Fill Up: Comfort Food, Championship Culture at Buckets

Raymel joined the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I Promise program as an original I Promise third grader in 2011 — and when his mom, Janette Brown, got involved with the foundation, it turned her life around.

“It’s like a dream come true, because before my mom got to the foundation, she was at the hospital, coming home from work exhausted and tired,” says Raymel in a video interview. “All that exhaustion and stress that she was going through — it just came off her shoulders.”

Brown is now operations manager at House Three Thirty. Raymel works in the front of the house and his twin sister, Raelyn, works in the kitchen — both at Buckets, a restaurant the foundation opened at House Three Thirty in April. Building on the foundation’s job training and workforce development efforts, Buckets has created about 50 jobs, employing many parents, students and teachers from the I Promise School and beyond. Many are working in a restaurant for the first time.

“We want them to learn life skills,” says Michele Campbell, executive director of the foundation. “We want them to believe in themselves and also change their financial situation.”

Buckets is more than a restaurant.

“To be able to create jobs and change families’ lives in this new way — not to mention the unbelievable menu and experience you have to see to appreciate — is something I’m really excited about,” says LeBron via a press release. “I’m proud of the way we keep building and pushing the limits on what we can do to leave our city better than we found it.”

The environment of Buckets nods to the empowering work of the foundation as well as Akron, from which LeBron — the NBA’s all-time leading bucket getter — hails. Bicycle wheels pay tribute to the foundation’s start with its bikeathon, while wagon wheels are a callout to The University of Akron Zips, which commits scholarships to I Promise students. Silver bucket lights highlight Akron artist Whiskertin, and a wooden great horned owl statue honors the Oswaldie Akron family.

First-time chef and kitchen manager Summer Fouse teamed up with House Three Thirty culinary director Aaron “Bomba” Blank to craft a menu with a focus on buckets of fried or roasted chicken and comfort food. LeBron loves wings, so there are 10 varieties too.

Workshopped for over a month, the fried chicken starts with a 24-hour pickle brine. Then, the chicken is transferred to a buttermilk brine. It gets tossed in a flour mixture, fried and finished with honey dust and salt.

“The honey powder completes the whole dish, in my opinion, adding that sweet and tanginess with the wonderful crunch and juiciness of the chicken,” says Fouse, a former foundation 330 Ambassador and House Three Thirty culinary intern. The Be Best fried chicken ($18.23) comes with delectable mini cornbread muffins with house-made cinnamon-honey butter, house-made spicy ranch Buckets sauce and coleslaw.

A standout smash burger is the Akron Hammer ($16.23), which has two patties, American cheese, house-made barbecue sauce, bacon and cheddar-dusted crispy onions.

“[It’s] like a cookout — you get that barbecue taste but also all the cheesiness on the burger,” Fouse says.

Other notable items include the fried Brussels sprouts with scallions, crispy garlic and honey ginger glaze and a mac ‘n’ cheese side, served with a gooey cheese sauce. LeBron’s cheat dish is a chocolate chip cookie sundae. The Kid From Akron’s Cookie is made from the recipe of his personal chef.

Drinks include the King of the Valley ($10.23), which has local Towpath Distillery vodka, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur and lime and cucumber juices or mocktails like the Afternoon Delight ($7.23) with watermelon juice, mint simple syrup and club soda.

Buckets is harnessing staffers’ potential. “It’s really cool to be able to give people opportunities to find a new passion and to see what everybody is fully capable of,” Fouse says.

First-time server Charles “Chuckie Buckie” Butler feels lots of support. “The family environment and the dynamic is awesome — the way they step in, the way they care,” he says. “It’s full of love.”

Campbell hopes to eventually expand hours from Wednesday through Saturday to seven days a week. She says Buckets can truly make a meaningful impact.

“If your bucket is empty today, you walk in here and our staff treats you like family,” she says, “we might just change your day, and fill your bucket.”

House Three Thirty, 532 W. Market St., Akron, 330-217-9932, buckets330.com