Nakia Holmes — the Houston entrepreneur who helped evolve one of the iconic manufacturers in black meals tradition from a parking zone hustle to a celebrity-appealing empire — lets six phrases converse: “Arrive hungry. We serve till there are none left.”
In a 21-second Instagram Reel posted Sunday morning, Holmes introduced a one-day meals pop-up deliberate for June 13 at The Quad, 4608 Almeda — simply three blocks from the now-shuttered Third Ward residence of the Turkey Leg Hut that she co-founded along with her ex-husband, Lyndell Value. A single hashtag on the submit – #NothingButLegs – left little to the creativeness.
No phrase but on whether or not the occasion will formally happen below the identify Turkey Leg Hut, however one factor is not clear: Nakia Holmes is not completed.
Holmes and Value began Turkey Leg Hut greater than a decade in the past. Their unique pop-up on the 2016 Houston Livestock Present and Rodeo drew traces across the block for outsized smoked turkey legs alongside mac and cheese, wings, and pasta dripping with spicy Cajun cream sauce. As Holmes informed ESSENCE earlier this yr in an unique interview, the thought was born from a dream she had — and she or he turned it into one thing actual whereas Value was incarcerated for an IRS fraud scheme, primarily operating the operation solo.
The group adopted the meals – and so did the tradition. Celebrities reminiscent of Snoop Dogg, Megan Thee Stallion, and James Harden all made their method into the Third Ward restaurant that Holmes and Value finally opened, cementing it as a must-visit vacationer vacation spot and celebration of Black Houston.
Then got here the denouement.
When Value returned from jail in 2018, Holmes informed ESSENCE that the 2 clashed consistently — he micromanaged; she did not. A controversial costume code coverage in 2021, which Holmes mentioned was totally Value’s concept and which she wanted to wash up publicly, sparked a nationwide dialog in regards to the politics of respectability in Black-owned areas.
Then extra issues arose: a lawsuit with a meals distributor, divorce filings, chapter and even arson. And in September 2024, the Houston Well being Division closed Turkey Leg Hut totally.
Most just lately, a grand jury cleared Holmes of fees that she helped her boyfriend evade police — the newest chapter in a narrative that ESSENCE lined intently. As a substitute of transferring backwards, she reorients the narrative on her personal phrases.
Holmes approached this second in public, slowly and intentionally. In March, she posted a video of herself inspecting a Turkey Leg Hut-branded meals truck.
In an Instagram Reel, posted Sunday, filmed contained in the Quad — a sports activities and eating spot in Houston’s Third Ward opened by former Detroit Lions defensive finish and Houston native Michael Brockers, recalled who Holmes is.
“You possibly can shut a constructing. You possibly can’t shut a legacy.”
The popup is scheduled for 1 p.m. on June 13. It should run till there is no such thing as a extra meals.