Celebrating a hometown hero doing good
By Norma Adams-Wade
Senior Correspondent
Texas Metro News
Get used to hearing the name Kevin Kelley. You’ll likely be hearing it more and more.
Kelley is the powerhouse entrepreneur and philanthropist behind the fast-rising restaurant phenom of Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley (4Ks) in downtown Dallas, four other urban cities, and even more in the works across the nation.
Kelley’s meteoric rise to fame is the classic success story of hometown youth who grows up, leaves home, makes good, returns and improves the people and places that nurtured him.
The story could end there, but Kelley will not let it. He keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny. He says while he has lived in other countries, it was out of love and a vision for improving the city culturally and politically that prompted his return to where he grew up.
He is striving to do what he can, he said, to make Dallas’ political climate more conducive for multicultural businesses.
“I believe in and love Dallas,” Kelley said in a Texas Metro News interview. “(But) the political climate here sometimes makes it difficult to stay. As much as I love it here, I wish Dallas politics loved us (entrepreneurs of color) more than they seem to.”
Close acquaintances say one of his familiar quotes – “everything matters” – applies to how he overcomes roadblocks in moving his businesses forward. One snag Kelley said he is determined to overcome is a license delay by Dallas city officials with one of his enterprises.
“We work hard to treat people right,” Kelley said. “We will continue working to get that (license) passed.”
A look at his ascent from youth to adulthood and to the helm of business circles is a how-to lesson for attaining success, with the added merit of bringing it back home.
GROWING UP SMART
Childhood was indeed an education and training ground for this future master entrepreneur. If anyone knows, a mother knows.
Deborah Kelley-Hill recalls that her Kevin was precocious, self-assured, curious and described as “smart” by adults around him. Even when he was a preschooler, she recalls hearing her young son repeat “I know I’m smart, I know I’m smart.”
Kelley’s Mom said he was involved in all kinds of youthful, creative projects – some good, some destructive – while home alone, taking things apart to satisfy his innate curiosity and fight boredom. Surprisingly, he developed an interest in cooking after regularly watching a television cooking show. “Mom, your cooking is kind of boring,” Ms. Kelley-Hill recalled her son saying. “Let me cook.”
She let him. And he became the family’s regular meal-preparer, with his younger sister, Deanna Kelley-Hill, as his taster.
Obviously, that interest in the kitchen paid off professionally later in life.
After he grew up, married, and had his own children, the Kelley family lived abroad for a while in Spain and France before returning to the U. S. and opening his law firm and Dallas restaurant.
As a child, his grandmother, Gussie Nicholson, told him he needed to be a lawyer because “you always have to have the last word,” his Mom recalled.
Interestingly, as an adult, he earned a law degree and now also heads the Kelley Law Firm, specializing in personal injury in downtown Dallas.
“The law has been good, but I also love hospitality,” Kelley said in a Culturemap Dallas magazine article. “I always said that if there ever came a chance to invest in hospitality, I would.”
Credit The Dallas Morning News.
PROFESSIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Kelley, 48, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and was seven when he and his family moved to Dallas. He was enrolled in the Dallas public school system, then later attended schools in Richardson and Garland.
He played basketball and graduated high school in Garland and received his undergraduate degree from Paul Quinn College, where he was president of his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and a leader on campus.
He earned his law degree from the University of Houston in 2002.
He now heads various enterprises: the Kelley Law Firm, and Kevin Kelley Concepts consisting of entrepreneurial enterprises and commercial properties, and the restaurant and entertainment industry.
Kelley is the husband of Dallas handbag designer Deseri Kelley.
People who know him say a personal trademark also is his exceptional role as the father of two sons, Kevin II and Kristian; two standout collegiate soccer players, both now attending Princeton University in New Jersey.
“My two sons have been two of my proudest achievements,” Kelley said. “Another has been being able to create businesses that have contributed to the city’s economic base. If you examine it, you will find that there are other businesses that get more of a response from the city but have not given back as much as we have.”
EXPANDING ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Ideas and concepts seem to flow nonstop from Kelley’s imagination. When he envisioned his Kitchen + Kocktails restaurant in additional urban cities, he set out to make that vision real. So far, his popular Southern cuisine with his signature touch has expanded beyond Dallas to include Atlanta, Washington D. C., Chicago, and Charlotte.
He seems in no mood to stop there, with even more key urban locations in the planning stages. His brand is offering “elevated comfort food.”
His menus offer selections widely ranging from numerous southern staples, such as yams and black-eyed peas to catfish and grits, even shrimp and lobster tail; enriched with his own special seasonings and methods.
It has been widely stated that Kelley currently is the only African American who outright owns a building in downtown Dallas. Local history notes that reality has not happened since the 1920s, when the iconic Black physician Dr. Charles Anderson owned an office and property in downtown Dallas.
Six months ago, Kelley opened Kanvas Sports + Social, an upscale sports and cocktail lounge at 2823 Main St. in the Deep Ellum part of downtown Dallas. The entertainment site received positive publicity and public reaction during its opening festivities.
Ever the promoter and connoisseur, Kelley told the Dallas Observer publication that he would not dare sully his top-ranking record by offering the public anything below his high standards.
“Even if you’re not a sports fan,” he commented, “our menu and cocktails are worth the visit alone. …There isn’t an item we offer that I haven’t personally taste-tested and approved.”
Two years ago in May 2020, the entrepreneur opened Kitchen + Kock- tails by Kevin Kelley (4Ks) — during the COVID-19 pandemic — at 1933 Elm St. in downtown Dallas. The building originally was the old Hart Furniture store, up the sidewalk from the landmark Majestic Theatre.
In the same vicinity is his Kelley Law Firm at 201 N. Harwood St, and Club Vivo, at 1930 Pacific Ave., which attracts a Latin clientele.
The adjacent ambiance of African American cui- sine and Latin entertainment hints at a goal of bringing a multicultural atmosphere to this part of the downtown environment.
Kelley’s mother termed it this way: “He created his own rainbow of what Dallas should be.”
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND QUALITY CONTROL
Mrs. Kelley-Hill is chief of staff at her son’s law firm. She also heads his various community out-reach projects that include providing student scholarships, supporting a battered women’s shelter, sponsoring grandmothers raising grandchildren projects, and this year’s Christmas coat giveaway to 250 students and homeless shelter residents.
“There are a lot of things he does behind the scenes, and he tells no one about it,” Mrs. Kelley-Hill said, adding that what drives her son is passion and a desire to reach perfection. The mother shared the experience of her and some staff members helping her son test his menu items in preparation for the new restaurant’s initial opening.
“For three months, we sampled foods every single day,” she recalled. “He wanted everything perfect.”
Kelley’s pride in the quality products he has created showed through clearly two years ago in an incident that went viral on social media and in news reports.
Kelley sharply reprimanded a customer who stood on a table and “twerked” to music playing in his restaurant. Kelley stopped the gyrations immediately while scolding the customer, telling her to leave if she did not want to respect his guidelines.
Media covered the story and Kelley received both public praise and criticism for his reaction. Yet, he stood by his response.
The master entrepreneur is driven by his spiritually-based view of right and wrong and how to move his business, employees, community, family and personal life forward under that premise.
“I have a praying mother (on his staff) who makes us stay spiritually-grounded,” Kelley said. “And there are so many other fantastic people who have supported us and allowed us to employ hundreds of people in different cities.”
He reiterated that his desire is to lift multicultural Dallas to a more level playing field for what is known as minority-owned businesses, minority contractors, and minority entrepreneurs.
“I am disappointed that my recent five new business openings in 12 months happened in other cities outside of Dallas,” Kelley said in his Texas Metro News interview. “Those openings should have been in Dallas where those tax dollars would help this local economy.”
The Dallas Plan and Zoning Commission, Dallas City Council, and other city leaders are becoming increasingly aware of Kelley’s zeal and fortitude to attain his goals.
The public should pay attention and be prepared to hear his name more and more.
Asked about a middle initial to distinguish him from others who share the same name, Kelley gave this simple response:
“I am the only Kevin Kelley.”
Norma Adams-Wade is a Dallas native and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism. A highly-decorated, award-winning journalist, Norma is a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Observers give Kevin Kelley high marks
People who know Kelley speak highly of him. Three individuals who have observed him in operation speak of his drive, compassion, and talent.
John Beckwith Jr. is the noted CEO/owner of Golden Gate Funeral Home, who literally “knows where all the bodies are buried” in Dallas. Beck-with Jr. said concern for others is a key factor that he feels has helped propel Kelley to rapid success.
“I’ve known him (Kelley) about 20 years, and anyone who knows him knows that one of the most important things about him is that he wants people around him to do well,” Beckwith Jr. said. “He celebrates through your victories. Then that karma immediately comes back to him.”
Beckwith Jr. shared the experience of seeing Kelley in action when they ended up at a few of the same national business conventions. Beckwith Jr. said it impressed him that Kelley so freely shared his legal and business expertise in a lecture to large groups of the delegates without charging a fee – sharing information for which he clearly could have gotten well paid.
“That was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen,” Beckwith shared.
Dr. Ester Davis is a consultant, digital media show host, and community affairs producer. She has worked with Kelley on business projects and has keenly observed how he operates. Having raised her own children to adulthood, she said she noticed right away his skill and attentiveness as a father to two sons whom he has guided through academic and athletic achievements in the U. S. and overseas.
“He has a drive that I noticed right away,” Dr. Davis said.
She has kept a close eye on the various Kitchen + Kocktails he has opened in various cities. When he opened his Atlanta operation, she named luminaries who came out including Atlanta dentist Dr. Walter Young; who represented his brother Ambassador Andrew Young’s family.
“He’s like a magnet,” Dr. Davis said. “And he loves to talk to people, all people. He has his pulse on his audience and puts his own styles and ambience on what he owns.”
Robert Pitre, another noted Dallas-area entrepreneur, said he also has known and interacted with Kelley for nearly 30 years. Their two sons attended Paul Quinn College together.
“He’s not scared to take a risk,” Pitre said of Kelley. “He’s very sharp and knows what he is doing.”
Pitre said he was not disappointed when he had the opportunity to visit Kitchen + Kocktails’ sites in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., soon after they opened.
He, Beckwith, and Dr. Davis all praised Kelley as an ideal father, family man, and role model. They each said they expect the entrepreneur to own 20 or more restaurant and entertainment facilities over the next half-decade or so.
“He is truly about business, and I can see him continue to grow and own real estate enterprises all over America,” Pitre predicted.
