NFL star refuses to fail with Shore restaurant

The similarities between playing in the NFL and owning a Jersey Shore restaurant might not seem obvious, but to one former pro football player the connection is clear.

"(The pressure's) equally about the same. Playing professionally, you could be here today, gone tomorrow. Being in a restaurant, you could be here today and gone tomorrow," Rasheed Simmons said. "I run the business with that same type of, I'm not going to say fear, but that same type of passion."

Simmons, who played preseason football with the New York Giants in 1999 and later with the Carolina Panthers from 2000 to 2001, just opened up Simply Southern Cuisine in Belmar June 5 with his mother and chef, Rita Simmons.

"I'm not wanting to go home," he said. "This place, I won't let it fail. My mother won't let it fail."

Standing at an intimidating 6 feet, 6 inches, Simmons bumps his head on the lamp while working behind the restaurant's bar counter, lighting up with a warm smile and big laugh.

Meanwhile, in true southern form, Rita takes a break from cooking in the kitchen to sit down and chat with customers while they enjoyed their meal. Old friends or new all are welcome inside Simply Southern Cuisine.

Belmar meets Savannah

In a state full of pizza, bagels and Chinese food eateries located at every strip mall, Simply Southern brings a taste of the south to the Jersey Shore.

"This is not KFC, this is not Popeyes," Simmons said. "We don't start cooking your food until you actually order your food. There's love really that goes into every dish that's made."

Prior to opening shop in Belmar, he and his mom owned a small eatery in the Englishtown flea market called My Two Sons (Simmons' older brother died in 1987) for 11 years. The two wanted to make the move due to their strong following from their booth at the Belmar's seafood festival for the last 10 years.

The current menu has expanded well beyond what was offered at their first restaurant. Today, it features traditional southern fare, just like Grandma made it. Literally.

Rita still cooks every dish the same way her grandmother taught her when she was 8 years old.

The oxtails are Rita's personal favorite. She slowly cooks the dish for six hours with thyme and other herbs in a thick rich gravy. The smothered chicken, another popular dish, is simmered in a rich brown onion gravy until it falls off the bone.

Simmons suggested the meatloaf, which comes packed with fresh veggies and is finished with a rich gravy sauce or their hush puppies and fried green tomatoes.

If you're looking for soda at Simply Southern, you won't find it. Instead, look for their specialty sweet teas, which are "off the chain," according to Rita, who brews the tea using cane syrup. Try their Peach Mango tea or lemon tea and receive free refills.

The genuine southern cuisine menu is offset by a few healthier options to include the entire family, offering field green salads and broiled salmon dishes, the duo said.

To Simmons, it was important not to alienate potential customers who did not want to eat fried food often, even though his mother argued to keep the menu authentically southern.

"Now, that's one of our slight disagreements because I'm old world southern cooking," Rita said. "I would've never done that if it was just my option. So he kind of brought that to the plate. And he kind of had to fight with me because I wanted to keep it southern, southern, southern."

Working with family

Every time Simmons makes the commute down from his home in Hoboken and walks through the front door of Simply Southern Cuisine, he said it all still feels surreal.

"It makes me happy every morning to drive 45 minutes down," Simmons said.

"Are you speeding?" Rita asked.

"Yes, I'm speeding!" Simmons replied, laughing.

"It takes more than 45 minutes," Rita said, with motherly admonishment.

"I'm going as fast as I can without getting caught," Simmons said. "One hundred miles and running."

Simmons and his mom agreed it can be difficult working so closely with family, but the good times always prevail.

One disagreement stemmed from the wall color. The two changed it three times before they could agree on a rich plum color.

Walking inside Simply Southern Cuisine, customers would never know that many of the items inside, like the bar stools, the tablecloths and chairs were all bought from restaurant auctions, and many trips were made by Rita to Hobby Lobby.

It meant a lot to transform the restaurant's interior themselves and give it their own touch, after losing the the storefront's lease about a year ago. They finally secured it for good in early 2015.

"We had to, please, beg, borrow and plead from family members and friends to kind of get this to work," Simmons said. "(Most) of what you see in here … was done by Mom, myself and/or friends or family. We didn't have that $120,000 budget these other restaurants…"

"A hundred?" Rita says. We didn't even have $25."

A big help came from their catering business of the same name, which helped supplement the cost of starting up.

Simply Southern catering operates all over Manhattan, and even supplies home-cooked southern meals to Andy Cohen's Bravo show, "Watch What Happens: Live."

In all, it took, three-and-a-half months to get Simply Southern up and running — June 5 was the restaurant's first day. My Two Sons closed in April.

"When I walk in the front door and hit the key, it's still sinking in ... As much as it's tough, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing," Simmons said. "I've played sports. I've worked for corporate America. I've traveled around the world. And there's no other place I'd rather be (than) right here in New Jersey, with my mother, doing this restaurant."

Simply Southern Cuisine

816 Belmar Plaza in Belmar

732-243-9259

facebook.com/simplysouthernbelmar