Kevin Kelley is making it happen. The lawyer turner restauranteur took a chance on himself and his grandmother’s cooking and has had amazing success, opening Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley in Dallas, Chicago, DC, Charlotte and most recently Atlanta.
Kelley, an attorney for 22 years, transitioned into hospitality six years ago, creating his own restaurant brand, Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley. A lover of great food., Kelley credits his late grandmother with teaching him how to cook and sparking his interest in hospitality. “I want people to feel the same way with me as I felt at my grandmother’s house,” he says, “I want them to feel fantastic in my restaurants like I did in her home,” he adds. Kelley’s desire to replicate that experience for other people, inspired him to enter the hospitality industry at a difficult time. The serial entrepreneur launched his first restaurant in Dallas on August 20, 2020, during the pandemic. One could surmise that a lawyer launching a restaurant during the pandemic could be a recipe for disaster. Instead, based on Kelley’s laser focus on food quality and legal expertise, opening up his first Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley turned out to be a recipe for success.
Prior to opening his first restaurant, Kelley insisted on making sure the food he was serving was stellar. “Before I sold one piece of chicken, my chefs created food for me every day for six months, and I tasted and tasted and tasted different types of food. I tasted drinks several times too, months on end, until I could ensure that I had a product that I personally believed in,” Kelley stated.
The restauranteur used his legal prowess to ensure that every detail was perfect before launch. “As an attorney, I understood that every single thing matters. I’ve had to put so much detail and data into being successful as an attorney; I knew that if I brought that same level of care to hospitality, I could make a difference in this market.” And make a difference is what he did, launching during a pandemic and “consistently packing the restaurant,” in spite of the risk.
Fast-forward five years later and Kelley has opened Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley in multiple locations including Chicago, Dallas, DC, Charlotte and now Atlanta. Kelley believes his attention to detail and the customer experience is what sets him apart from competitors. He talks about infusing Black culture into his soul food and being particular about what he offers customers from a brand perspective. “Growing up, we fried fish on Fridays, so we did catfish and white bread this past Friday. Instead of Tabasco on the tables, we have Louisiana hot sauce. It’s the details that matter.”
It is this attention to detail that has led to the exponential growth of his restaurants in a relatively short period of time. Kitchen + Kocktails serves hundreds of thousands of people each year. The restaurants are set to hit 1 million people served in 2025. Kelley believes the success is because of the trust he has built up with customers, since day one, opening during a pandemic. “They [customers]trust us to give them a good experience. I don’t want to let them down each day that we’re open,” says Kelley. “It’s not just the quality of the food; it’s the total experience.”
Kelley wants customers to feel at home when they come in because that can make the difference between them having a good day or a bad one. “We encounter people who are happy, people who are sad. We have people who are celebrating anniversaries, birthdays, and other dates. We have people that are depressed. We have people that are suicidal, just by the number of people that we encounter,” Kelley shares. “If we can affect some of those people by them walking into our restaurant and being greeted with, welcome home, then maybe that’s the start of changing their day. And so, we don’t take that for granted. We want to be more than food. We want to be that experience that makes people happy, at least while they’re with us,” he adds.
Kelley is not only an attorney and restauranteur – he’s a family man and the business is a family affair. Everyone including his wife Deseri and mother work for the company. His first cousin is his COO and his frat brothers (Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.), who he has known for over 30 years, are executives in his company. Kelley and Deseri sent their two sons to college to learn entrepreneurship and business so they can join the company one day or start their own companies. An energetic and enthusiastic Kelley understands what’s most important and that’s, “Showing your family, especially your children, they are part of the dream and the journey. “
Kelley, who could easily continue to live the life he envisions with the restaurants he has now, has dreams to open more restaurants that offer a high-quality dining experience, inspired by his grandmother’s cooking. Kelley shows no signs of slowing down. He plans to take his concept to five new locations next year, including one in Times Square (NYC). If Kelley has his way, his family will continue to thrive, his businesses will continue to grow and his customers will continue to be well-fed, well-served and feel at home at Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley.
To learn more about Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley, visit here.
This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder and editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga on IG @Ntellectual or @The Burton Wire.
