Today we’d like to introduce you to Shakelia Dixon.
Hi Shakelia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a happy wife and a proud mother of three children. I am a business owner of a food truck, and I am also in the medical field as a surgical technologist, in which I have been in the field for 20 years. All my life though I have always had two main interests and those 2 things were working in surgery and cooking. First let me tell you about my childhood life though of how I really got started in the kitchen. The first time I ever got started cooking was at the young age of 6 years old back in Monroe, Louisiana in my mother kitchen. I would always pull a chair up at the table to watch my mother prep and mix ingredients; then I would move the chair over to the stove and ask her questions like what she was cooking while I watched. It didn’t only stem from my mother kitchen also from my grandmother’s kitchen who lived in a little country town called Spearville; she was a wonderful old-school county cook.
I was so amazed at the different techniques that were being used in my mother and grandmother’s kitchen that it amazed me, and oh the smells that would be brewing out of their southern kitchen was so enticing. I was too enthused that I wanted my mother and my grandmother to teach me to cook. They first started letting me stir, then they started letting me add items in preparing the dish, and lastly, they gave me a recipe and said go for it! From there it’s been history, now here I am whipping up dishes that my mother and grandmother taught me how to cook and not only that, but putting a little Kela in the mixture. You may be wondering “Kela” in the mixture, Kela is my nickname that my family gave me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been a little bumpy coming into this business. It’s been a challenge that I was not sure at first if I could handle it. From building up my business to actually running it has been stressful. I had to learn to really prioritize because I can jump all over the place in a minute; let me tell you I had to relearn how to focus and refocus to get things in order so I can be successful. I had to fall on my knees and pray; I asked God to be with me on this journey because I did not realize that it was so much that I had to do just to run a food truck. God had to remind me that he is always with me and that I could do all things through Him because He has been the one to give me the strength to make it this far. With that being said, I take every struggle that I have had to deal with or will have to deal with as a hill that I have to climb in order to grow and be successful.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kela’s Soulfood N’ Grill Kitchen?
I am Shakelia Dixon. a food truck business owner. I am not in this business by myself; my husband, Lee Dixon, is also in this business with me as the co-owner. The name of our food truck is Kela’s Soulfood N’ Grill Kitchen, and we are a family-owned business that got started during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
As soon as I saw restaurants closing and some going out of business, I felt that it was my time to shine since a lot of restaurants had fell off the grid. I got in the kitchen preparing dishes and started selling plates giving many people that loved soul food that love right out of my kitchen. My husband had a bought a huge smoker trailer and told me that he was investing it into Kela’s kitchen. Every time I would ask my husband where he wanted food from, he would always tell me from “Kela’s Kitchen.” There’s that name “Kela’s Kitchen,” the name in which I really wanted my business to be, but it was sadly taken; therefore, Kela’s Soulfood N’ Grill Kitchen is what it was really meant to be because I have so much to offer from soul food to BBQ and everything else in between.
With our food truck we open up as a concession, we cater, and we also do special events to fit any need. Our food is made to give you a taste of Louisiana mixed with a taste of Texas. My youngest son Bridarrius who we call “Big B” helps us on the food truck, and he knows all my recipes, so I have made him chef. Some of our most popular food items that he helps out with is smoke meatloaf, shrimp n grits, collard greens, gouda mac and cheese, jambalaya n grill shrimps, hot water cornbread, gouda mac balls, that is just to name a few. My husband is my pit king, so he has that covered. Let’s not forget the sweets; we offer a variety of deserts like banana pudding, bread pudding, brownies, red velvet cake, pecan candy, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, and strawberry lemonade cake. We try to cover every area; we also cater to vegetarians and vegans. We have food that is good for all souls, the only way anyone can find out if they come get a taste of everything we have to offer.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
As I have been seeing how things have been progressing so far, I see us in the future having more food trucks expanding throughout the DFW metroplex and beyond, not only that but a brick-and-mortar. I was wanting to jump right off to doing a brick-and-mortar, but as I have been growing on this journey in this business, I am doing the right thing because the time is not now for me to be handing overhead cost and everything else that comes with it.
So somewhere around those 5 to 10 years, Kela’s Soulfood N’ Grill Kitchen will be bigger and better, giving DFW some of the best food and service that they have always been looking for in a brick-and-mortar.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kelas_soulfoodngrill
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kelassoulfoodngrillkitchen
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/kelas_sng_kit
Image Credits
SMD Photography
