Name of business: Kurbside Eatery N’ Thingz
Type of business: Restaurant and catering
Specialty: Hibachi and southern fusion
Location: 4332 Main Street, Denair
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A new fusion of flavors has arrived at an iconic Denair dining space.
Friday morning marked the first day of business for Kurbisde Eatery N’ Thingz, a restaurant and catering business that brings the combined tastes of American, Japanese and Jamaican favorites to Stanislaus County.
Owned by Chef Edward Jackson of Merced and wife Gabriella of Turlock, the couple recently purchased the building at 4332 Main Street in Denair, which had been the home of Oasis Grill & Deli for two decades and the rebranded Papa V’s Oasis Grill & Deli the past two years.
“We like to call it ‘hibachi soul food,” said Gabriella. “He combines the flavors from his childhood, Mama’s home cooking comfort food, with flavors you'd find over here. We both grew up in the Valley, but our families are from the Bay Area. If you know Pocket 8 (Sushi and Grill) in Merced or Benihana in San Francisco, that’s how we picked up on those flavors and combined it with traditional soul food. It was just fun to try new things.”
Fun, and also rewarding for taste buds.
The menu at Friday’s grand opening is just part of what the Jacksons are able to cook up, but they’re keeping it short and simple for now as they adjust to operating a dine-in restaurant for the very first time. Dishes include hibachi plates that feature “rocket noodles” or rice, seafood boils, fried shrimp, dry-fried ribs (reminiscent of Mexican chicharrones), loaded potatoes, and smash burgers. There is also banana pudding and peach cobbler available as dessert options.
“This is amazing,” Edward said prior to a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime type thing.”
Edward, better known to many as “Chef E,” comes from a family of culinary artists. Aside from those loved ones in the Bay Area, he has deep family roots in Louisiana, making him very familiar with the soul food that enriches the region. He has always had a passion for cooking, and took serious steps towards becoming a full-time chef in 2020 by going to culinary school through the B5 Foundation in San Diego. Upon graduating, he brought his refined skills to Merced, where he and Gabriella sold at pop-up events throughout town. They also used the power of social media to take orders, where they’d use ghost kitchens to prepare meals and either deliver to community members or share a location where folks could drive by and pick up meals, hence the name “Kurbside Eatery.”
“We started to grow in the community,” Gabriella said. “People were really loving the food and giving positive feedback, and we started thinking that maybe this is more than a hobby.”
Edward and Gabriella’s grandfather, who is also passionate about cooking, promptly began working on a food truck to serve as their next step in their culinary ventures. But when the Oasis location came up for sale, it was a no-brainer to explore the opportunity to have their own professional kitchen and a place for customers to dine in.
And just because they have a restaurant now doesn’t mean they’ll plan on stopping the catering and delivery business.
“My husband and my grandfather have been working on our food trailer, building it literally from scratch,” Gabriella said. “Well, that’s almost done, so when we came across this opportunity to buy the business, that's what we did with the idea of the trailer still existing. We’ll have it parked outside the restaurant for takeout orders, and it’ll be a huge part of catering, which we still want to do.
“It’s all happening so fast. Within two weeks we were getting our licenses and getting the restaurant ready. And that’s how we end up here. We’re here now, so it’s pretty exciting.”
