New Kalamazoo food truck serves Nigerian food, staples from other cultures

KALAMAZOO, MI –– For Isa Clark, the best things in life are the simple things.

The best of those simple things? A belly full of good, healthy food.

Clark started his Kalamazoo roadside eatery and catering business, Clark’s Special Kitchen, in 2022, though he started cooking long before then.

“The idea is to bring people together,” Clark said. “It’s more about love, unity, diversity ... I love to share my food with people. I wouldn’t hesitate to share my last meal with anybody.”

Up until this month, Clark could be found in a parking lot at 802 Portage Street, serving food Tuesdays through Saturdays until he sold out.

But he has leveled up his business.

Clark’s Special Kitchen is now a food truck that will be serving lunch and dinner around Kalamazoo County five days a week, starting Oct. 13.

“We are ready to make the entire community have a feel for our food,” Clark said.

It was a connection with Can-Do Kalamazoo and its business incubation program that gave Clark the tools to start a successful business.

Related: Kalamazoo business incubator opens new, expanded location

“I found out that cooking is different from business,” Clark said. “You can know how to cook, but running a business is different. Through that program, I had an idea of how to run a business ... It’s been (a little) tough, but it’s been a lot of joy doing something I got passion for.”

Clark’s goal is to make food that will “suit all locations, all people, regardless of social stratification or culture.”

“Healthy street food. That’s what I call it,” Clark said. “We believe that we can bring decent meals to the street so that the ordinary person can have access to good food.”

Born in Nigeria, Clark says his childhood played a role in his food philosophy.

“We probably have over 300 tribes and we speak over 700 languages,” Clark said. “It’s like every mile you go within Nigeria, it is a different culture and these cultures differ in foods, too.”

His idea of multicultural food is taking meals from different cultures and making them accessible to everyone.

“When the food is good, it puts a smile on your face because joy comes from within,” Clark said.

Clark’s selected palette starts with one staple of cultures across the world: Rice.

“Mexicans eat rice, they eat it in a different way. French people eat rice, they eat it in a different way. Jamaicans eat rice ... Nigerians eat rice and they cook it in different ways. But the most important thing is that we all eat rice,” Clark said.

Ultimately, Clark hopes to enhance Kalamazoo’s palette by introducing them to familiar plates from their own cultures, but with a twist.

“At the end of the day, we are all doing the same thing in a different way,” Clark said. “Our culture, regardless of the differences that we have, is important because it reflects in everything we do, from our food and our way of life.”

In this way, he believes he’s found his calling.

The entrees on Clark’s menu will rotate, sometimes based on what he feels that day, but will include a mango jerk chicken leg for $9, a New York strip kebab for $10, sweet chicken for $8.

Clark’s signature sides will include “magic” pasta for $5, rice for $5, three pieces of plantain for $1.50, honey garlic bread for $1 and coleslaw for $2.

Combo meals that include all sides and an entree, which can feed more than one person, range from $17 to $25.

Healthy, affordable food remains a goal in the new food truck.

The most important thing in life isn’t what’s in the bank, but what’s in front of us, Clark said.

“Food is that one thing that will always be with us,” Clark said. “Even if you have $10 million in the bank, you probably just need a plate of food to see the next day.”