KiasKitchen_cincy

KiasKitchen_cincy 🍽️ Cooking with care, creativity & intention
✨ Food, stories & systems that nourish
📍Cincinnati | Kia’s Kitchen LLC
🤍 Built slow. Built honest. Built to last.

I waited a few days to share this because I wanted to sit with the moment first.Saturday night, I had the honor of servi...
08/05/2026

I waited a few days to share this because I wanted to sit with the moment first.

Saturday night, I had the honor of serving Attorney Ben Crump, Derrick Johnson, and their colleagues. They trusted my menu recommendations, and I described the halibut so well that five out of six ordered it. The sixth said he did not want to be a copycat—but I know he wanted that halibut too. 😂

Mr. Crump finished his quickly, looked up, gave me a thumbs-up, and said:

“Queen, you know what you’re talking about. This right here is amazing.”

When one of the gentlemen asked my name, I gave a humorous introduction:

“My name is Kia—like the car, but a better model and less mileage.”

He was so tickled that he had me repeat it to several people. By the end of the night, Mr. Crump shook my hand, called my service phenomenal, and exchanged contact information with me.

The experience felt even more meaningful knowing that Attorney Crump is currently representing the family of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old whose death following a Fourth of July boat trip has raised painful and still-unanswered questions. His family is seeking truth, transparency, and justice.

There was something deeply humbling about feeding and caring for people who spend their lives advocating for families during some of their most painful moments. Hospitality may look simple from the outside, but feeding someone who is fighting for justice felt sacred to me.

Today, I could not wait to tell my 95-year-old Uncle Clarence because moments like this make him so proud. He shared more stories about my grandparents’ restaurant, The Grand, which became a popular stop for Black celebrities during the Jim Crow era. According to our family history, Jackie Robinson and Nat King Cole were among those who came through—and Grandma’s sweet potato pie was worth rushing from the hotel to get. ❤️
If my grandparents were here, I know they would be proud.

I am deeply grateful to have been blessed with opportunities to serve influential people, but I am even more grateful to recognize that excellent hospitality did not begin with me. It has been flowing through my family for generations.

I delivered that excellence at my job Saturday night, and I look forward to serving people with that same warmth, quality, humor, and care through Kia’s Kitchen.

I did not chase access. I delivered excellence—and access introduced itself.

08/01/2026

🟣💜🟣💜🟣💜🟣💜🟣

08/01/2026

Purple Reign: Recognizing Royalty When It Appears

This year, I planted something different.

I planted cucumbers, and they grew more abundantly than I expected. The vines stretched, the blossoms multiplied, and after every storm, the fruit seemed to grow larger.

That harvest inspired my first recipe for the Kia’s

Kitchen relaunch:
Purple Reign Pickles.

Then, at the exact moment I was preparing to tell that story, Cincinnati filled with a sea of royal purple and gold.

Thousands of Black men arrived in the Queen City, united through brotherhood, scholarship, perseverance, service, and uplift.

And I felt God showing me something much bigger than a timely recipe.
For months, I have watched a troubling war unfold online—Black men declaring that Black women have no value and Black women saying the same about Black men.

Pain is being packaged as truth.

Disappointment is being presented as doctrine.
And the worst examples of us are being used to define all of us.

But I do not believe that narrative.

There are good Black women.

There are good Black men.

There are Black men who are loving, disciplined, educated, generous, faithful, creative, protective, joyful, and committed to meaningful work. They are not imaginary. They are not extinct. They may not always be the loudest people on our timelines, but they exist in abundance.

And this weekend, I could see them.

Not because every individual wearing purple is perfect, but because the collective image interrupted the lie.

I saw brotherhood.
I saw legacy.
I saw joy.

I saw men greeting one another with affection and respect. I saw generations gathering together. I saw Black men filling hotels, restaurants, sidewalks, and meeting spaces—not with chaos, but with celebration, purpose, and fellowship.

I saw royalty when it appeared.

Scripture says that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And what better way to destroy a people than to convince the men and women that they are enemies?

What better way to weaken families than to make healthy love feel impossible?

What better way to steal hope than to show us the worst of one another repeatedly until we no longer recognize the good?

But Scripture also says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

Black men are not my enemy.

Black women are not the enemy.

The enemy is the lie that says we cannot love, build, heal, parent, create, worship, prosper, and rise together.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.

So I will not use my platform to help tear the house down.

I will talk honestly about dysfunction. I will expose narcissistic family systems. I will speak about abuse, abandonment, poor choices, generational trauma, and the wounds we inflict upon one another.

But I will not mistake accountability for hatred.
I will not turn personal pain into collective condemnation.
I will not surrender my hope.

This Purple Reign reminded me that storms do not always destroy what has been planted. Sometimes they water it.
And perhaps the same God who allowed me to witness abundance growing in my garden was reminding me to look up and recognize another kind of abundance standing all around me.

Our men are valuable.
Our women are valuable.
Our families are worth healing.

Our children deserve a better story than the gender war we inherited.
And the devil will not win by convincing us to hate one another.

Not if we recognize the lie.
Not if we choose healing.
Not if we remember who we are.

Royalty recognizes royalty. 💜👑

08/01/2026

Purple Reign: A Story About Planting Differently
by Likia Christine

This year, I decided to plant something different.
Cucumbers.

I had no idea they would grow the way they did. The vines stretched farther than I expected, the blossoms kept appearing, and almost every time the rain came, I walked outside to find another cucumber growing larger on the vine.

What began as a small experiment became abundance.

Before long, I started calling myself the Queen of Cucumbers, and from that harvest came the idea for my first Kia’s Kitchen pickle recipe:

Purple Reign.
Garlicky. Spicy. A little sweet. Filled with red onions that slowly transform the entire jar.

Then, almost on cue, Cincinnati became flooded with royal purple and gold.

Thousands of Black men arrived downtown for the Omega Psi Phi Grand Conclave—men connected by brotherhood, scholarship, perseverance, leadership, service, and uplift.

Kings.

And as I watched them walking through Fountain Square, filling the hotels, gathering in fellowship, stepping in unity, and carrying generations of history with them, I could not ignore the metaphor.
I planted something different, and a different kind of abundance appeared.

Not just in my garden—but around me.

For a long time, I planted from survival. I poured into places that could not nourish me. I repeated cycles because they were familiar. I stayed hidden while wondering why opportunity could not find me.

But lately, I have been planting new seeds.

Confidence.
Boundaries.
Visibility.
Purpose.
Collaboration.
Faith.

And now I am watching the harvest begin to show itself.

The cucumbers remind me that growth often starts where nobody can see it. Roots form underground long before fruit appears above the soil.

They also remind me that storms do not always destroy the garden.
Sometimes, they water it.
And perhaps that is why this moment feels so powerful. At the very time I am reclaiming my identity as a woman, entrepreneur, creator, and queen, I am surrounded by images of Black brotherhood, legacy, and royalty.

Purple everywhere.
A Purple Reign in my kitchen.

A Purple Reign in the streets.

And maybe a reminder from God that when you become intentional about what you plant, you must also prepare yourself for what may suddenly begin to grow.

The Queen of Cucumbers is paying attention.
And this time, I intend to steward the harvest well. 👑💜🥒

07/31/2026

Whew, lawd—the timing! 💜🤣

I am developing Purple Reign Pickles for the Kia’s Kitchen relaunch just as Omega Psi Phi brings approximately 30,000 members, families, and visitors into downtown Cincinnati for its Grand Conclave.

I work near Fountain Square and the convention center, so I am surrounded by purple, gold, stepping, packed hotels, heavy traffic, business opportunities—and perhaps a few handsome networking prospects. 👀😂
Meanwhile, my cucumber vines are outside working overtime.
Purple Reign Pickles: garlicky, spicy, a little sweet, and apparently right on schedule. 👑🥒

07/31/2026

The timing could not be more perfect! 💜👑🥒

I have been in the Kia’s Kitchen test kitchen developing my first pickle recipe for the relaunch—Purple Reign Pickles: garlicky, spicy, a little sweet, and layered with red onions.

And now Omega Psi Phi has brought its 85th Grand Conclave to Cincinnati, with approximately 30,000 members, families, and visitors painting downtown purple and gold! The surrounding hotels are packed, traffic is thick, and because I work near Fountain Square and the convention center, I am right in the middle of the stepping, strolling, fellowship, and celebration. 😍💜💛

Meanwhile, my cucumber vines are producing like they received the conclave itinerary themselves.

Talk about divine marketing alignment. 😂

As I relaunch Kia’s Kitchen, I am becoming more intentional about recognizing opportunity when it arrives—whether it is inspiration, content, customers, collaborators, mentors, friendships…or perhaps an eligible gentleman with good credit, emotional intelligence, and a healthy appreciation for pickles. 👀🤣

For now, I am taking notes, making connections, enjoying the energy, and preparing for the official reign of:

👑 PURPLE REIGN PICKLES
Garlicky. Spicy. Slightly sweet. Unapologetically royal.

Cincinnati is purple this weekend—and apparently, so is my product development. 💜🥒

07/30/2026

God has been in every uniform, every room, every lesson and every level. 🔥

Before I ever stood in front of a camera as the face of Kia’s Kitchen, I was learning how to serve.

I learned how to read a room.
How to anticipate a need.
How to create an experience.
How to recover when things went wrong.
How to remain gracious under pressure.
How to make people feel seen.

Every uniform represented another season of preparation.

I wasn’t “just serving.”

I was learning hospitality, leadership, storytelling, sales, emotional intelligence, resilience and the art of making an ordinary moment memorable.

I have been serving.
I have been learning.
I have been elevating.
And now, I am building everything I learned into a brand of my own.

That final picture is not the end of the transformation.

It is where I am right now—standing in the fullness of what has already been developed while preparing for what comes next.

Because Kia’s Kitchen is more than food.

It is hospitality.
It is storytelling.
It is laughter.
It is healing.
It is service.

Cook. Laugh. Heal. Grow.

And when that countdown begins?

Just know I’m not counting down to disappear.

I’m counting down to launch. 🚀🔥

Five…

07/23/2026

Apparently, I’m the Queen of Cucumbers now. 😂👑

A few seeds, some sunshine, one good thunderstorm—and suddenly my cucumber vines are nearly seven feet tall and producing faster than I can say, “Who wants pickles?”

But this jar represents more than a garden harvest.
After years away from Kia’s Kitchen, I’m returning to my test kitchen with fresh ideas, a clearer vision, and a deeper story to tell.
I’m cooking again—literally and figuratively—turning what I’ve grown into recipes, content, products, and new possibilities.
First up: Purple Reign Pickles 💜

Crisp cucumbers layered with fresh garlic, red onion, heat, and just enough sweetness to make the flavors sing. Bold, colorful, a little spicy—and clearly deserving of a royal name.

This is what Kia’s Kitchen is becoming: food with personality, recipes with stories, and proof that something beautiful can grow when you tend to it consistently.

The crown may be imaginary, but these cucumbers are very real. 👑🥒

Cook. Laugh. Heal. Grow.

Would you try Purple Reign—and do you like your pickles sweet, spicy, garlicky, or all three?

A picture is worth a thousand words... and this one feels like a new chapter. 💜One of the unexpected gifts from Black Te...
07/17/2026

A picture is worth a thousand words... and this one feels like a new chapter. 💜
One of the unexpected gifts from Black Tech Week was receiving complimentary professional headshots, and I couldn't be more grateful. The timing couldn't have been better.
As I relaunch Kia's Kitchen LLC, I'm not just refreshing a logo or updating a website—I'm stepping into the next version of myself.
My shirt says it all:
Cook. Laugh. Heal. Grow.
Those aren't just words on fabric. They've become the foundation of my life and my business.
I cook to nourish. I laugh because joy is medicine. I heal by sharing my story. And I grow by saying yes to opportunities that once intimidated me.
Here's to showing up, embracing new seasons, and allowing the world to meet the woman I've been becoming all along.
Thank you, Black Tech Week, for investing in entrepreneurs like me. This smile is genuine... and this is only the beginning. ✨💜

The cucumbers have officially taken over. 🥒😂What started as a few seeds has turned into enough cucumbers for a giant jar...
07/17/2026

The cucumbers have officially taken over. 🥒😂
What started as a few seeds has turned into enough cucumbers for a giant jar of homemade pickles—with another harvest already growing behind this one.
As concerns rise around foodborne illnesses linked to fresh produce, this garden is reminding me why learning to grow and preserve food matters. Homegrown does not mean risk-free, and proper washing, sanitation and safe preparation still matter. But growing food gives us something valuable: a closer connection to its source and greater participation in how it is handled.
Self-sustainability is not about pretending we will never need a grocery store again. It is about reclaiming skills many families once depended on—growing, preserving, cooking and reducing waste.
These cucumbers are becoming pickles, but they are also becoming part of the Kia’s Kitchen story: food, wellness, education and a little comedy because apparently my cucumber vines have opened a wholesale department. 😂💚
From seed to soil. From soil to story. From story to the table.

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Northbend Road
Cincinnati, OH
45224

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