Today we’d like to introduce you to Addie Ola.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Came to Houston as a fresh graduate. With no prospect of a job or income, I gave away everything I couldn’t fit in my car because the thought of spending another moment in Chicago’s weather was not going to happen. 12 hours after graduation I left my whole world behind because I had blind faith that Houston was where I was going to figure out my purpose.
I needed a place of my own and biochemistry jobs weren’t exactly lining up. I got a job as a digital rep onboarding and assisting ppl with Obama Care. After my first paycheck, I got a cute unique apartment hidden in the back roads of Dairy Ashford st. It was a cute 60s style boutique loft Apartment.
After a couple of month in Houston, I almost lost my life in a car accident. I lost my job, and I was a patient in outpatient rehab and physical therapy for about 1 year. Once I was able to work, I finally landed a lab job. I applied for an lab assistant job, but the owner of the lab was impressed with by my transcript, my scientific publications and internship experience. He offered me a certifying scientist job. A certifying scientist is a Scientist that Quantify your drug test results and certify that everything is correct. I worked my way up in the company learned everything i could about starting, managing, and overall operations of a lab. This knowledge landed me a job starting up my own lab. After 18 months, I was tired of lab work and moved back to Houston.
I have actually moved out and back to Houston 3 times. Its like a magnet that pulls me right back. I was an artist at heart. When I was younger I won multiple NAACP award metals in drawing and painting, and 4 place in Singing. Grow up to be Nigerian Artist, what is art? lol my daddy was not going to support me as an artist, so I sold my soul for a lab coat.
At 26 I was Assistant lab director and I couldn’t grow any further without a PhD. I finally got enough courage to make a career change into health IT. I am still running from being a broke artist at this point and this was a fun distraction. My knowledge of software I learned as an intern with the USDA, was what got me a consulting job traveling all over the world. I still wasn’t happy, all I had was more money but not one single joy in my professional life.
So how do i fix this? Blogging. While in uni, I blogged about fashion so I went back to that. When I blogged, I sometimes post my food and one day one of my friends asked to post more tutorials. That was when Addie’s Kitchen came about.
I begin to post less me and more food. I have been cooking since I was 7 so I was a natural. My mom wasn’t the best cook. Sorry mommy! Lol so I learn by watching my friend’s moms, and aunties, watching my sister Olawumi. After I watched them I would go back and create the taste again. I have amazing flavor memory. The more I cooked and posted the more i loved it. I was able to combine my natural talent with my creative mind to create new flavors. Now I was juggling all this along with working full time. Someone had to fund my hobbies and food isn’t cheap.
As my blog grew Everyone kept requesting for me to open a restaurant, but I wasn’t ready so I started Conversations with Chef Addie Dinner parties and High Tea with Chef Addie outdoor brunch. I had my first major food event at a mansion previously owned my Chingy the rapper now currently own by a good friend. This was for Nigerian Independence day. We sold tickets and VIP tables, bottle service and a open bar. We sold out! I loved the experience so much!
This was the first time I saw my path clearly. I want to mainstream Nigerian cuisine in the same way Caribbean food as be accepted into Culinary Industry. I wanted to turn on food network and see African food show.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I stop consulting and got a remote job, Which allowed me to really explore and push my art. 15 months later I lost my job and instead of going back into the world of consulting, everything fiber in my bone was tired of suppressing my artistic side decided to open a cloud kitchen.
I used every penny i had to make this happen, it actually cost me more than I was told. For the first time in my life I was betting on myself and going for it with every fiber in my body. After all the challenges I faced with opening my own restaurant 2 months in and man it is hard work. I believe I have the first Nigerian/ African restaurant in the 3rd ward, I am running a one-person shop right now and everything is made fresh because we are fresh kitchen. Everything is made to order and we have 5 star on yelp. I need an assistant badly, but I am pushing on until I find the right fit.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I graduated high school and I was dropped off at college and I was basically on my own. I worked and paid for college myself so that degree I was very determined to use. I used it for about 5 years until I couldn’t take no windows anymore.
3months before I graduated, I didn’t have a job lined up no interviews no future income. I wanted to move to houston So badly that I only applied for jobs in Tx. My degree out of state so it was very hard. I prayed. For 1 week straight! Every day after class, I would pray that something just fall on my lap. 2 weeks later my cousin called me and invited me to stay with her while I figure it out. I was going to move into my sister’s place with or without an invitation but having her invite felt amazing. I didn’t feel like a burden. I am not lazy so I figured out the job within 2 weeks. This allowed me to save money, and I only stayed with her for 3 weeks. Idk I have a thing about being in my own space, it an artist thing.
After I graduated, I worked with Obama Care so that I could get my own place. When I moved into my first apartment I had just a bed and bar stools. See I started to furnish my apartment by buying bar stools, and a bed room set. I am not social with my private space, so I know no one was coming over I bought a bed first. Nothing in there, just fabulous fashion, bar stools and A bed. So anyone out here reading this and you are in the same situation an apartment with just a bed. Run your race baby, it ok to have a starting point.
I got in a car accident in 2013 my car flipped 6 times from the speeding lane to the feeder road. Crazy thing is the guy was never charged with even a ticket! My life flashed before my eyes as I begged God to kill me already as the car won’t stop flipping. I could not work anymore for a very long time. so the furniture would have to wait I could barely walk and my spine was injured badly.
With full-back pain and body pain that I still Experience I am running my restaurant as the only employee. Opening the kitchen was actually the most stressful experience I ever had. I had no income and what should have taken 4 weeks processing by the cloud kitchen took 3 months. I was still charged me rent and utilities that I didn’t use because of their delay. The issue was not my fault and there wasn’t anything i would have done but wait. When the process was completed, before I could sale even a grain of rice, after building a commercial kitchen from the ground up, I still had to pay close to 10k just so they could turn on my system.
So before I could actually make a dime I was in a huge hole. My just in case fund was used up and all the profit from my first supply was going to that.
In order to open, the only solution was to pay them weekly. So every week for 4 weeks I paid them the back rent and utilities i did not use. plus upcoming rent I had. I was too invested at this point my kitchen full built and there was no turning back. At the end of the day I ended up paying what I could have if I went out on my own from scratch.
As you know, we’re big fans of Addies Kitchen . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Addies Kitchen in an Afro-fusion Restaurant and the first of it kind as it is a ghost kitchen and located in downtown Houston in the 3rd ward. First Nigerian fusion restaurant in the area. What I am most proud of how Addies Kitchen has grown from selling food from my house to a restaurant. I started this brand 4 years ago from my apartment and today we are a restaurant. We are also a catering company providing service for both private and commercial catering. We do food pop show, food festivals, weddings and birthdays.
My second brand is Chef Addie. I am personal chef and even event cater in specializing in creating a restaurant style experience in your home, boat and vacation rental. My Services are ideal for bachelor/bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinners, micro weddings, birthdays, corporate events or casual night in with friends.
Currently Offering
plated dinners
family style or buffet service
small plate tastings
small bite soirées
Full meal events
brunch
Baby shower dessert station.
visit us on 2616 Blodgett street 3rd ward to dine with us. Also check us out on all your favorite food delivery services like Chownow, Ubereat, doordash and flipdish to order in our ghost kitchens
Restaurants : Addie’s kitchen and J’ouvert by chef addie, Chic’n Peri is coming soon.
Follow my Blog lifestyle food on IG Addie_ola
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I have the spirit of Houston. You know if you live here long enough there is a hustler spirit in the air. It is amazing and entrepreneur friendly. You can make anything happen here. Weather in winner beats Chicago. I hate the Traffic!!!
Contact Info:
- Email: addieskitchen01@gmail.com
- Website: http://addieskitchen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addie_ola/ | https://www.instagram.com/addiekitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/addieskitchentx
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/addieskitchen_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BibaBLeU
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/addie-s-kitchen-houston
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/addiekitchen/
