As the chef/owner of a growing portfolio of North Carolina-based restaurants, including Kindred in Davidson, milkbread in Davidson and Plaza/Midwood, Hello, Sailor in Cornelius, and the forthcoming Albertine and milkbread, scheduled to open in adjacent locations in downtown Charlotte in summer 2024, Joe Kindred firmly believes that utilization and appreciation for quality product speaks for itself, especially when it fosters fruitful relationships with purveyors and, ultimately, guests. Running the restaurants with this premise top of mind along with his wife, Katy Kindred, the chef describes his relationships with vendors as an ecosystem of sorts.
His passion for teamwork and cooking started young. Cooking as a teen allowed Kindred to be able to get in a team environment, and he excelled quickly. He did so well in his high school’s culinary program that he won a national cooking competition at 18, earning a scholarship to Johnson and Wales in Charleston, SC. After college, he became the first intern for acclaimed Nobles in Charlotte, NC, before moving to Chicago for the next chapter and the next challenge. His tenure in Chicago saw stints at Tru, one sixtyblue, and The Pump Room, where he met his future wife, Katy.
Before the couple even got married, opening a restaurant had always been a dream of theirs. When they moved to San Francisco together, Kindred worked at acclaimed restaurant Delfina under Chef Craig Stoll, and was there when he beat stiff competition to be James Beard “Best Chef: Pacific” in 2007. Out of a desire to move closer to family, the Kindreds uprooted back to North Carolina, where he was hired again by Chef Jim Noble to be the Chef for Rooster’s Uptown and lead culinary manager for Noble’s four restaurants. During his time under Noble in 2013, Kindred was named “Chef of the Year” by Charlotte Magazine. With their roots back in North Carolina, they began to work on realizing their dream of a restaurant of their own. They did so with their namesake Kindred, housed in one of the city’s most historic downtown buildings, which was once the town pharmacy, followed two years later by Hello, Sailor, located on Lake Norman at a location that he frequented growing up as a child.
Chef Joe was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Best Chef: Southeast in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. He lives in his hometown of Davidson with Katy, their three kids Alba, Luca, and Graydon, and their dog.
Generously supported by Visit North Carolina