Story & Lesson Highlights with Chef Kai Riviore of West End

We recently had the chance to connect with Chef Kai Riviore and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Kai, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
I find that it comes a lot easier to stand up for someone else than it is to stand up for myself. It took a good dose of courage but I stood up for myself at my place of employment six months ago and it ended costing me my job. I learned a very valuable lesson in that moment however. A job will use you for their agenda and discard you when you don’t fit the mold anymore. You can dedicate yourself completely to someone else’s mission and get discharged at the blink of an eye. They gave me only one choice: follow orders; at the expense of my morals and values. I chose myself and began writing the business model for Up Too Latte. Choose yourself always.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello. My name is Kai and I’m a young Chef who is motivated by the hard work and dedication of my grandmother Jacqueline who raised me and her mother Helen who taught me the importance of standing for something. I’m the granddaughter of a Black Panther, and I was raised to understand that activism is a lifestyle not a trend. I’m from “The Jungle” Marin City California. My wife and I moved to Atlanta in 2022. My business Up Too Latte is rooted in the ideology that Unity is the best part of Community.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I genuinely love this question. Before the world told me who I had to be, I was purely a free spirit. It may sound cliche, but it’s the truth through and through. I did what I wanted to do, and I didn’t look to anyone for permission or acceptance. I was the designer of my own life; my every move came from my Crown Chakra. From the time I was able to walk I chose my own route. I have a photo of myself on my first birthday and I’m holding a Barney plush toy close to my chest and the visor on my head is upside down and sideways. My mom recalls correcting the position of that hat 100 times over trying to get the perfect photo and eventually she gave up because I wouldn’t stop readjusting it. By year three, my grandmother who had taken custody of myself and siblings would find out that she too would have no influence over my opinions no matter what they were derived from. I just had to be me. As life went on and I grew into an adult the pressures of the outside world would start to crack the stronghold I had over myself. I eventually had to unlearn then reintroduce myself when I turned 30. Today I’m back to being me.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
When my little brother was killed in 2018 it really wounded my spirit. To overcome the grief, I made myself busy and started my first business. This was only a distraction, and I would find that out in 2022 when my grandmother Jacqueline joined him in Heaven. I wanted to quit everything then; I even tried too. My wife laid down with me in my sorrow and she held space for me to grieve properly; to feel every bit of hurt. Then she stood me up, she dusted me off, and reminded me of who I am. You can get caught up in life chasing after a dream, or a goal; and you can forget that you’re human, operating at a human level. I almost gave up because I thought that losing two of the closest people to me meant that I was somehow no longer a complete person and I didn’t have anything left to share with the world. I misunderstood myself completely. Just like an operating system there comes a time when you need to shut down, restore, and reset. I’m back and I’m better.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely not. In public I come off as having it more together than I really do. I make this look easier than it truly is. In reality I’m an overthinker who has very loud inner thoughts. I have a billion ideas floating around at once at all times; and sometimes I try them out on a whim. In my opinion this is a super power. When my thoughts are organized they can be used to do so much good. For instance, my business is an after-hours breakfast café built around the energy and ambitions of the college campus lifestyle, inspired by the UTL Lords street artists who are up too late in the city creating brilliant artwork. I’m developing the model for my flagship store which aims to create a cozy, well-lit, and fuel-filled refuge for students, entrepreneurs, artists, and night owls who are “Up Too Late” working tirelessly to turn their dreams into realities. Our tagline “Fuel Your Grind” is a nod to burning the midnight oil and being resilient in your efforts to reaching those goals. Our business is in the seed stage of securing funding; currently pitching to Angel Investors in and around the city of Atlanta. We are petitioning to open our flagship store in the AUC (Atlanta University Center). There is a problem in the city that UTL has the solution for. Food scarcity is a silently growing crisis and college students are disproportionately affected. 38% of students at 4-year institutions experience food insecurity and HBCU students face even higher rates due to historic underfunding & socioeconomic disparities. We aim to slash those stats by providing easily accessible, affordable, quality food to the students, faculty & staff, and local residents in the neighboring community. The real me is in the details. If you look closely you can see the imprint of my code in everything I create.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
At the end of the day, the day is going to end. I hope that they understand that no matter the situation, in life’s confines I always tried. I never once stopped going for mine.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/up2latte/