Surely, you’ve heard many of your close friends and relatives say that it is hard to find good food in Natchez, Mississippi or they are sick of eating the same things from the same places. Variety seems to be the beckoning cry in a town that still seems to be a food mecca.
When it comes to the competitive Natchez restaurant world, it still seems that there is enough room for another restaurant, especially one where the food is made with love. Experienced chef and new Cafe owner, Virginia Latrease Williams – Perry is offering exactly that at her newly opened restaurant – Kia’s Café which she named after her daughter, the youngest of her five children.
The Expertise
Being raised in the south, Natchez to be specific – Chef Virginia learned to cook at the age of seven and has fallen in love with it all the way until now.
“At the age of seven I loved cornbread, and my grandmother would make me cornbread every day. That’s all I wanted to eat. So, she taught me how to make cornbread, and whenever she was in the kitchen, I was right there with her, and whatever she prepared I learned. She taught me how to bake homemade cinnamon rolls and how to cook anything from scratch.” The chef explained.
Chef Virginia said that as she grew up, she voluntarily took on the responsibility of cooking daily for her mother and her two siblings. “My mother worked long hours, and I made it my responsibility to cook every day for my siblings. I also wanted to ensure that my mother had something to eat when she got home. I know some children at that age would think this as a burden, but I loved it.” She said.
“I love cooking! Cooking for me shows my affection towards my family and friends. If things are not going my way, or if I get upset about something, I go to the kitchen, and this makes me feel better. Cooking is a form of love. To me cooking is not work. I can be tired, but if they say they want something to eat, I go into that kitchen, and it’s done.” Virginia profoundly expressed.
After finishing high school, Virginia went to Copiah Lincoln and earned certification in Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Management. Later she got a job at Café LaSalle which was located in the Eola Hotel, and she soon became the kitchen manager. She then left there for more money and took a position with Burger King as an assistant manager and after six months became the general manager and got her own store which she managed for about six years. She was a cook at Shoney’s, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and after that she started selling plates out of her own kitchen. Virginia got up every day like it was a normal job and started prepping as early as 4:00 a.m. and sold food until 3:00 p.m. daily. “That was very lucrative. People loved my food! I had people to drive from Vicksburg and Woodville every day for lunch to come eat my food.” Chef Virginia recalled.
The Process
For the past eight years Chef Virginia lived in Savanna Georgia. While there, she worked as the department manager at Walmart’s Deli /Bakery and general manager for Pizza Hut. As faith would have it, Virginia decided to move back home to Natchez after being out of work for an entire year due to a serious injury she got while on the job and a divorce.
One day while driving around Natchez with her friend he said to her, “You cook really good, why don’t you open your own restaurant and I know the perfect place, “but she ignored him. He never stopped encouraging her. In fact, he was so persistent he kept telling her he saw her with a specific building and showed it to her. To shut him up she promised him that she would check it out and she did.
She found out that Mr. Carter owned the building, and he told her that there were several other people who came before her who were also interested, and he must get back to them first, but it was okay for her to come by and look. Chef Virginia said, “I went and checked it out, but before I did, I prayed and asked the Lord if it’s meant for me to do this, let me be able to get this building. I met with Mr. Carter, and he told me he feels that I would be the best fit for the building, and he gave it to me that same evening.”
After getting the building Virginia’s next prayer was, “Lord if I am not making a mistake, I pray this prayer all the way to Bank of America in Jackson MS, because we don’t have one here. And Lord if I can’t get my money out, I am okay with that too, because Lord you know I am scared.”
When she got back to Georgia, she wasn’t ten minutes in the bank before she got her money out. Her friend also told her that he believed in her so much that whatever she didn’t have he would make sure he would get it. Together they remodeled the building to make it look like something that represents Chef Virginia’s style. “I wanted it to have an ambiance that is family friendly and inviting, a place that you can bring your grandmother or the entire family to and have a Sunday meal.” The chef expressed.
On Thursday June 8, 2023, Kia’s Café opened and the reality of it brought tears to the eyes of the newest restaurateur in Natchez. “I cried because it has been a rough time since the pandemic, my divorce, the injury, and to see where the Lord has brought me to is truly a blessing only he can give. The friends that held me up, encouraged me, my family who I missed so much while away were there and the reality of having my own restaurant overwhelmed me.” She said crying again.
The Cuisine
When you go into Kia’s Café this writer recommends that you order the ‘Wife Me Up Salmon’. The legacy of this dish is that whomever you buy this pasta dish for, when they taste it, they are going to ask you to marry them. It is so good that after eating it, the thought of being married to the chef swiftly crossed my mind. You can also try the Magnolia State pasta, Blackened Catfish pasta, Chicken and Sausage Pasta and the Taste of Savanna Pasta, which is a seafood pasta, just to name a few. Make no mistake however, it is not a pasta parlor. Chef Latrese describes her restaurant as a moms and pops diner where you get down home dishes you crave for. “We are not fast food, we are fresh food,” and added, “Your food is prepared fresh when you order.”
The burgers at Kia’s Café are not small. As a matter of fact, one of the burgers was called ‘The Sleepy Burger’ because when you eat it you want to sleep. It is now called “Kia’s Signature Burger.”
As far as the price range is concerned Chef Latrease explains that she is an everyday person and she doesn’t always have, so when customers are nice enough to patronize Kia’s Café, she wants them to get what they pay for. “To often you go out to eat and the pricing doesn’t match the portion, I don’t want that at my restaurant. Satisfaction guaranteed!” She exclaimed.
In closing, Chef Latrease wants everyone to look at Kia’s café as an experience, and not like you coming into an establishment. I want you to look at Kia’s Café as if you are coming home to your mama’s kitchen where you can get a homemade meal made with love and where the food reminds you of your childhood.
You can dine in or carry out. Open 5am – 10 pm daily. Kia’s Café is located at 317 Dr. Martin Luther King Street, Natchez, MS across from Circle A Gas Station. Call today for Lunch or dinner 769-355-2003.
