Stance Podcast with Chrystal Genesis Ep. 73: Inside Kokomo w/ Ria and Kevol Graham on Caribbean Food and Hospitality
Ria and Kevol Graham join Chrystal Genesis for cocktails and conversation at Kokomo, their family-run, acclaimed Caribbean restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Partners in life and work, the couple talk about opening Kokomo just before the Covid pandemic and building a hospitality business while raising three children in New York City.
They discuss Caribbean food as layered and plural rather than singular, their approach to hospitality as an extension of family, and how community, multicultural identity, care, and creativity shape the Kokomo experience.
Ria and Kevol reflect on blending Caribbean heritage with New York life, developing a menu connected to memory and experimentation, creating a space that brings people together, and how hospitality can function as a form of cultural storytelling.
They also speak about the Kokomo Foundation and their fundraising efforts in support of Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa.
This is a lively conversation about food, family, partnership, heritage, creativity and what comes next for Kokomo.
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Stance is Hosted by Chrystal Genesis and Produced by Etay Zwick.
Referenced In This Podcast & Show Notes: