Transcript

Location: Hope Restores 231 Copeland Ave.

Mia Davis: I’m looking at Hope Restores, the big brown house, right off the bridge on Copeland Avenue.  And I started Mia’s Kitchen just using Hope Restores’ kitchen.  I was 15 years old and I wanted to do something different.  I started doing birthday parties for family members and people gave me so many compliments and really made me become confident in my ability to cook.  Everything I make is nothing but nourishment.  I really put a lot of love into it.  And honestly, seeing people happy over my food just truly warms my heart.  So, I decided one day it was Martin Luther King’s birthday.  I decided to do a soul food dinner.   I posted it online maybe a week before the day and I had over 20 pre-orders and I was absolutely wild.   It just made me feel amazing and it made me feel empowered in my community.  And from there I just didn’t stop.  I got so many different opportunities.  So many different people just seeing me in the community and they’re like, hey, would you do my wedding?   When I first moved here as a student I-I was just an unknown plus-sized black girl that no one knew.  And I just feel like if I didn’t decide to stay in La Crosse, where would I be now? Would my voice even be heard?  Would I even be known like I am now?   I’m Mia Simone Davis, the vice president of Black Student Leaders, the owner of Mia’s Kitchen, and a facilitator at Hope Restores.