Very rarely do people surprise me, and yet, Kevin Liberus is the surprise of the century. A few months back, I went to a vintage pop-up market to get some overpriced tees and take a look at all the interesting pieces. As my friend and I were about to leave, we walked past a little shop named “Kevin’s Market” accompanied by a cute strawberry logo. I asked my friend if we could make one last stop before returning to the car. I walked up to the storefront and swung the door open to reveal a 6’0 Black man with a tattooed neck and clothing that repped his namesake.
Me being loud and outgoing asked if he was Kevin the second I stepped inside. He looked up from the fruit he was chopping and with the softest, most subtle voice uttered the words “Yes, that's me.” I then told him how I felt like I was in the presence of a celebrity. He had the whitest, most gorgeous teeth and his smile was radiating. He laughed and showed his sweet soul as soon as I stepped inside his store.
I looked around and saw merch with “Kevin’s Market” printed, spray painted, and embroidered on bags, hats, and sweatshirts. I felt like I had taken a trip to LA by accident and had simply forgotten my plane ticket. I then walked up to where Kevin was standing and saw there was a menu to the left of him. There was a list of about ten different acai bowls and smoothies that he had no doubt created himself. He asked me if I wanted anything and I responded by telling him to make me whatever he liked and that I trusted him. He then started chopping fruit, throwing granola and drizzling honey, and before I knew it I had an aesthetic acai bowl that tasted just as good as it looked.
Kevin was so intriguing and it felt like I had known him longer than I did. After purchasing a sweater and my acai bowl I went home and couldn’t stop thinking about him and his store. It was the coolest thing I had encountered in Delray. It reminded me of something I would find in my home of Miami and it gave me a feeling of comfort and nostalgia. I knew I had to go back.
So a few months later, I returned to see my (what felt like) good friend Kevin. I walked in and there he was his tall stature and tattooed neck just where I had left him. He greeted me with the same big smile that he had a few months prior. I jogged his memory of who I was and asked if I could come back in the following days to interview him. He agreed and I gathered my questions to portray a sense of confidence when in reality I was shitting myself. The juxtaposition of his intimidating appearance and his calm, warm presence was so cool. And I don’t mean cool in a middle-school mean kid way. Cool in a way that makes you wish you could emulate his innate coolness. His aura shines through as soon as you meet his eyes. I was nervous he would realize that I was a basic, mainstream music listening, lame white girl and regret having me come and interview him. Nevertheless, I had to take that risk and pick his brain because if I didn't, I would never forgive myself. So I gathered my camera, legal pad, and phone and headed into my first real interview. (I had told Kevin I had done this plenty of times)
I left my job after lunch and made my way over to the store. I parked and got my camera and phone ready to record my interview and take some action shots. I walked inside and was greeted by none other than Kevin at his counter chopping up fruit. There was a friend of his sitting at the counter and we made small talk until it was time to do the interview. Her name was Bella. She and Kevin seemed to be good friends and I could tell it made him comfortable to have her there when I arrived. After he had gotten situated I asked if he was ready. He responded by telling me he was nervous. Him. The coolest guy was nervous about my interview. It made me feel a little bit more at ease knowing we were on the same playing field and were both just as anxious.
I began to record and we had an hour-long conversation about him and who the real Kevin Liberus is. Kevin was born in Boynton Beach to a big Haitian family. His parents were both born in different cities in Haiti and moved here in their mid-twenties. He is the middle child of seven kids and when I asked how that was, he gave me a knowing look and said “interesting.” He told me how his parents were strict growing up and were religious and taught him family values and to keep his siblings and immediate family close no matter what. “It was just like, you got a lot of people that live with you, you know what I mean? And it wasn't until I got older to where I noticed that like them, these are just like a best friend that lives with you forever. And it's pretty interesting. It's cool.”
He struck me as the kind of guy who is passionate about his favorite things, so I was dying to know his opinion on anything and everything. “My favorites. My favorite genre is definitely rap. um, favorite artist right now. I'd say this artist from Detroit he's kind of underground: Veeze. My favorite movie is New Jack city. I think that was, um, what's the guy. What's the guy from blade?” I wish I could’ve helped him but I had never heard of either of those movies.
“Chris Rock is in the movie”
“Oh! So its a funny movie?” I asked.
“ha. No. Chris Rock plays a crackhead in the movie.”
“oh. Nevermind.”
“And then I'd say probably like lion king. I like that movie too. Um, yeah. That's like the only movie that's probably like ever made me really like cry really? Hell yeah. Like I've never really cried from like reading a book, but lion King's like damn mufasa.”
He surprised me at every turn. One second he's this cool, almost intimidating guy and the next he’s telling me about his emotional connection to The Lion King. I loved that I never knew what answer he would give to a question; it was refreshing.
“What's your favorite fruit?”
“Apples. Yeah. Grapes are fire too though. Yeah. But I go to The Boy’s farmer's market in Delray once a week and the assortment of food over there is crazy. So I don't know, just pick apples because it's like, it gives me like a different boost of energy from all the other fruits. And then they always said like an apple, they keeps the doctor away. Or was that the dentist?”
“No, the doctor, you got it right.”
“Yeah, so it has to be apple for me.”
Now that I had gotten the answers to the questions I was seeking, I wanted to dive into his business mindset.
“Okay. Now about your business, what gave you the idea for Kevin's market? Like what inspired it?”
“Um, it was just a lifestyle thing for me. It was just a transition from, um, being conscious about like the intake that you put into your body really has a lot to do with how you feel and how you move. So it just went around like my aesthetic, you know what I mean? So a lot of times people will associate being vegetarian or vegan or plant based with like doing yoga and going on, like 5k runs or like giving back to the community and shit. And at one point I realized, um, I do all that stuff, so it just went hand in hand. I also worked at a country club and there was a lot of sous chefs and shit that worked there that, you know, would come in and out and they'd have crazy backgrounds, like working in Japan, working on yachts, working with Donald Trump. So I learned how to like really use the knife. My knife skills came from that and, uh, I was just always like a esthetic learner, so that's pretty much like I could see something and I could just do it just for like, it wouldn't be like perfect, but I could literally just see it and then I could do it like literally like not much practice, you know what I mean? yeah. So even from like crowning a lemon that was easy, um, picking fruit, super easy. Like I could really see an avocado and like see inside and how it looks or even a mango.”
“So you had an innate nack for this kind of stuff?”
“Yeah, When it comes down to that stuff, I can really tell even with strawberries or like blueberries, I can tell like how long it has to last, you know what I mean? Like, I go pick up my Kiwi from the farmer's market every two days and they'll gimme like a case of Kiwis with like a hundred in it. And I'd be like, yo, this is only gonna last for two days. It's like 40 bucks a case, you know what I mean? so I'm like, yo no, I need some Kiwi that isn't so ripe yet. Yeah. You know what I mean? Leave it out. And then it'll ripen in my hands.”
“Um, and then during like, you know, the pandemic, whatever, like the major shutdown, it was just a matter of like, yo, what the hell am I gonna do? You know what I mean? It's a source of income because I never really cared about, you know, like, like paying bills on time or nothing like that because it's like, yo, I look at it like T-Mobile's a billion dollar company, fucking Geico's a billion dollar company. So it's just a matter of like, yo, if I don't pay you on time, just hit me with a late fee. But it was really down to like your work. What do I want to do? Like I stared in the fucking mirror and like look into my fucking eyes and be like, yo, what is my fucking purpose?”
“Yeah that's a hard thing to realize”
“Yeah. So I just said, yo, let me just start incorporating what I love to do and my passion and like what, I don't get tired or bored of doing and try to like, you know, I mean, promote it as like, I don't know. I try to gain like some monetary value off of it. So that's when I, um, decided to like post like these different type of like exotic foods on my page and like on my story. And at first, uh, Kevin's market IG handle was, um, it was dinner at Kevin's. You know how like, breakfast at Tiffany's. Yeah. So it was just like a spin off all that. I never even seen the movie, but I've heard like music and stuff about it. Yeah. So that's what the Instagram handle was. And then I changed it to Kevin's market. Once me and my boys sat down and really like figured out, like I'm not doing dinner and let's do something to where it's like, yo, if I wanted to open up a store later down the line marketing that'd be applicable.”
“So you fell onto this place because of Jerry? (his friend he shares his storefront with)”
“Nah. Well, we would work out like every single morning at planet fitness and then, he would just be like, yo bro, what are you gonna do? You know what I mean? Like, like he's just a like-minded individual as far as like business goes. I always knew. And I, I still believe in like, the people that you hang around is definitely gonna rub off on you. So he's a business savvy dude. So it was just a matter of like, yo whatever you wanna do, just go ahead and do it. So I was like, okay, let me just go ahead and do like Kevin's market pop up. So he got this space and originally he was like, yo, this space is too fucking big. And they want like a couple thousand dollars a month for this space. And um, I was just like, yo, you know what I mean? I'll fucking like just rent out a spot and just go half on rent and that's how that worked.”
“What kind of vibe did you intend to go for?”
“Um, somewhat of a coffee shop vibe. um, so my references came from like Pinterest or just like, um, like Paris, London vibes. Like I've never been, but I could like only imagine like you walk into somewhere and there's like underground music playing there's people that, you know what I mean? Like don't feel like they're out of place. You know what I mean? cause when I first started, like I would walk into smoothie shops and raw juice and stuff and they'd just be like, damn, like, I don't see anybody that looks like me or like, they look at me weird, like, yo, I'm not like a usual, so I just was like, oh, instead of going yanking on other people's door, let me just go ahead and do my own thing. Cause I wanna put myself in other people's shoes. You know what I mean? So I'm pretty much doing what I would want somebody else to do for me. That's really what it comes down to. Like some days I'm off or like I'm just super down and depressed. I don't come in and then I feel like, damn, what if this person wanted a fucking smoothie bowl? you know what I mean? I feel bad. So, um, yeah. So that's what it came down to. It's just like, I don't know.”
“You kind of touched on this, but I was also curious about your thoughts.You mentioned how you would go into these places and you wouldn't see representation. There is a stereotype where minorities won't seek out healthier food options or just like healthier lifestyles because of the stigmatism around it. I liked when I walked in here the first time I saw this big guy with neck tattoos chopping fruit. And I thought ‘this is so funny’. Like this is just completely opposite of what is expected. Do you think that you have an obligation to kind of prove people wrong in that sense?”
“Well, it's not necessarily proving people wrong. It's just like, I don't go with the cliche. Like, you know, like I said, like you have to be working out or something because I just know for a fact that health is wealth, but then again, it's just like, some people are confined to the constraints of the society that they're in. Like there's no Starbucks in the five mile radius walk to where they live. There's no Trader Joe's. There's no whole foods in some so that's why I took my brick and mortar spot and put it to where someone isn't usually accustomed to it, and then I took my brand and made it cool. Yeah. Like I took acai and made it cool. So it's like, you don't have to feel any type of way it's gonna make you feel better. And that all comes from like the love of actually like me getting organic fruits. And I know that like, it's just good for the soul and it's just like, it comes from the integrity of like actually grabbing like the, the best ripe fruit, cuz that really has like, it does something to the brain. Like it's super food, you know what I mean? Like people will come here in less than 24 hours the next day. And, and I know why, it's like a drug for the brain and your brain is like begging for it.”
“25% of Delray, at least west Delray is below the poverty line and the average cost of healthy food is insane. You know, especially like how you said WholeFoods. I did a whole article on how there's like no Trader Joe's in low income areas because that's not who they market it towards, which is weird because the whole concept of Trader Joe's is cheap healthy food. Like Trader Joe's even is gentrified in the sense that they are exclusive, which is unreal. And so I thought it was so interesting that from your social media following and things that you post, I can tell that what you cater towards is like people of color and like minorities that have the same passion for health as you do, which is definitely a big community. But it's not talked about as much as the contrary.”
“I looked up on google before coming here: How to Conduct a Good Interview because I was nervous, and one of them was like, tell your interviewee, like why they're special. Like why you're interviewing them, you know? Cause like I'm, I'm sure you're like, why does this bitch wanna interview me? And like I get it cuz it's random, but at the same time, it's not, I'm so intrigued. This isn’t the kind of thing I've ever run into in Delray. I'm from Miami, and in Miami beach, there's a bunch of little coffee shops and little things that are cool so you get used to it. So when I walked in, I was like, oh my God, I feel like I'm home. And I felt like what you are doing is filling a void in the market in Delray.”
“I remember the first time I met you, you told me, um, yeah, this, this is something that would be like in, uh, Cali or something like that. Yeah. And that's a hundred percent true and the markup would be crazy. You know what I mean? Yeah. So yeah. That's true. I think when you came last time there was a candle on the table that you said smelled good”
“Yeah, there was a Le Labo candle just chilling on the table next to you making acai, I was like ‘okay go off I guess’”
Kevin laughed at me as I told him my thoughts of how he surprised me over and over again.
“You're giving people things that they don't know they need. Everything is so fast paced now and people don't want to wait for something even if its good”
“Facts. Yeah. That's true. There's like secrets in books and magazines and newspapers. That's how I look at it for sure. People always like, if you wanna hide something, put it in a magazine or put in a book. I think there's like secrets in books”
“Do you read?”
“Yeah”
“What book are you reading at the moment?”
“Rupi Kaur, Milk and Honey.”
“For the future, like what do you want Kevin's market to be slash look like? in your wildest dreams?”
“Um, shit fucking billboards. Time Square.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Like Kevin's market cafe type vibe. Like you go in there and you get the best cappuccino that you've ever had in your life. And the branding's just gonna be A1, like I can only put it up there with brands like Chanel, LOEWE, Gucci, Prada, Celine. Yeah. It's gonna be big.”
“I believe it. I have no doubt.”
Kevin Liberus is a stereotype breaking, fruit-loving, kind-hearted force to be reckoned with. If you were wondering, I stuck around as he made me a bowl and I vented to him about my familial issues and he offered some sage advice with his kind face and calm voice. We dove into mental illness, and relationships, but some things are better left in the universe and not on paper. So for now, this is the first of many smoothies and a new friend acquired. I can now say, I firmly believe this is not the last you will be hearing of Kevin Liberus. He will become a household name because the only place to go from here is up. If you drop by Kevin’s Market, tell him Lily sent you and you'll get 10% off your order. If you also happen to find yourself in there, check out his cool ass merch and his friends clothing store next door. As I said earlier, not many people surprise me, but Kevin has been the best surprise in a long time.
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