Gee Smalls has built a career around creating spaces rooted in love and celebration. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, and an Atlanta resident for more than 30 years, Smalls is a seasoned chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur.
He opened Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen and Bar to address what he saw as a gap in Atlanta’s food scene: a restaurant that pays homage to Gullah Geechee culture and is built on a mission of inclusion and community through food.
Creating Inclusive Spaces for Fellowship
“We would hang out a lot in the community, and we never had a place to go to that was a Black LGBT-owned spot,” Small shares of his experiences dining in Atlanta. “And so we never really [had] a home we could feel loved, accepted, and seen. Sometimes [we were] tolerated, but not always accepted.”
In 2019, Smalls’ first restaurant, Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen and Bar (named in honor of his father) opened its doors, offering him and his partner of 17 years, Juan, a chance to expand into new territory.
It marked a major shift for Smalls, who had previously worked in IT for over 20 years and had pursued various entrepreneurial ventures. Now, he was stepping into the complex role of chef and restaurant owner, a journey that proved to have its own set of challenges and opportunities for significant growth.
Among his initial challenges was a commitment to bring to life a menu inspired by the dishes of his upbringing. Recipes that he knew from memory that would require extra attention to detail including listing ingredients, writing down cooking instructions, and planning out inventory and food storage.
Bringing a Gullah Geechee Restaurant to Atlanta’s Food Scene
Smalls grew up as part of the Gullah Geechee community in Charleston. The oldest continuous Black community in the United States is known for preserving its deep cultural traditions. Rooted in West African heritage, Gullah Geechee recipes and culinary practices feature flavors and techniques that set it apart from other areas of the United States.
“I was completely unaware of my culture growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, as many of us are. We know we were Geechee, we know we were Gullah, and that’s what they called us, but never having a full idea of what that meant to be Gullah Geechee.”
Opening the restaurant gave Smalls a chance to fully immerse himself in his Gullah Geechee heritage. Part of that exploration involved distinguishing Gullah Geechee cuisine from broader Southern and soul food traditions and infusing that identity into every dish at Virgil’s.
“We have different nods to Gullah Geechee culture throughout the restaurant,” Smalls says. “From palmetto roses to the meanings of words on the walls to our dishes bearing the authentic names of traditional Gullah recipes.”
Among his most popular items is the shrimp and grits, made with shrimp and seafood stock and a brown gravy, the way it was originally made in South Carolina. The menu also pays homage to other Gullah Geechee favorites, like okra gumbo made with oysters, shrimp, crab, and Roger Wood sausage, and fried green matis, cornmeal-dusted green tomatoes topped with a corn salsa and finished with his staple hot to trot sauce.
By Geo Banks-Weston
