BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo State University has teamed up with WEDI to bring a taste of the Caribbean experience into campus cuisine.
The owner of KT Caribbean Cuisine Terry Chiddick is from Trinidad and Tobago.
Her Caribbean food caters to many of the students who come from New York City.
“It’s so exciting to give the city students and students of Caribbean background a taste of home away from home,” Chiddick says.
Some students say having KT Caribbean inside the Campbell Student Union dining hall has been a blessing in disguise.
“In Brooklyn there’s a Caribbean place in every street and up here you can barely find them,” says Tesoim Abiodun. “So I think like you said it’s comforting.”
Chiddick is part of a pop-up in which each semester a new small business like hers serves authentic food for Buffalo State students to enjoy.
And she’s doing it with the help of WEDI.
“They really look out for small businesses. They help you grow from bottom to top,” she says.
The director of external relations at WEDI, Erin St. John Kelly says their mission has always been to create equity in all parts of Buffalo.
“We’re about feeding it our mission of creating equity in Buffalo and Western New York,” Kelly says. “So we give $500 to $20,000 loans to people where banks won’t loan too, to start things like this.”
Glenn Bucello, resident district Chartwells manager at the dining hall, says they wanted to bring an authentic flavor for students.
“We really wanted to get KT Caribbean in here to be able to offer something that we didn’t have already in the program,” Bucello says. “That was truly going to be an authentic flavor, coming from the heart and Terry brings that.”
And Chiddick’s prices are pretty reasonable.
A large meal that includes a good-sized portion is $10.99. Two Jamaican patties are $6.
Chiddick says she knows what it’s like to be a college student on a budget.
“So I wanted to be as accommodating as possible with my prices and still give them a healthy portion so they can be satisfied with that,” she says.
KT Caribbean's partnership with Buffalo State is only temporary, but it has already developed a loyal following.
“Don’t make KT Caribbean leave,” says 20-year-old Lady Hamilton, a junior at Buffalo State University. “Keep her in Buffalo State. She needs to stay here. This is where she belongs.”
Others agree.
“Wherever they’re going. I'm going,” says 22-year-old Muftapha Kebbeh, a senior at Buffalo State University. “So if it’s twenty miles down the road I'll definitely be there to support them. Their food is amazing. I can't miss out on it.”
You don’t have to be a Buffalo State student to get a taste of the Caribbean experience.
KT Caribbean Cuisine is also here for the community.
You can find them inside the Campbell Student Union at Buffalo State University six days a week from 11 am to 7 pm and find more on its website here.
