[3][4] Soul Daddy began as an idea by Jamawn Woods, a resident of Detroit, Michigan who, as a result of the poor economy, began serving chicken wings and waffles out of his home in order to support his wife and three children, as recounted in the series premiere of America's Next Great Restaurant, a reality television series on which Woods competed with other contestants to pitch restaurant concepts to investors Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone, Steve Ells and Lorena Garcia.

[8] In the third episode, a number of the contestants, including Woods, were advised to rethink their restaurant name, and devise a slogan or philosophy, along with a signature dish that represented their ideas, which would be voted on by a large group of customers.

[11] Jamawn Woods purchased a home in Lakeville, Minnesota in order to be close to the Mall of America restaurant while undertaking a year-long management training and modifying the menu to include items such as Hoppin' John (blackeyed peas and rice), corn on the cob, and warm yams to replace the potato salad, which was not met with positive reaction by patrons.

[14][15] However, shortly after the restaurant's consolidation to a single market, ANGR Holdings, LLC announced on June 29 that they were closing the Bloomington, Minnesota location as well, likely signaling the end of the Soul Daddy franchise.

[19] According to a September 2011 article, Woods, while on leave from his job at Chrysler, was splitting his time constructing a Soul Daddy in his hometown of Detroit and catering from his home while pursuing an associate's degree at Schoolcraft College, a school in Livonia, Michigan known for its culinary arts program.