in Springfield, Missouri, Fayetteville ... there's some really good people in Hot Springs, man. I'm telling you, man, it's unbelievable.
V: And it's good to be back home in Arkansas, too. From the time we moved into this building to open up a restaurant, the people in the community have been really great, very supportive of Park Avenue ... just people from all over Hot Springs. People come from different places, you know, around Little Rock, Arkadelphia, Malvern, and everyone's been really, really supportive. It's been great.
Go-to Comfort food?
V: I would say probably the yams and chicken and dumplings.
C: Greens for me. Greens and hot water cornbread. You give me some greens and hot water cornbread, I can eat every day. Greens and hot water cornbread, that's it, I don't need nothing else.
Emma Lee's Banana Bread
The restaurant also shared its recipe for Emma Lee's Banana Bread:
Ingredients
Cooking spray w/flour (for baking)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (they prefer Martha White or Gold Medal)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup pure vegetable oil
3 tablespoons buttermilk (or white milk)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2-3 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Combine flour and sugar in large bowl; mix well. Add oil, milk and eggs; mix well. Add banana and pecans; stir just until blended. Pour into pan. (If there is leftover batter, pour into muffin pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes).
Bake 65 minutes or until top is deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if not done in the middle, bake for another 5 minutes). Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; place on dish until completely cooled or serve warm.
