MONROE - When Stephanie Kind told her meat-eating parents she was becoming a vegan at the age of 12, she started learning how to cook for herself. Now roughly two decades later, she's providing vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options to Monroe at the recently opened Black Walnut Kitchen.
"I've always been interested in food, and I've always loved cooking local," Kind said. "We try to use as many local products as we can."
Kind said they use all local cheeses and plan to get as much of the ingredients from local farmers and farmers markets as possible.
Kind has spent the last 10 years in the Navy as an intelligence officer and, after being deployed during all of 2016, decided she wanted to spend more time with her 6-year-old son, Joshua. She moved to Monroe last year to be closer to her parents, Peter and Shari Kind, who live outside of the city.
Aside from learning to cook vegan meals as a preteen, Kind's passion for food ignited while attending the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was exposed to diverse foods and then again when she sampled different foods throughout Europe and the Middle East during her deployment.
Kind acquired the building on Monroe's Square, formerly Little Maya, in November and spent the last few months renovating it. All of the booths were replaced with ones her father made from a black walnut tree that fell on their property, inspiring the name. The front counter was redone with barn wood from Green County, and all of the walls were repainted. The first official day the restaurant was open was Jan. 30.
Used to living mostly in cities, Kind said she was "pleasantly surprised" with all the community support she's received. Kind has about nine employees, one of which is Eric King, a chef who's lived in Monroe for 10 years. King said he was happy when Kind asked him to be the chef, noting Black Walnut's menu is almost the opposite from others he's cooked in the past.
"It's refreshing, and it's well-needed here in the area," King said.
King and Kind collaborated to make the seasonal menu where everything is made from scratch - from entrees to salad dressings. Also made from scratch are the pies by Kind's grandmother Ann Babler, who lives in Monroe.
Black Walnut Kitchen serves breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday. Kind said the goal is to continue to keep everything as local as possible and connect with people in the community.
"We've had a lot of positive feedback, and it's been a lot of fun being able to create something new here and work with local farmers and try to celebrate the agricultural roots of this area," Kind said.
"I've always been interested in food, and I've always loved cooking local," Kind said. "We try to use as many local products as we can."
Kind said they use all local cheeses and plan to get as much of the ingredients from local farmers and farmers markets as possible.
Kind has spent the last 10 years in the Navy as an intelligence officer and, after being deployed during all of 2016, decided she wanted to spend more time with her 6-year-old son, Joshua. She moved to Monroe last year to be closer to her parents, Peter and Shari Kind, who live outside of the city.
Aside from learning to cook vegan meals as a preteen, Kind's passion for food ignited while attending the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was exposed to diverse foods and then again when she sampled different foods throughout Europe and the Middle East during her deployment.
Kind acquired the building on Monroe's Square, formerly Little Maya, in November and spent the last few months renovating it. All of the booths were replaced with ones her father made from a black walnut tree that fell on their property, inspiring the name. The front counter was redone with barn wood from Green County, and all of the walls were repainted. The first official day the restaurant was open was Jan. 30.
Used to living mostly in cities, Kind said she was "pleasantly surprised" with all the community support she's received. Kind has about nine employees, one of which is Eric King, a chef who's lived in Monroe for 10 years. King said he was happy when Kind asked him to be the chef, noting Black Walnut's menu is almost the opposite from others he's cooked in the past.
"It's refreshing, and it's well-needed here in the area," King said.
King and Kind collaborated to make the seasonal menu where everything is made from scratch - from entrees to salad dressings. Also made from scratch are the pies by Kind's grandmother Ann Babler, who lives in Monroe.
Black Walnut Kitchen serves breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday. Kind said the goal is to continue to keep everything as local as possible and connect with people in the community.
"We've had a lot of positive feedback, and it's been a lot of fun being able to create something new here and work with local farmers and try to celebrate the agricultural roots of this area," Kind said.