UPTOWN — Toni Rodgers grew up watching her grandmother cook soul food, not knowing she would one day open her own soul food restaurant attached to Uptown’s famous drag club, The Baton Show Lounge.
“She just loved to cook for all of our family members, our church members. And I would sit and watch her and learn,” said Rodgers, the restaurant’s owner and director of operations.
The new eatery, BSL Soul, offers the comfort of soul food “with a sexy twist,” Rodgers said. The menu features classics like fried catfish, oven-baked mac and cheese, chicken wings, cinnamon corn muffins and sweet potato pie. A grand opening was held Thursday.
Diners can also enjoy drinks at the bar, house music from a live DJ and a meal before, during or after a Baton show at 4713 N. Broadway.
Before heading up BSL Soul, Rodgers started as a Baton showgirl about seven years ago at its former River North location. When she’s not running the restaurant, she’s on stage Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, she said.
“I remember coming in and seeing the girls performing and the crowds and the uproar,” Rodgers said. “I sat with [Baton owner Jim Flint] and I said, ‘I want to be a showgirl, I want to be a part of your cast.’ And I bugged and bugged and bugged him.
“Anybody that has ever lived in the city of Chicago and in the trans community, Jim Flint has set a platform for girls to be able to perform. I wanted to be a part of that, never knowing it would lead me here today.”
Rodgers said BSL Soul was born out of a conversation with her husband — Chicago house music DJ Ron Carroll — about a year ago.
“I sat in a car with my husband and I said, ‘You know what? I think I want to do something to extend the legacy of the Baton Show Lounge, put something extra to it,’” she said. “So we came up with this idea. He said, ‘Well, you know how to cook.’”
The duo got started on BSL Soul, with Rodgers heading up the menu and operations and Carroll curating the venue’s music and atmosphere.
For Rodgers, the restaurant extends the legacy of The Baton and her grandmother, Lucy Rodgers, who was a gospel recording artist in Chicago. Inheriting a love of soul food from her grandmother, Rodgers said she often hosts friends for home-cooked meals, especially during the pandemic.
“I would invite all my friends over and I would cook the soul food, almost everything that’s on the menu today,” she said. “I would love to see the smiles on their faces and how good it was.
“I enjoy cooking for everyone. I want everyone to have an opportunity, no matter who you are, to taste a soul food dish that will bring comfort and joy to your spirit.”
The restaurant soft-launched just before the new year and was met with rave reviews — especially for the soul sliders and catfish, Rodgers said.
“I hope this brings a place where people can come, let their hair down, enjoy a nice meal, good drinks,” Rodgers said. “We wanted to be more of a family-oriented business. Great to bring a date and have good conversation.”
The Baton Show Lounge first opened in 1969, becoming one of the most iconic drag-show and cabaret spots in the city. It moved to Uptown from River North in 2019 due to costs of doing business near Downtown.
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
