A classroom assignment at Â鶹ÊÓƵ sparked a successful business venture for former Golden Flashes football star Will Matthews.
Matthews, who helped Â鶹ÊÓƵ win its first bowl game in 2019, turned his entrepreneurial studies project into reality with the Southern Comfort Kitchen food truck in 2019.
The business has since expanded to include a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Akron's Highland Square, which opened in 2022.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ Today first featured Matthews in 2018 while he was still a student, showcasing his early entrepreneurial ambitions.
Drawing on his New Orleans roots and family culinary traditions, Matthews serves up Cajun-inspired dishes like po'boys, jambalaya, and crawfish mac and cheese.
"I grew up around food all of my life," Matthews , crediting his parents and grandfather, a chef, for his passion.
The food truck, which operates two to three times weekly around Akron, offers a condensed menu featuring seafood favorites. Prices range from $12 for a SoCo burger to $15 for a grilled shrimp po'boy.
Matthews acknowledges that managing a busy food service business can be more challenging than avoiding tackles on the football field.
"When you do a busy event − it's for better or for worse," he said. "It gets really, really intense."