Westside soul & spirit

C-Daddy’s is what knowing folks call “fine.” Not just for the deeply satisfying food; not just for the ease of stopping by and carrying out; not even for the convenience of sprucing up at adjacent Hair Envy or Carl Satterfield’s Barbershop and bringing back the office order within an hour.

Clarence D. Williams, Jr. of C-Daddy's

C-Daddy’s is “fine” because of the philosophy of Clarence D. Williams Jr. That’s what the people lining up tell you. “He’s a fine man, from a fine family.”

Hang back and you’ll hear the chatter. “How you’all doin’ today?” Clarence genuinely wants to know. These are neighbors and regulars, and when they tell him what’s on their minds, Clarence replies with words of comfort, knowledgeable rejoinders to events of the day or solid suggestions. Newcomers are easily swept into the fold.

C-Daddy’s occupies a building about the size of a one-car garage. Mouth-watering aromas emanate from the north end, its culinary activities hidden from view by the inside pickup window.

The entry space is maybe 5-feet-by-8-feet with a narrow bench and a vibrant mural along the south wall. The east wall is tastefully arranged with permits, plaques, commendations and flyers detailing where to get help to start a small business. Most prominent, however, is a framed dollar bill and a letter. It’s the living will to his family from Clarence D. Williams Sr., who died Nov. 24, 2004.
“My whole goal in life was to be a good husband, a good father, a good man,” Clarence Williams Sr. wrote. “I understand the sacrifice of being a man ... Make sure your life is not in vain ... Don’t get stuck on things that don’t matter ... Share and give ... Always be honest ... Take care of each other ... Watch what you say to each other ... Teach your kids to work hard ... I love you.”
These gleanings are from the letter, tracing a life “that was not easy.”
Clarence Jr. is now the acknowledged patriarch of a close-knit family of high achievers with a bent towards the arts — writers, vocalists, actors. “Every holiday we videotape a talent show. Bottom line is your family is first priority,” Clarence cites, equally extending that obligation to the neighborhood.

Five years ago, Clarence quit being an itinerant barbecue master who set up his grill at parks and civic events and built a following at the Indy 500. At 967 King Ave., he put in a flower garden on a strip of soil between 10th and the narrow parking lot. Next day it was torn up. He re-planted, and kept at it until “the destroyer” gave up. It was then that Clarence started Y.E.S.: Youth Empowering Success, an informal organization for the neighborhood’s youth.

“The goal of establishing my business here is to be a positive example,” Clarence says, “to show you can succeed if you do good work. There’s a lot of history here of people with determination to succeed. The Y.E.S. Corps is for building pride in self and neighborhood.

“I want to make a living museum here, too, to show the history we are part of, the history we’re making.”

The waves of settlement that give Haughville its distinctive architecture, churches and service agencies began in 1880 when Benjamin Haugh moved his foundry across the White River from Indianapolis. Other foundries and railyards opened, bringing Eastern European immigrants from Poland, Romania, Macedonia and Hungary, particularly Slovenes. A cohesive village replaced the farmland. Incorporated in 1883, Indianapolis annexed Haughville in 1897. Meat packing firms along the White River brought Irish immigrants. Following WWII, whites from Appalachia and blacks from the South moved in as descendants of original settlers moved out.

Clarence Williams’ cuisine is part of his family’s Southern heritage.

“The secret is in the sauce,” which he has perfected to a science. It’s also bottled and sold for home use. But it’s the sides of fresh vegetables prepared as his mother has that further distinguishes C-Daddy’s menu. The latest addition is ice cream created by Carla, his wife. “It’s her specialty.”

The consensus of regular customers? “It needs to be eaten, not described. Come on over.”

C-Daddy’s
967 King Ave.
(Not to be confused with Rev. Martin Luther King Avenue, this older King Avenue runs north and south between 16th Street and Michigan Street, in the heart of Haughville.)
917-1707

Hours
TUESDAY-Thursday 9 A.m.-10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 9 A.m.-midnight
Closed Sunday and Monday