Edward Freeman, Big Nick’s father-in-law, pulls fresh-made cornbread out of the oven.

VALDOSTA — It’s momentarily disorienting to hear a voice from the radio — Hot 102.7’s “Big” Nick Harden — booming from the back of a kitchen, but that’s what you’re likely to hear at his new restaurant, the aptly name Big Nick’s.

Harden grew up in his family’s kitchen, watching them cook and helping when he could.

“My dad is from Mississippi,” said Harden. “He cooked from scratch: soul food, Cajun. He had all kinds of good stuff. He could do everything. I kinda got that passion to cook.”

That passion led him to open Rhythm and Blues Cafe in Downtown Valdosta a few years back.

“After Rhythm and Blues closed, people would ask us to cook for them,” said Harden. “We started doing lunches on Fridays, getting up and cooking and delivering to different businesses. We thought we might be on to something.”

Nick and his wife, Ingrid, came up with a menu, starting with the the meals they had been cooking and going from there.

“We do barbecue, ribs, chicken, sausage, pulled pork. Then we’ve got soul food, all the way from macaroni and cheese, collard greens, dirty rice, green beans, gator tail. We want to add more soul food: ox tails and rice, pork chops, smothered chops, grilled chops,” he said.

Along with Ingrid, Nick works at the restaurant with his mom, Louise, as well as his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Diane and Edward.

“My mother-in-law’s in there (the kitchen) making the baked beans, my father-in-law’s making the cornbread,” said Harden. “It’s really, truly a family affair. It’s everybody in here. We make it work.”

Big Nick’s also serves shrimp as well as wings, with the Ciroc wings and the lemon-pepper twist being the most popular so far.

“We want to be that place in the community that you’ve gotta stop by,” he said, “that spot in the community where you know you can get some real good food.”

Nick is still on radio and still works on DJ gigs, but more and more finds himself in the kitchen, much like when he was young, surrounded by his family, cooking away.

“It’s a transition. It’s kind of weird, but it’s a cool weirdness. I went from rocking the ones and twos to burning on a four- and six-top stove.”

Big Nick’s is located at 904 Baytree Road.

It is open 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Harden has plans to extend the hours after he has a liquor license and can add a full bar, and is planning to add Sunday hours in the coming months.

More information: Call (229) 469-6905.

Facebook: Big Nick’s on Baytree