How a Brooklyn Business Owner and Foodie Spends Her Sundays

A decade ago, Kai Avent-deLeon craved a space in her Brooklyn neighborhood that embodied fashion, art, music and interiors. But she could not find anything like that in Bedford-Stuyvesant. So she opened Sincerely, Tommy, a lifestyle concept store that is also part cafe, as “a labor of love.” It carried independent designers from all over the world — like Collina Strada, Rejina Pyo and Nanushka — before they became more well known.

“I’ve always used it as a canvas for whatever I’m passionate about at the time, and I think at this point, it’s just kind of like a staple of the community,” she said. “And I never expected it to kind of become what it is.”

Now, Ms. Avent-deLeon, 36, has become a bedrock of Bed-Stuy and a community of Black-owned businesses. After witnessing the shootings in the Black community early in the Covid-19 pandemic, she also launched Building Black Bed Stuy to help local businesses find “economic independence and sustainability.” During its first year, the organization raised $20,000 and has continued the effort.

Last year, Ms. Avent-deLeon and a few friends launched her second business, Che, a plant-forward cafe named after her 5-year-old son. Che features a menu of staple items with “playful colors” and rotating ingredients, like a vibrant porridge and a rice bowl. It had always been her dream to open a restaurant.

“Because I grew up vegan, I think my idea of cooking was a bit different,” she said. “You have to be more creative, given that you know you’re not eating meat and things that are just like kind of readily available. I really love being experimental.”

Ms. Avent-deLeon lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Bed-Stuy with her son, Che.