Meet Joy Willis | Co-Owner/Operator of K&J Seafood

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

Hi Joy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Keyona and I both had a personal need and desire for something new and we saw an opening in the market. We have been best friends for 20+ years and decided to take our friendship one step further and go into business together.

Keyona spent most of her 20s living in the south and during this time developed a love for seafood boils. She quickly noticed there was no place to get this type of food back home. I’ve always loved to cook and loved a good food challenge so through my many visits to the south with Keyona, I mastered a recipe for the perfect “crab boil”.

Once Keyona returned home to Cincinnati we thought after hosting seafood boils for fun for friends and family “what if we turned this into a business?” We both continued out careers in corporate America while starting K&J “Seafood Sundays” on the weekends. Needless to say, they were a HIT! Each week we introduced a new Louisiana or K&J inspired dish that customers loved more than the last.

Within a few months, we knew this was “Gods Plan” and began making plans for a Brick and Mortar location. We both left our full-time jobs and with much blood, sweat, and tears K&J Seafood was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We set ourselves apart from other restaurants because of the passion we put in our dishes. When we created K&J Seafood we we were tapping into a market that was unfamiliar with seafood boils and we wanted to be the 1st to introduce them. Now after 4 years in business there are places that sell seafood boils all over Cincinnati. Good thing for us we never wanted to stop just there – we crafted a full menu on day 1 that was so heavily immersed in classic Cajun flavors that we’ve always been in a league of our own.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Richies Chicken and Soul – the best fried chicken in the city 

Chef Nem to Go – the best fast casual food in a to go setting

Treehouse Patio Bar – always a vibe especially in the summer

Nostalgia Wine and Jazz Bar – great drinks and even better vibes

All black owned

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We want to give a shout out to our village which includes our husbands, children, family and close friends. They have supported us in so many ways since the very beginning and never doubted our mission or abilities even when we doubted ourselves. THANK YOU

Website: Www.kjseafood.com

Instagram: K_jseafood_

Facebook: K&J Seafood Co