Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I have three sisters: two older and one younger. The oldest owns a wellness business and the other is a nurse. She was in the building Dellz is in now before we were. The youngest is traveling around the country in a van. She’s currently in Oregon working on a farm.

Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
When I was in high school in Missouri, I was really good at basketball, but I remember one day I was in the locker room washing my face and I realized I didn’t want to do it anymore. I felt like I was letting everybody down, and my coach stopped talking to me, so I got really sad and started skipping class. The school resources lady told me I would be good in this home etiquette class. I was skeptical, but I took the class anyway. The teacher was a super kind redhead lady. She was the first one to tell me I was good at cooking, and she told me I should do this. She introduced me to a lot of interesting people. I fell in love with cooking on my own though. I did that in high school and won some awards, but I stopped when we moved here for my senior year. Later, an opportunity arose at Bishop Gadsden. I was washing dishes when the chef saw me chop up an apple. He asked where I learned to cut an apple like that and then asked me to prep cook the next day. I worked my way up from there. Entrepreneurship wasn’t on my mind, but my mom showed me the benefits of it and how it’s easy to rely on other people, but it’s better to do it your way. If there is something you love you should go all the way. However, I wanted to be young, and I felt like I was missing out because I was working so hard. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I finally wanted to take ownership of the restaurant. We were in Sedona in Arizona for a year, and I thought a lot about my life and where I wanted to go. I had started a lot of things, but I have not finished them all the way, and I had overlooked a lot because I was working so hard. That time brought me to where I am today. Right now, I really want to learn about plants and growing stuff organically. I want to have my own farm and supply produce for Dellz myself. You care about things differently when you’re starting from the ground and taking it all the way to the table. I’ve also been able to witness the way that plants communicate with each other; it’s humbling. I love being able to create. I would be lying if I didn’t say that the instant gratification of seeing someone appreciate what you’ve just made is really nice. I just enjoy cooking. A kitchen is so different- sometimes there’s different issues, some days are good, and you’re always serving people. It balances you out.

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
The Ordinary and Xiao Bao

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Outside of my mom there’s a few people. There’s this one low key guy who’s really interesting. He came to my house just to talk to me about aloe vera plants. There’s another guy Freddy. He’s from Barbados. Everyone called him force of nature because birds would sit on his shoulder and squirrels would run right up to him. Evaline and Norm also – you feel a realness and a jolt of energy when you’re with them.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
I really want to go to Sudan because of my best friend in high school who was from there. I met him in Missouri when we were 13. He was super healthy and would run crazy long distances, but I found out that he died of a heart attack at 25. He’s one of my inspirations for cooking and eating healthy and organically.

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
Fight club and Gladiator. I also love the book The Alchemist. When you’re in the midst of finding out who you are and what you want, it’s really relatable. Without spoiling it, I’ll say you realize that you’re searching for what’s always been there anyway. Also, it helps you realize that instincts are so important.

Q: What advice would you give to people?
No one thing is just one thing. Thinking like this balances you out. For example, I can never fully take credit for anything cause there’s always something else to it. Also, follow your instincts. They’re your real self. The most unnatural thing to do is to hesitate.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
Retire my mom. It’s so real to me. I know I’m loved and blessed. When I realize my siblings and I can think on our own and we don’t have to be boxed in- she fought so hard for that mindset and for us to have that. She just did a lot for us.

Q: What is your go to band when you cant decide what to listen to?
Jungle

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Hope and Union. It was run by an Asian husband and wife. They built everything in the shop by hand. That business and Sugar, we all would do trades when we first opened up because we opened around the same time. Each business was so different, and it was so nice. It was a different time because it was before phones and social media which aren’t bad, but they make people do things for likes and attention. For us it was just good people looking out for each other. It was good community.

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
I would love to have dinner with Kayne West just to get clarity on who he is. I remember when he came to Charleston; I heard a lot about it but didn’t get to see it. I think he’s interesting and sees things differently. I like what he’s doing with his farmland in Wyoming, so I’d really like to pick his brain about it. I’d want to go to his ranch or to Big Sur with him.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
Charleston really supports each other. It’s real. They’ll give you a chance. There’s a lot of different things going on politically in Charleston, but it has always been a home even if it’s not technically your home. I spent the year away in Arizona, but this still felt like home. The city is changing, but that hasn’t changed. It’s just so relaxing here.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I see myself more as an event planner. I really want to be elevating other business owners for sure, especially those without shops. And I want Dellz to be a culture hub where so many different people interact. The deli was so intimate. It was my mom and I face to face with everyone who walked through the door. We had our first gay customer really break down what it’s like to be a gay person to a former marine macho, and we watched his whole perspective change. Now they’re close friends. That’s the environment I want to create and the connections I want to facilitate.

Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
The Redwoods. Even when you’ve seen a picture, you get there and you’re speechless because the trees are just so large. It looks like Jurassic park- like another world- and it’s so quiet.

Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
September 26th has always been a special day for me. When I was 17, I moved out of my mom’s house on that day. I call it my independence day because that was the day I really started living in the world. I moved to New York for the first time then. My grandma who raised me from birth to 10 years old passed away on the 25th. My favorite holiday is New Year’s. Everyone is just happy. You have new plans and new goals, and you’re really reflective. I had a Japanese professor at the College of Charleston who explained to me how they celebrate New Year’s in Japan. Three days before you do a detox of mind, body, and soul. I’ve started trying to celebrate my New Year’s like that ever since then because it’s reflective and good for your mind. You come into the year a cleaner version of yourself.

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
The Atlantic Ocean. I’ve never once said “Wow, I wish I didn’t go to the beach today.”

Q: Who inspires you to be better?
Definitely my mom because we work together and spend so much time together. There’s been a lot of times when I was younger where I was very egotistical and very much thought the way I did things was always the right way. She never put me down or judged me. I had people who I respected a lot still give me bad advice. But my mom always gave me great advice. She’s good at being a mom, but also, she’s just good at living what she talks about. I’ve never seen her drop the ball. She’s very human; she’s still looking for her true love, and she has insecurities deep down, but she never plays the victim. She grew up in a hard environment where she had to support herself and will herself into success on her own. She does all this for her kids even when we didn’t ask for it, and she does it for herself too. It’s really humbling how much grace she has for us.

Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Elders: being surrounded by different generations at once. Secrets: everyone has so many secrets. I saw what it did to a lot of my family members- holding things in that could’ve let them grow. Prowess: I come from the showman state. Our family is always trying to be their strongest self. But there’s also vulnerability.