Meet Donnie and Dr. Dayna Morgan | Co-Owners, Kitchen Strong

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donnie and Dr. Dayna Morgan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donnie and Dr. Dayna, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We wanted to create a business that we were passionate about and that also was reflective of our culture and experiences. That lead us to the kitchen. The kitchen to us is a safe haven place where family and friends strengthen bonds over time. This is the place where we often start and end our days. When we have social gatherings, people always migrate to the kitchen as a place for socializing and laughter. Our desire was to have our business mirror those experiences, which led us to create a line of kitchen essentials that are strong, beautiful and timeless. The other goal to starting our own business was to develop products that are a part of every day life. We would shop and not find multifunctional pieces that could serve as both decor in the kitchen and have practical use. Our goal was to have products that elevated the customers experience in their home – a piece of our kitchen extending to the homes of people everywhere. We love that our products can be the base (cutting boards) or focal point (serving boards) to meals and entertaining.

We wanted to start our own business to create a family legacy. As a married couple, we also “married” our passions together to create something that we are proud of and that can continue to grow.
What should our readers know about your business?
Description of Brand:

Kitchen Strong, a family-owned business, is a premium lifestyle kitchen essentials brand. Our high-quality kitchen essentials provide the best experience in both preparing and serving your food in style. The company was founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife duo, Donnie and Dayna. They desired to have kitchenware that was multifunctional and stylish. Therefore, they created the KS collection, which was uniquely curated to offer exceptional kitchen essentials that enhance cooking and entertainment experiences.

Kitchen Strong (KS) essentials include cutting, serving, as well as charcuterie/cheese boards. Our boards are uniquely designed as multifunctional, meaning they can be used to prepare and serve your picture worthy food. KS essentials are made from premium wood or high-quality bamboo that is strong enough to withstand repeated use. In fact, KS essentials are designed to last for many years. The natural variations in the wood and marble used for KS boards makes each piece one of a kind. However, we do hand select boards with less natural imperfections. Oh, we can’t forget about our KS conditioner – handmade with natural food-safe ingredients. Our kitchen essentials will add to the décor and appeal of any kitchen and entertainment space. Kitchen Strong boards are truly a point of presentation for any meal at home or event.

How Kitchen Strong Started:

During one of our walks, we brainstormed different ideas, and we decided we wanted to create something that truly reflected our lifestyle and was useful, practical, and elegant. We thought, We love to cook, we have “strong” cooking skills, and we love to entertain at home. Then BOOM, Kitchen Strong was born – a lifestyle kitchen essentials brand.

The Kitchen Strong brand is reflective of both our lifestyles. Donnie as a healthy lifestyle content creator, who shows his YouTube followers how to prepare healthy flavorful meals using high quality multifunctional cutting boards. Dr. Dayna, who loves to entertain at home and was always looking for modern stylish serving boards or trays. Therefore, we decided to create a line that included kitchen essentials we needed and always wanted.

Where we are:

The last two years involved a lot of hard work and many times sacrifices. We are super proud of launching the brand and watching the growth each month. We have launched new products and have been exposed to new markets. We love working expos where we get to meet our customers. We are very proud to be a Black owned brand and a contributor to kitchen luxury for all.

Challenges:

Like many business owners, we encounter a lot of challenges, but with the pandemic things are even more challenging with shipping delays and prices. We have big dreams and goals for Kitchen Strong, and we want to do it all, but then we remember that we are building, which also means financially LOL, so we have to be patient.

For Dayna, she still works a full-time job, so time is limited. Also, as a married couple in business, it is important that we create boundaries and are not always working, but since we are both very ambitious, creating that balance is an ongoing challenge for us.

Goal:

We aim for Kitchen Strong to be a household name and the go to company for kitchen and dining essentials. Our brand was created out of our passion to bring people together and have premium kitchen essentials that can be the focal point of gatherings. Kitchen Strong products are the foundation of these gatherings.

Starting with a nice, beautiful board is the perfect base for your food. The boards and trays tell your guests an effort was made. Also, our boards are multifunctional so you can use them to prep your food and serve it, thus making your hosting experience easier. The products are also décor, eliminating the need for a ton of items on your table – clean simple looks are in style. Lastly, who doesn’t love luxury. Our essentials add a right amount of luxury to any gathering.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We love Atlanta. When our friends come to visit we take them to some of our favorite breakfast places including Atlanta Breakfast Club, Breakfast at Barneys, and Toast on Lenox. We also like to add in a winery visit and go to Chateau elan for wine tasting and dinner. For lunch or dinner our favorites include Parkers on Ponce in downtown Decatur, Houstons, Two Urban Licks, Iberian pig, or Pappadeux. For drinks we love to go to the James Room on the belt line, Bar Vegan in Ponce City Market and a hidden gem called Parlor on Peter Street. Depending on the guest, we visit the aquarium, coke cola, centennial park, and MLK’s home. We also hang out on the belt line, the outlet mall, Inman Park, Ponce City Market, Piedmont Park, and Atlantic station. The spirit of Atlanta is great and is best showcased at the sporting events.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would like to dedicate this shout out to our grandparents and parents. It is because of them that we were introduced to the love of cooking and expressing love for others through hosting dinners in the home. It is because of their sacrifices and encouragement that we received advanced educational opportunities to lead us to our careers and then to be business owners. We are also thankful for other entrepreneurs that inspire us through their unofficial social media mentorship.

Website: www.KSKitchenStrong.com

Instagram: KSKitchenStrong

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kskitchenstrong?lang=en

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/kskitchenstrong/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2hG0SjsyaIkYO3khKYDJTg

Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Kskitchenstrong/