When a customer walks into A Taste of The World at 2700 S. Hoyt Ave., he or she will be greeted by owner Sy-Ayre Ky-Les and his friendly staff.
The restaurant has burgundy candles and floral tablecloths that Ky-Les, 29, personally lights each day. Wrought-iron candleholders add to the ambiance. The restaurant plays hip-hop, jazz, blues and R&B and will soon have a limited liquor license that allows beer and wine to be served on Fridays and Saturdays.
Currently, the Cajun fish, curry chicken with rice and Caribbean-style spiced cabbage have been the most popular signature dishes. Breakfast is served all the time, and a selection of soul food dishes is also available.
A Taste of the World provides a comfortable, informal and a romantic caf? atmosphere with a sophisticated touch of elegance in a remote spot in Muncie.
There are two dining areas: the front room and the large ballroom in the rear, which is able to accommodate banquets, weddings and other parties. Green cloth covers the stools at the old-fashioned lunch counter.
Ky-Les is currently hand-crafting a large wooden wine rack to mount above the counter. He recently ordered artifacts from Trinidad to further adorn the restaurant.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago who came to the U.S. in 1998, Ky-Les earned his bachelor's degree in nursing from Western University in Grenada and has been practicing nursing for eight years. Ky-Les spent two years in the British Navy working at a desk job in a hospital in Trinidad.
He has lived and worked in 30 U.S. states as a nurse and food vendor.
"Nursing was my free ticket because the pay was good, but the restaurant is my passion," he said. "In big cities, there's a lot of competition that you don't find here."
He has done food vending in Muncie at Heekin Park for the Bonzi Wells tournament and in Indianapolis and other cities. He recalls other vendors getting upset at his success. While vending before the opening of the restaurant, Ky-Les was a one-man show in a tent with his grill.
He has been in Muncie for seven months. Originally, he was supposed to be a partner in Rashid's restaurant, located at 1125 Highland Ave. He didn't partner with Rashid because of religious reasons involving not eating pork.
"They inspired me not to give up. I was alone, but my friends helped me out," he said. "I basically don't want to alienate anyone. That is why I offer a smoking section as well."
He spends all of his waking time at the restaurant. A usual workday for him begins at 5:30 a.m. and lasts until 10 p.m. He lives 15 minutes away from the restaurant. One night, a waitress found Ky-Les asleep in the corner from overworking himself.
Two aspects of restaurant ownership give him the greatest satisfaction.
"I love to look around the corner from the kitchen and see a look of happiness on their faces and see the food all gone," he said. "I want people to say 'Wow! I got all this for five or six dollars!'"
Some Caribbean food is not on the menu, and Ky-Les will personally describe specials to customers.
"We always bring out samples to every customer to introduce them to new flavors. We pride on that," he said.
A Taste of The World will soon have a jazz night every Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. It will be by reservation only. Local jazz band "A Moment's Notice" will likely become a regular attraction at the restaurant because its current performances there have been successful. Ky-Les is also investing in a piano to accommodate the bands that play in the restaurant.
The majority of his staff are members of a friend's family and his neighbor's family.
"Everyone is pitching in," he said. "It's a hands-on ordeal. We all work equal. We all split tips at the end of the night. We all work the same, be it delivery, kitchen or whatever."
He is also working with Ray Raines at the Muncie Mission to feed the homeless one Sunday each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"I want churches to call me to get involved," Ky-Les said.
Waitress Teresa Jones, a Muncie native, learned of the restaurant because Ky-Les is dating one of her friends.
"It is great to work for such a nice boss. Everyone should experience it," Jones said.
A Taste of the World gets several lunch delivery orders every day from BSU campus offices. Delivery is available to anywhere in Muncie.
"I think we'll succeed because we're unique, and we get a good business crowd because of our location," Jones said.
Ky-Les had great success returning to his vending roots with a tent this year at Mardi Gras, serving grilled delicacies to party-goers. Across from the Heorot, Ky-Les and his staff proudly wore custom jackets and shirts bearing the name of the restaurant.
"Patience is a virtue. It's all going to get better by the grace of God," Ky-Les said. "I'm very happy, and I'm not stopping here. I'm very blessed to be where I am now."
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