One of Seattle’s award-winning chefs has come to Renton, working in the recently opened Shuga Jazz Bistro in downtown.

Executive Chef Wayne Johnson is now gracing the city with his southern-inspired menu in the former McGowan’s Restaurant location. It is a business venture that has long been in the works between Johnson and Ron McGowan.

Johnson said he has wanted to open up a similar jazz or comedy and food-style club since he was a teenager and about nine years ago, he and McGowan started the conversation about going into business together.

They opened Shuga Jazz Bistro in June.

“It made sense. What we wanted to do we had talked about before, which was add a southern-inspired menu to this area with the jazz,” said Johnson. “Because Creole and Cajun and Southern fare just goes with an upscale jazz bistro.”

The bistro’s menu has plenty of flair from the hush puppies ($8) and bacon wrapped shrimp appetizers ($13) to the very popular Lula Mae’s Fried Chicken ($19), which is Johnson’s mother’s recipe and named after her as well.

There’s also the decadent shrimp and grits ($20) and the “Cajun-style” pan-fried catfish ($18) to name a few of the menu’s features.

“Once we decided that we can’t be all things to all people, those that can accept the colors and accept the Creole and accept the Cajun, accept the fried chicken – they’ll come,” said Johnson.

Shuga Jazz Bistro has warm interiors, with subdued, sunset earth tones. It’s spacious, with three distinct rooms: one with music, the bar and a larger dinning area.

Business has been growing, he said, and the bistro is packed on the weekends for their jazz venue. They’re hoping that adding a happy hour a few weeks ago will drum up more business during the week. They also just added a Sunday brunch that has featured The Total Experience Gospel Choir.

If anything, Johnson’s reputation is enough to bring people in the door. He was the executive chef at the award-winning Andaluca Restaurant in the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle since 1999. Most recently, Johnson was the executive chef at Ray’s Boathouse, Café, & Catering, since 2012.

His culinary resumé includes highlights like appearing on season nine of the Food Network TV show “Iron Chef,” cooking at the prestigious James Beard House in New York and being named one of America’s “Top Black Chefs” by Black Enterprise Magazine.

“It’s a pleasure and an honor to be able to open something like this in a community that is accepting and wants more,” Johnson said.

He’s undaunted by the feat of getting new customers in the building, saying it’s just a matter of introduction.

“So it’s a matter of getting the new ones in, then it’s my job to make sure they leave with happy taste buds,” he said.

Judging by the menu that should not be a problem.