• ARGUS History
  • Join The ARGUS
  • Advertise With Us
  • ARGUSnewsnow
  • Contact
  • ARGUS H.E.A.L
Monday, June 16, 2025
  • Login
St. Louis Argus
  • HOME
  • NewsWatch
    • St. Louis City
    • Community
    • Politics
    • Education
    • National
    • World
  • A Closer Look
    • Opinion
  • Events
  • the vibe
    • Art & Entertainment
    • Beauty, Wellness and Fashion
    • Books
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Harris Stowe
    • Food
    • Health
    • HBCUs
    • Sports
      • Black College Sports
      • High School
      • St. Louis Cardinals
  • National
  • E-Editions
  • The Narrative Matters
  • Video
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NewsWatch
    • St. Louis City
    • Community
    • Politics
    • Education
    • National
    • World
  • A Closer Look
    • Opinion
  • Events
  • the vibe
    • Art & Entertainment
    • Beauty, Wellness and Fashion
    • Books
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Harris Stowe
    • Food
    • Health
    • HBCUs
    • Sports
      • Black College Sports
      • High School
      • St. Louis Cardinals
  • National
  • E-Editions
  • The Narrative Matters
  • Video
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
St. Louis Argus
No Result
View All Result

Troost restaurant teases key ingredient to KC’s best chicken and waffles

Channa Steinmetz by Channa Steinmetz
May 15, 2025
in A Closer Look, Business, Food
Home A Closer Look
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare with Email

Tameisha Martin was tired of watching dreams go to the grave, she shared. 

“Ever since I could remember, my mother and my grandmother talked about wanting to open their own restaurant. They loved cooking for church and community events. … Unfortunately, my grandmother is gone now, so she didn’t get to see this dream come to life. But my mother is still here, and every day we are grateful that the doors opened for us,” said Martin, who co-founded Love is Key alongside her husband, Cameron.

Love is Key

The Martins’ waffle concept restaurant, Love is Key, celebrated its grand opening in August on the first floor of the Wonder Shops and Flats development on 30th and Troost. Love is Key specializes in waffle sandwiches and cake waffles, a family recipe passed down from Martin’s mother, Tangela Winters, and grandmother, Daisy Henderson. 

“We put a lot of thought into our menu,” Martin noted. “From using my mother and grandmother’s recipes for the dishes and desserts, to using local vendors and local food, our food quality is phenomenal. We are very conscious about the seasoning we use, and we even have our own in-house, caramelized syrup that no one is using. It is our specialized ingredient.”  

Click here to check out the menu at Love is Key.

Tamiesha Martin
Waffle BLT

Humble beginnings
Love is Key originally began as a dessert catering company in 2018. 
Love is Key
“My mother has been a nurse all her life, but she got sick and stopped working,” Martin recalled. “One day I came home, and she had the entire counter lined up with caramel cake. I was like, ‘Who’s going to eat all of this cake?’ and she said that they were orders. That’s when I knew we were going to turn this into a business.” 
The Martins and her mother began booking weddings, community events and grand openings, she said. The business was steadily scaling when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 
After a short hiatus, a small pop-up space in the parking lot of Ruby Jeans Kitchen and Juicery, catty-corner to Wonder Shops and Flats, became available and Love is Key launched its pilot program in Fall 2020. 
“For about a year, we opened up Tuesday through Saturday to see if we could sustain a physical location,” Martin said. “We broke even, which is really unheard of for restaurants. Most restaurants don’t make a profit for three to five years, so that gave us the confidence to go for it. We are believers in Christ and God, so we prayed about this. And we’ve been blessed.”
Tameisha Martin, Love is Key

Love is Key
When Martin got the call that a storefront right across from her pop-up shop opened up in the Wonder Shops and Flats — the former Soulcentricitea location — she immediately knew that she wanted to be a part of it, she shared.
“We are all for economic development within our own community,” Martin said. “Having more businesses in this area will create more jobs and lower crime. It also gives people an opportunity to work in their own community versus going outside.”
Love is Key has been a self-funded venture, Martin said, adding that she and her husband are in search of additional funds to keep the business growing. 

Read more

Post Views: 79
Tags: chickenloverestaurantwaffles

Related Posts

A Closer Look

Juneteenth Is Not Just Another Black Holiday, It’s a Call to Action

June 16, 2025
A Closer Look

Pastor Reverend Spencer Lamar & First Lady Gail Booker Transform St. Paul AME Church into a Disaster Relief Hub

June 14, 2025
Business

Small Business Alert: Protect Your Business From Risk

June 14, 2025
Business

ARGUS FOCUS: Inflation Surge: Why Prices Are Rising and How It Affects You

June 14, 2025
Food

Remembering Patrick Clark: A Culinary Genius with a Worldly Palate and Lasting Legacy

June 13, 2025
A Closer Look

Make Room for daddy: A conversation with modern day Fathers

June 13, 2025
Next Post

City Celebrates Launch of Jazz District III, Bringing Music to Downtown Kansas City

No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Juneteenth Is Not Just Another Black Holiday, It’s a Call to Action

June 16, 2025

Op-Ed: You Can’t Cheer for the Fire and Then Call Yourself a Firefighter

June 16, 2025

Ananda Lewis and Breast Cancer Symptoms Unique to Black Women

June 15, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • ARGUS History
  • Join The ARGUS
  • Advertise With Us
  • ARGUSnewsnow
  • Contact
  • ARGUS H.E.A.L

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NewsWatch
    • St. Louis City
    • Community
    • Politics
    • Education
    • National
    • World
  • A Closer Look
    • Opinion
  • Events
  • the vibe
    • Art & Entertainment
    • Beauty, Wellness and Fashion
    • Books
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Harris Stowe
    • Food
    • Health
    • HBCUs
    • Sports
      • Black College Sports
      • High School
      • St. Louis Cardinals
  • National
  • E-Editions
  • The Narrative Matters
  • Video
  • Contact

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.