Boston’s soul food institution, first Bob the Chef’s and then Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, has transformed for a new generation into the chic, high-concept restaurant Uptown Social.

Owner Nia Grace, who also owns jazz club Grace by Nia in the Seaport, felt it was time for a change in 2020, but the pandemic pushed the timeline for a rebrand. Now her vision for a more elevated take on Southern comfort food has come to life.

“I needed to attract a younger generation, even younger than myself, and something needed to shift,” said Grace. “I love the food that we grew up on, but there were only so many ways I could pivot.”

The restaurant still dishes out live music every night and classics like collard greens and fried chicken, but with a more contemporary twist. The space has gotten an upgrade, too, with funky wallpaper, a lounge area near the stage and original paintings created for the restaurant by local artist Paul Goodnight. Framed photos by the entrance show the original facade of Bob the Chef’s, a reminder that the soul food legacy of the spot will endure.

For executive chef and culinary director Chelven Randolph, this is a homecoming. Born in Dorchester and raised in Franklin, Randolph remembers coming to Bob the Chef’s every weekend with his family. His father has run the salon Randolph Styles With Character in Roxbury for 30 years and Bob’s was always the choice for a satisfying weekend meal.

“Bob the Chef’s, especially within the Black community, has long been a mainstay here in Boston,” said Randolph. Now his father visits Uptown Social for the fish and grits or the blackened steak with barbecue beans.

Randolph is excited to upgrade the menu with more creativity, as in a hummus appetizer that uses traditional Mediterranean techniques but infuses the dish with soul food ingredients like blackeyed peas and fried cabbage, served with cornbread pita.

“I like to really impart all different forms of African diaspora into my food,” Randolph said. “[The menu] is a very unique and elevated, conceptual version of classic Southern soul food and Caribbean dishes.”

Many of the menu items are very personal to Randolph. The pickled deviled eggs topped with caviar are inspired by his childhood summers in Florida when a neighbor named Miss Nell would pull pickled eggs out of a giant jar and sell them on the sidewalk. Randolph also uses his mother’s secret spice blend in his fried chicken, a recipe she passed down only to him.

As the restaurant gets into a service groove, Randolph plans to host Throwback Thursdays when he’ll bring items from the Darryl’s menu back to satisfy longtime diners who crave those classic flavors.

Grace designed the cocktail menu with refreshed takes on classic drinks. The Gin & Juice features Amsterdam gin, orange liqueur, lime and hibiscus; the Fashionably Black, a take on an Old Fashioned, pairs Uncle Nearest bourbon with amaro Montenegro, brown sugar syrup and black walnut bitters. As in her other restaurants, Grace is committed to using BIPOC- and woman-owned liqueur brands first.

Whether folks come for the cocktails, the crispy chicken nuggets topped with caviar or the live music, Randolph is sure they’ll be back.

“We’re really excited about the prospect of ingratiating ourselves with the public again in a very new way that feels like home,” he said. “You’re gonna walk away thinking, ‘I gotta go there again.’”

ON THE WEB

Learn more at uptownsocialboston.com