A Black family in the Bronx neighborhood of City Island has made history by owning the first-ever Black-owned restaurant in the area.
Seafood Kingz 2 was opened by Darryl Lelie and his family. They celebrated the event with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Deputy Borough President Janet Peguero.
Darryl’s son and general manager, Derell Lelie, his wife Catrina Lelie and the restaurant’s other general managers, Thomas Booker and Charles Dewindt, were also in attendance.
“This is what Black excellence is all about,” Gibson told the Bronx Times. “It’s very significant that we’re doing this during the celebration of Black History Month because so many Black Americans have paved the way for all of us to be here.
Lelie has been in the restaurant business for two decades. As indicated by the title, he previously opened his first Seafood Kingz restaurant in September 2019. That restaurant was opened on Linden Boulevard in Queens and survived the pandemic. The business flourished so much that the Lelie family was able to open up a second location.
“There’ll be some hard things happening along the way, being a small business owner and working with multiple city agencies. But I want you to remember this day. I want you to remember this opening. I want you to remember the vision that you created. Don’t let anyone take that from you.”
Local resident, Shariea “MC Heavyn” Perry, also attended the grand opening.
“Six years ago, there were not a lot of African Americans there,” Perry told the news outlet. “But through the years, it’s been more welcoming and more accepting to us.”
Customers are encouraged to try the Lelie’s signature fried fish, shrimp and chicken combo or his mother Catrina’s “famous banana pudding.”
“We give them an avenue to have some of their own food, with the things that they love. So you get your seafood with the soul food trimmings. You can’t copy it up here, you know, you can’t imitate it. This is the real soulful stuff,” said Lelie.
