LEXINGTON, Ky. — Cousins with a culinary background are serving up locally sourced meals after overcoming some of life’s tougher challenges.

From the weekday to the weekends, you can hear the sizzle of the grill, fryers and more behind the doors of JD’s Kitchen. Co-owners DaQuan Smith and Jamari Johnson create signature meals.

“We went to all of our sauces to come from scratch and [to be] ours, so we have the big-back sauce and spicy aioli,” Johnson described.

Smith says he caught the community’s attention in 2018 with his Dova’s lamb chop meals, a popular menu item. Years before the business they are building now, Smith says his troubled past caught up with him in 2020, serving nearly two years in a state prison. 

“Unfortunately, it was traumatic. It was hard. My fiancé was pregnant with my son at the time, with our fourth child,” Smith explained. He says the experience made him reflect on new priorities and realign his goals. 

“But my fiancé and also our family members, we had numerous talks about what the future would look like when I came home from it. It took about 10, 11 months, but everything is coming to fruition now,” Smith said. 

He and Johnson are now working to further what they say is food inspired first by family, followed by passion and overcoming the odds. 

“We can come together as a unit rather than just one of us, to actually work together and show the kids that it’s possible, and it’s not out of reach,“ Johnson said. 

He says they have partnered with Sallie Jane’s, another locally owned bar and entertainment space, to create a unique environment. 

Both say this spot helps them reach a diverse crowd and an opportunity to build a foundation for their families.