Meet Ebony Williams | Flavors of the Isle – Restaurant Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ebony Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ebony, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think, risk taking is subjective. Risk taking is based off your life experiences or preferences, ideologies or beliefs. Everybody’s level of risk taking is different. So we should never based our risk taking off of someone else’s experience, only our own experience. I have taken a lot of risk in life simply because I had no choice. It was either take the risk or staying in a place in life where I’m not satisfied or have the inability to grow. So I decided to take the risk based off my own life’s experiences. I’m happy I took risks. As a black woman, from the inner city of Detroit, Michigan, I’ve experienced so much because of taking risks.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Well, I’ve been cooking ever since I was a kid. It’s my passion and who I am. As a little girl my mother would take me to the neighborhood library once a week. One day at the library I discovered The Betty Crocker’s cookbook. I was so excited to make a dish out of that cookbook, I asked my mom to make Sunday’s dinner. Sunday’s dinner was a big deal in our household and I wanted to take on the challenge. My mother allowed me to cook Sunday’s dinner, I was so excited! I cooked pot roast and roast vegetables. It was just one of my worst meals ever made as a child. But cooking still fascinated me. After school, I would watch Chinese Chef Martin Yan and lydia’s Italian Kitchen on PBS and no one couldn’t tell me I wasn’t a Chinese or an Italian chef. Although my mother‘s pantry was not filled with Chinese or Italian ingredients, I would substitute ingredients, this allowed me to be creative but resulting in some of the worst dishes ever made by a ten-year-old. As I grew into a young lady life through its curveballs and I became a teen mom and homeless. However, I was blessed to finish high school and go to culinary art school. My goal was to become a world, renowned chef but God had other plans. I ended up in a 20 year career in Information Technology. This career paid the bills and took care of my children. Throughout the years I always cooked for family and friends and started an at home catering company call Flavors Of The Isle, which is me on a plate. After focusing on raising my family, I retired from IT in 2019 to focus on my culinary business full-time. What I didn’t know, COVID-19 was around the corner. I am blessed to say that COVID-19 did not stop the business. We pivot from being an only catering company to a ghost kitchen, with online ordering and pick up. This change saved the business and allowed us to open our first brick and mortar, Restaurant and Bar, located in the heart of Cincinnati’s tourist district Findlay Market. Although I’ve been in business for 10 years now I feel like we just getting started and I’m looking forward to the future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Cincinnati is a very unique city and have plenty of interesting options to eat, drink, visit, and hang out. The first place I would take my friend is to the downtown neighborhood Over The Rhine, where my business is located. We will start right across the street from my restaurant at Findlay Market to have a caramel latte with extra caramel at Urbana Cafe. Then we’ll head inside of the market and get the ‘Not Yo Country Club’ with extra aïoli breakfast sandwich from Em’s Bread. As we take out time to explore all the unique merchants at the market, we would end up on the outdoor terrace to watch all the excitement while eating breakfast. Then we’ll have a cocktail at one of the Findlay Market’s outdoor bars and later catch a ride on the city’s free, air-conditioned or heated, depending on the weather, trolley to shop at the many unique mom and pop shops in Over the Rhine. I’m for sure we have to go home and take a nap. Then after we nap, for dinner I’ll take my friend to the Vinoklet Winery & Restaurant, located right here in the city of Cincinnati.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first shoutout has to go to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He has, bless me and kept me beyond I could ever imagine and gotten me to this point in life. Shoutout to my parents for allow me to be creative and teaching me right from wrong. Shoutout to my four boys, William, D’Mil, Charles and Preston and their wives for putting in the countless hours to help me build this business into what it is today. I shoutout my brother Quentin, my sister Tanya AKA Pooh, and all my family and friends for all the love and support, I love y’all. A big shoutout to the following organizations for mentorship and support: The Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative (GCMI), Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati | Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati Museum Center, The City of Cincinnati, Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Findlay Market, Model Group, Huntington Bank and the SBA, thank you!

Website: https://flavorsoftheisle.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flavorsoftheisle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flavorsoftheisle

Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/flavors-of-the-isle-cincinnati