Despite growing up in a two-parent household and going to college, 28-year-old Darnell Ferguson (pictured, r, with Louisville mayor Greg Fisher) found himself struggling to pay the bills. To make ends meet he took a turn in the wrong direction and ended up being arrested multiple times, ending up unemployed and homeless. But once he embraced Christianity, Ferguson began to turn his life around and evolved from a cautionary tale to a tale of inspiration and perseverance.

Now he’s the owner of SuperChefs restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky.

“The last time getting locked up,” Ferguson told Urbanmaxx.com, “I remembered being in class and them talking about being a statistic and how once you get in the system you can’t get out… I started thinking that now I’m the guy that I didn’t want to be… That’s when I told myself that I was going to get serious about something I know that I can do, which is cooking…”

Ferguson graduated from Sullivan University with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts, which he put to work. But a combination of problems stemming from fallout from his illegal activities and his temper cost him a job. He spent a year out of work, but continued with his plans to try to open a restaurant, deciding with the help of his regular church attendance that he should focus on becoming an entrepreneur.

“I went to Southeast Christian [in Louisville] and ever since then everything changed for me,” he told Urbanmaxx.com. “I started going to church, starting reading about God because for me, I didn’t know God was real… So that for me was a shock… I wish I would have known this a long time ago but I wouldn’t have listened then, even if you told me… That’s just the truth about it.”

After finding an investor, he thought he was set, but the deal fell apart at the last minute. Undaunted, Ferguson kept pushing and eventually found a restaurant owner who let him lease space during specific hours in his restaurant. His “pop up” hours at the restaurant became popular but despite that success, Ferguson wanted to be his own man. Eventually his success led him to another investor and SuperChefs was born.

“The journey is the success,” Ferguson told Urbanmaxx.com. “Most people think the destination is the success. Don’t let today be taken for granted… Enjoy the journey… Everyone is so focused on the destination… You have to enjoy what’s happening because the growth is the best part.”

Some of the mouthwatering dishes available at SuperChef’s below: