6
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020
Seafood Kingz set to expand dine-in
options for customers in St. Albans
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
For the past year, Seafood
Kingz in St. Albans
has been serving up seafood
dishes with a touch
of soul food.
From steamed crab
legs and lobster to fresh
fish and shrimp, Seafood
Kingz offers a variety of
menu options for customers.
Its soul food choices
include rice and beans,
macaroni and cheese,
potato salad, collard
greens, steamed broccoli,
cabbage and banana pudding.
The restaurant also
offers a special catering
menu for events and parties
as well.
The family-owned
business was established
in September 2019 at 205-
41 Linden Blvd., by couple
Darryl Lelie and his wife,
Catrina. Although business
has been good, they
say, it can be better.
“Most of our business
is takeout — it’s GrubHub
or UberEats — and we’re
trying to build up the sitdown
situation,” Catrina
said. “We get some customers,
but not as many
as we would like.”
In an effort to attract
more customers to dine
in, the Lelie’s are working
on new flyers to distribute,
obtaining a beer
and wine license to serve
drinks, and wing and $7
lunch specials. Their outreach
also includes social
media platforms such as
Facebook and Instagram.
It’s not the first time
the couple has experienced
owning and operating
a business. Darryl, a
longtime cook, has been
in the restaurant business
since 2005. Prior to
moving to Queens from
the Bronx, he owned a
spot in an industrial area
that was mostly takeout.
“That wasn’t a place
where you would expect
people to walk by given
that there was an expressway
nearby, so we had to
go and get the money making
deliveries to Harlem
and the neighborhood,
GrubHub was our biggest
supporter and it was really
pushing our numbers
up,” Darryl said.
After wanting to expand
to include seating
for dining, Darryl decided
to close up and move to
Queens. If all goes well,
the Lelie’s hope to open
up another location in the
Bronx. Darry’s ultimate
goal he says, is to have a
restaurant on City Island
someday.
“We almost had a space
there and we would have
been the first black business
up there, but one of
the investors pulled out
on the day of signing,”
Darryl said.
Since moving into the
neighborhood of St. Alban’s,
the couple has received
a warm welcome
from residents who say
they appreciate the business.
Sitting at a table enjoying
a meal of steamed fish
with potato salad on the
side, Curtis Coleman said
he’s a frequent customer
at Seafood Kingz.
“I think their meals
are delicious,” Coleman
said. “That’s why I come
Loyal customer Curtis Coleman grabes a bite.
back. Once a week I come
in to eat here.”
According to Catrina,
another customer had
said they’re delighted to
see a black-owned business
in the neighborhood.
“ S h e
c a m e
b a c k
l a t e r
and ord
e r e d
s o m e
fish and
chips and
was on her
merry way. We get a
warm embrace from the
neighborhood,” Catrina
said.
Looking forward, the
Lelies are keeping faith
that the family-owned
business stays afloat. For
Darryl, it’s a business
that he would like to pass
on to his current and future
family making sure
they’re all well taken
care of.
“This was his dream from
way back when. Through all
of the nay-sayers and all of
the failures, he’s gotten right
back up and started all
over again, and
that’s an inspiration
to
his kids,”
Catrina
said. “Alt
h ou g h
you fail,
you have
to get up and
start all over
again and he’s foreseen what
he wanted to do and went on
and did it. He’s going to do
no matter what to make sure
his family and future family
is taken care of.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Couple and business partners Darryl and Catrina Lelie stand in front of their restaurant,
Seafood Kingz in St. Albans. Photos: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
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