DENVER -- If you’re passing by the area of Havana and Dartmouth, you might just miss one of Denver’s newest restaurants, TK’s Surf & Turf Kitchen. This family-run kitchen also happens to be a first of its kind.
"There are no other black-owned seafood restaurants and once I put that fact out there, it definitely resonated with people," said owner, Tyler Kanwai.
Tyler Kanwai, or TK, has no prior experience in the restaurant industry. Yet in the middle of a pandemic, he took a chance on himself and his food and opened the business last October.
"The secret sauce is so good it’ll knock your sock off, and I stand behind it and the seasoning is something that is very peculiar, something that you have never had," said Kanwai.
His food would soon be noticed by the social media account Denverfoodscene . They shot the video that would eventually go viral.
"They posted on their Instagram, their TikTok and we went, it went nuts," said Kanwai.
So far, almost 1-million people have seen the video.
"Business has kicked up tremendously," said Kanwai.
But cooking up good food is only one part of it. Along their walls, TK shares words, songs and people who are important to him.
"We have Breonna Taylor, we have Elijah McClain, we have George Floyd. These are people we can never forget," said Kanwai.
Breaking down barriers in order to chase his dream. In hopes that one day his small restaurant will become a Denver staple.
