Duwaine Harris wants you to support restaurants while they're still here
The Chef-Owner of Stella's on their business and the realities of running a restaurant.
Stella’s is a Caribbean restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn founded by chef Duwaine Harris and his wife Vera Kondratyeva. They’re a neighborhood staple known for classic Caribbean dishes like oxtails, saltfish, jerk chicken, and curry chicken, but they also feature dishes using non-traditional ingredients like salmon. I wanted to talk to them because the food is fantastic, but also because Duwaine’s been using Stella’s Instagram account to talk about the often tough realities of running a restaurant. I joined them for happy hour recently to chat a bit about their restaurant and running the business.
If you’re not near Stella’s, you can still support your favorite local restaurant this weekend. I’d love to hear where you end up!
Brianna Plaza: What made you want to open your own restaurant in Park Slope?
Duwaine Harris: During COVID I was working at another restaurant and it was such a stressful time for staff and I realized I never wanted to put myself in that position again. I want to be the one making decisions. That time really pushed a lot of people out of their comfort zone. So I thought, if I am going to do this, I don’t want to be near other Caribbean restaurants. We live in The Bronx so Park Slope wasn’t necessarily on our radar.
Vera Kondratyeva: We had a hard time finding something in our price range. We knew it was going to be a white box and we’d have to put a lot of money in it. But we got into a space that used to be a restaurant
Brianna Plaza: You’ve talked about how Caribbean restaurants are struggling. In a place like New York, why do you think that is?
Duwaine Harris: Really the whole restaurant industry is struggling, but especially Caribbean restaurants. Negril around the corner closed. A few others in over in Flatbush closed.
For a lot of Caribbean people, our food is all they eat. If they know your food is good, they keep coming back. If you want to go out to eat, you come here. If a friend is in town, they’ll come here. We get support here from everyone, but we get a lot of support from minority folks.
I see what’s going on in the country and everything is damn expensive. That affects minority communities more, so when they need to cut something, the first thing they drop is restaurants. Whenever the minorities start to feel it, Caribbean restaurants are the ones that get hurt.
Brianna Plaza: Do they keep coming back because they want to support the culture or they just value consistency or both?
Duwaine Harris: Both. They want to support the culture but they value consistency and that’s one of the things we’re great at. We have high quality, consistent food. If you look at our reviews people say our food is good and consistent, which I love to see.
We’re in New York City and there are so many choices so if you go out to eat and it’s not good the first time, you’re not going back. The first impression is everything. And if you go back a second time and it wasn’t how you remember it, you’re not going back a third time. We’re spoiled in New York with so many great options.
Brianna Plaza: You’ve also talked about supporting restaurants that are struggling while they’re still here. What does support look like to you?
Duwaine Harris: I think people should support restaurants while they’re still here. If we wait until they close, it’s too late. I think posting about and sharing a restaurant can be helpful. When I’ve said we need help, people come out and I can see the change. When people share, someone else might see it and come in. They want to go check out someplace new and we might impress them. At the end of the day it means that someone might come in and spend money.