Soul Fire Food Co.
Photos by JENNIFER GOETZ
Native Topekans Tim and Ambroja Watson, owners of Soul Fire Food Co., have turned their passion for preparing family recipes into a crowd-pleasing food truck, restaurant and catering business in southeast Topeka.
Tim Watson spent 15 years tweaking smoking techniques that he learned from his father, often fulfilling requests from friends and neighbors for holiday hams and turkeys as well as brisket, ribs and chicken for special occasions. The couple also provided food for their children’s sports team fundraisers, creating a following that gave them the confidence to buy a food truck in 2019.
Ambroja Watson, whose dad was a former Topeka councilman, said, “We wanted to promote entrepreneurship in our neighborhood and saw an opportunity to be part of all the good things going on here. It was something we discussed in casual conversation when envisioning our lives, and we were at a place where we wanted to build something special. Tim’s dad is a pastor and faith is our foundation, so we prayed on it.”
Tim, a certified heavy equipment operator for the City of Topeka for 10 years, quit his job in 2018 to prepare for his new career as a mobile chef. Ambroja, who still works as a veterans experience officer for the VHA Member Services Health Eligibility Center, spent her free time focusing on side dishes and desserts.
IN THE BEGINNING
“When we were first getting started, we didn’t know whether to open a restaurant or buy a food truck, and we were lucky we went the truck route since COVID hit shortly after we opened,” Ambroja said. “The truck allowed us to adjust and adapt as we went along and our business exploded during the pandemic.”
Heightened pandemic precautions regarding food and personal safety also set a high standard for protecting workers and customers that the Watsons continue to practice.
“We took the approach of slow and steady wins the race and felt our way through,” Ambroja said. “Topeka has a great food truck community, and it’s amazing how much we all communicate with one another.”
The couple’s most consistent spot for fulfilling orders was in the Dollar Tree parking lot at 26th and California. The food truck won Best of the Best Topeka recognition in 2020 and 2021, inspiring the Watsons to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant right across the street from Dollar Tree on June 8, 2021.
A MENU TO LOVE
“Tim and I love to cook and we combined our creativity to come up with menu items that our family loves and now our customers do too,” Ambroja said.
One of Ambroja’s menu staples is frybread, which can be paired with honey or cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat or slathered with beef, beans, cheese and salsa as an Indian taco.
Ambroja learned how to make frybread 10 years ago from her Uncle “B,” “the self-proclaimed frybread king on the Potawatomi Reservation. I loved learning to make it and the inspiration for that menu item comes from him.”
Today Soul Fire Food Co. operates the restaurant, open Tuesday through Friday, and two food trucks. In addition to four full-time employees, the couple’s three adult children pitch in too. The Watsons also have a 7-year-old son.
The couple’s catering business has expanded to include corporate functions and meals for the University of Kansas football and basketball teams.
In addition to Soul Fire Food menu must-haves like smoked meats, baked beans, cheesy potatoes, coleslaw and banana pudding, the custom catering menu includes a taco bar and comfort-food favorites like meatloaf and smothered chicken and pork chops.
“We’ve picked options that are meaningful to us that we can replicate on a larger scale,” Ambroja said. “Over time we’ve made adjustments to narrow the menu and focus on the items that helped propel us to where we are today.”
TBS, BUSINESS & BARBECUE
The couple’s food truck success caught the attention of television producers for “Rat in the Kitchen,” a TBS show featuring Chef Ludo Lefebvre and comedian Natasha Leggero that aired in 2022. Professional chefs and home cooks, including Ambroja, worked as a team to determine who among them was sabotaging their culinary efforts.
“It was a lot of fun, especially since we successfully identified the rat,” Ambroja said. “It was a great opportunity to highlight our business on a national platform.”
As the company continues to evolve and attract new customers, Ambroja appreciates the community’s reception.“
People have a lot of options for barbecue, but our customers really enjoy what we’re offering, and that’s made it all worthwhile,” she said.
