The Real Housewives of Atlanta newcomer is opening up about her restaurant and how she built a thriving culinary career.
As The Real Housewives of Atlanta viewers are getting to know Kelli Ferrell, the Season 16 newcomer is sharing how she turned her passion for food into a growing culinary empire. Kelli is a mom to four daughters, an author, a successful chef with her own restaurant, Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles, and has her own line of pantry staples inspired by the restaurant.
The restaurateur opened up about her very exciting career — and pretty hectic lifestyle — on RHOA Season 16, Episode 1. "Being a single mom is not for the weak, especially being the mom of four beautiful daughters," she explained. But, the Baltimore native is able to juggle this and owning Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles, which she opened in 2016, after moving to Atlanta in 2003.
"Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles, I mean, that's like my fifth child," she explained during a confessional.
Details on Kelli Ferrell's restaurant, Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles
Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles is located in McDonough, Georgia, and is a "Louisiana/Maryland style diner," inspired by Kelli's own hometown of Baltimore. The menu boasts a number of waffles, sides, and sweet treats, like Nana's warm banana bread, and of course, Nana's famous Chicken-n-Waffles.
How Kelli Ferrell's grandmother inspired her restaurant, Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles
Kelli continued in the confessional, noting that Nana's is inspired by her own nana, Shirley, whose face can be seen in the logo of her restaurant.
"I named the restaurant after my grandmother," she said. "This little 1,500-square-foot restaurant turned into this huge success."
In a 2023 interview with Ebony, Kelli opened up about how her mom and her grandmother nourished her love of cooking. "Being a little girl, I just watched them cook in the kitchen," she explained. "Enjoying family time and just kind of seeing that from start to finish really inspired me — how you can take something so small and turn it into something unique. That's where my passion came from."
Shirley is also very hands on with her restaurant, Kelli told FSR Magazine in September. "She is still alive and often comes to the restaurant giving her feedback on new menu items," she said. "Once this happens, we create items and add them to our 'secret' menu which consists of dishes that are not on our standard menu and on those days and nights, we typically have a packed house, because we send out notifications to our core customers who love to try new things."
Inside Kelli Ferrell's other food businesses
In addition to having her own restaurant, Kelli also has an extensive line of pantry items, which she sells on her website, Kooking with Kelli.
She sells stoneground Kajun Grits, which can add a "little kick" to any average shrimp and grits recipe, her "light and fluffy" waffle mix, and a limited-release 24K Magik maple syrup infused with 24-karat gold flakes.
Details on Kelli Ferrell's mimosa mix
Kelli is also really passionate about her brand new mimosa mix, which boasts a balance of pineapple and grapefruit. This mix is meant to add to Prosecco or Champagne to add a "refreshing and tropical twist" to the beloved cocktail.
"I am so excited about my mimosa mix," Kelli explained during a RHOA Season 16 Episode 1 confessional. "You can pretty much put that s—t in everything."
Kelli Ferrell's first cookbook, Kooking with Kelli
Kelli penned her first cookbook, Kooking with Kelli: Kollection of Family Recipes from Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles in 2019. The chef told FSR Magazine that this cookbook was made with the intention of sharing her delicious family recipes to people who live outside of Georgia and can't visit Nana's Chicken-N-Waffles.
"Home cooks will discover simple [recipes] to prepare with a short prep and cook time of mouth watering southern dishes," she explained. "These are the same recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation along with some personal stories of family traditions, photos, and new creative ideas for family meals."
Most importantly, the cookbook inspires readers to be creative in their own kitchens. "I wanted it to be fun," she told Ebony in the 2023 interview. "I wanted it to be inspiring and it was just that."
Kelli Ferrell opens up about navigating business challenges amid her divorce
During RHOA Season 16, Episode 4, Kelli opened up about the hardships of going through her divorce as she and her ex-husband disagreed over the fate of their business.
"He wants the business...We had the business together when we were married," she explained. "My business is almost eight years old. We were married for 11 years."
In a confessional, she shared more: "When I left my husband, I told him, 'You just have your residual income. Allow me to do what I've always done, which is run the businesses.' He specifically told me that he would close everything and I would not have anything without him."
In an April interview with The Daily Dish, Kelli confirmed she is now "officially divorced" and shared how she's navigating running her business in this new chapter.
"I'm trying to figure it all out," she said with a laugh. "Single mom life is definitely not for the weak. I think I've said that before... I'm handling it with as much grace as I can. I am so grateful for my daughters. They give me a lot of grace. You know, they are very understanding and I have a special group of young ladies that support me as well."
"I have a great support system from my parents to my best friends to my team. So I'm grateful for everyone that's been helping, you know, pitch in," she continued. "'Cause it definitely takes a village when trying to run a business. You know, still get these products off the ground and make it to parent-teacher conferences."
Kelli Ferrell opens up about building a successful restaurant
With a degree in fashion merchandising and design, Kelli's journey from self-taught chef to building a culinary empire has been filled with unique challenges and triumphs. However, as she told Ebony in 2023, she's just getting started.
"In regards to being a successful chef and entrepreneur, I don’t even feel like I’m all the way there yet. I feel like there’s so much more for me to do. The journey has been absolutely amazing, and I think being able to open up two restaurants, publish a cookbook, be on television shows are amazing, but I have so many things to accomplish."
When asked what sets her business apart, Kelli told the magazine, "Clearly, the food... but I think also the warm and friendly environment. When I first started the restaurant, I wanted people to feel like they were at home, like they were at their nana’s house."
"It was important for me for it to be intimate, for it to be small, and for it to be extremely welcoming and to have amazing food," she continued. "I didn’t want to have a very large menu. I wanted to make sure that the menu was short and sweet. The menu really hasn’t changed over the years. Occasionally, we add a few waffle flavors—and we do have a secret menu—but I really wanted it to be more about the food and the environment. Those were super important for me."
What's next for Kelli Ferrell's restaurant business?
Kelli isn't done expanding her Nana's empire.
In an April interview with The Daily Dish, Kelli shared what's next. "Right now I am working on getting these products in the store," she said. "I just had a great meeting with a company today. So just working on getting these products in the store and looking forward to hopefully franchising these restaurants soon."
She added: "I'm finally working on the Mommy and Me Cookbook as well."
Learn more about Kelli's very exciting life, including her current relationship status.
