- June 24, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Business
Editor’s Note: The Human Impact is an ongoing series about the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s affected marginalized people in our communities.
DORSEY • Chioke Vaughn always dreamed of opening his own restaurant. COVID-19 tried to delay that goal.
Vaughn, cook and owner, and co-owner Nina Ruff opened Da’ Lunch Plate in Dorsey in March 2020, almost a week before COVID-19 hit.
“We knew COVID was here, but we didn’t know the severity of it,” Ruff said.
Born and raised in East Tupelo, Vaughn always loved cooking. He hails from a family of cooks, and said his passion for food was always there. Even before opening his restaurant, he would cook and deliver plates of food to people he knew.
Turning that passion into a business only seemed natural.
“It was a dream. I’ve wanted to run my own restaurant,” Vaughn said. “I’m more of a Southern-style cook, I like to do a lot of homemade cooking, from scratch. I’ll…
