The People's AME Zion Church in Syracuse is celebrating February by honoring excellence in the community.

The church is spotlighting Black success stories during Black History Month by introducing uplifting local businesses and national faces over the 28 days, including Kevi's Treats, which is located across the street.

"My church is the owner of this brick-and-mortar that I rent," said the owner and namesake, Shankevia 'Kevi' Dean. "They've given me the opportunity to rent this space, and it's been amazing. It really has."

Fridays mean prep day at the restaurant, which is open for service one day a week. That helps build anticipation and give proper time to prepare a large menu for Saturdays, a lot of which comes from Dean's Miami roots.

"I love seafood. So when I first opened up, there was not a place here in Syracuse that you could really go and get like fried lobster and seafood platter," Dean said.

As the proteins were packed away and readied for seasoning, Dean reflected on the bigger picture of how the business is run, with a large part being supported by community youth.

"I'm a school social worker, so my passion is working with kids," Dean said. "So, I wanted to come up with a way to still work with kids in my adult career job, and still be able to give them something that they can utilize in the future and benefit from."

That's where Ciara Patterson comes in. She works hard, in and out of the classroom.

"I prep for when we open. I clean up and whatever else I'm told to do," she said.

While it may not be the biggest deal now, she knows the experience she's getting from food prep to customer service is going to go a long way.

"Right now, I'm in school to be a cosmetologist. So it's just giving me tips on how to interact with people," Patterson said.

In the kitchen, more prep work needed to be done. There were plenty of peppers that need chopping. Dean hopes what she and her staff are doing will help contribute to a developing community.

"A lot of my kids that I work with are there. They're less-fortunate kids," she noted.

As February rolls on, Zion AME will continue to highlight the bright spots across the nation and CNY.

For Dean, that's one plate and cup at a time, thankful for it all.

"The church has given a lot of people in this community a platform to be able to, you know, expose yourself and get their product out there, which is a good thing, and you know, basically given us an opportunity with not very, you know, high-cost friends," Dean said. "So they've been really, really good."