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Few small businesses have endured the adversity Edith’s Place has over the first four years of operation. The soul food restaurant located at 743 Procter St. opened its doors just months before Hurricane Harvey inundated Southeast Texas.

Much like its home city, the restaurant’s resiliency separates it from the rest.

Once the main strip of Port Arthur, Procter Street is a bit lonelier these days, but city leaders and business owners still have high hopes to restore the once vibrant area.

Stepping inside Edith’s Place reveals a mural of the street’s heyday.

Next, the welcoming smell of freshly made food fills the air.

Whether it is breakfast or lunch, the eatery has a variety of options.

“We have grits, eggs and your choice of meat,” Manager Allison Blanco said. “We also have Big Tex, which is a three-layer bun; super-duper pancakes; oatmeal; loaded hash browns and loaded oatmeal.”

For lunch, one can find any number of soul food classics.

“We have beef tips, ox tails, pork chops, meatloaf,” Blanco said. “We have whatever you want. We have our Poor Man’s Special, which is red beans, sausage over rice. It comes with sweet cornbread or smothered potatoes with sausage over rice and it comes with sweet cornbread, too. That is for $5.”

After the delicious meal, one can wash down the food with an assortment of homemade teas.

“We have fresh peaches,” Blanco said. “We also have raspberry tea, mango tea, sweet tea and unsweet tea.”

Blanco said ox tail day, which is served on Wednesdays, are the busiest due to the high demand for the dish.

“Beef tips and pork bones are busy days, too,” she said. “You can’t miss ox tail day though. When it is Lent, Fridays are our seafood days. We have fried fish, fried shrimp and grilled shrimp. We do it all.”

Blanco, who has worked at Edith’s Place since December, said the community is been supportive.

“Being able to interact with the customers, even with our masks on, has been a blessing,” she said. “Since I have started working here, we have our days. We have busy days and steady days, but we are just blessed to be open and have a small business, because a lot of small businesses had to close.”

Blanco wants to see business activity on Procter Street pick back up.

“We want to have more attractions, customers and more involvement on this street,” she said. “

Edith’s Place is open Mondays-Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Call 409-460-5256 for more information.