Over 100 people gathered in Charlotte’s low-income Beatties Ford Road corridor over the weekend for a fundraiser and to learn about a new venture that aims to foster culinary employment opportunities for residents.
Community members tasted shrimp, grits and vegan rice from five small-business owners, mostly from the Historic West End. The "Best of the West” fundraiser spotlighted plans for Lucille's Kitchen.
Chef Andarrio Johnson of Cuzzo's Cuisine was among those serving food to residents. Cuzzo's Cuisine is located at 9601 N. Tryon St., but Johnson said the restaurant started in West Charlotte. He said he's pleased to see efforts to bring culinary jobs and training to residents in the Historic West End.
"That's what we need. This is the start of us coming together. Networking with some chefs I've never networked with before," Johnson said. "This is a good thing, just bringing us Black people together."
Developer Shawn Kennedy is behind the efforts to open Lucille's Kitchen.
“There’s going to be five entrepreneurs in here. We're going to push them to hire people from the community and pay good wages to people from the community,” Kennedy said. “After they're here for a year to two years, they’ll move to their own brick-and-mortar with the foundation we give them and hire more people from the community.”
Lucille's Kitchen is named after Kennedy’s mother. The developer purchased the building a few years ago. Public records show the property was purchased for $350,000 in 2021.
Kennedy is the owner of Kennedy Properties and Development, the group is also behind efforts to open the Excelsior club on Beatties Ford Road. That building has been closed since 2016 and was converted into a popular gathering spot for African Americans in the 1940s.
"The Excelsior has been the lighthouse for Beatties Ford Road since 1944, and our lighthouse is down," Kennedy said. "I think when Excelsior opens back up, it's going to bring people back to this corridor and start a catalyst or revitalization of Beatties for Road."
Saturday fundraiser for Lucille's Kitchen featured a range of community leaders, including Corine Mack, who leads the local NAACP chapter. J’Tanya Adams, founder of the group Historic West End; and several City Council members, including council member Malcolm Graham, who represents the low-income Beatties Ford Road corridor.
"This is another opportunity to invest in an environment where we can go to work in our community,” Graham said.
Danyae Thomas is with the Park Community Development Corporation, a group that focuses on affordable housing, healthy living and ways to improve economic mobility for community members. Thomas will serve as the program manager for the kitchen. As part of the opening, Thomas said they'll be providing workshops that focus on teaching residents about nutrients.
"What we want to do is make sure the community has knowledge of fresh organic produce,” Thomas said. "We can give you a fish or teach you had to fish, and we want to make sure they have the education to go alongside that too."
Lucille's Kitchen is expected to open in January.
