HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — No matter where you’re from, we know food unites us!
It’s what one Russian and Ukrainian woman hopes to bring when you walk through the doors of her restaurant, especially now more than ever.
Keneisha Deas takes us over to Bridge Street where we meet the owner of 'Neon Lilly'!
“We started that, back in 2014, as a food truck,” said Neon Lilly restaurant owner, Liliya Taylor.
The restaurant gives us a taste of Taylor’s home country and has been open at Bridge Street for more than a year now.
Taylor credits her heritage as an inspiration for her cuisine. Taylor said she moved to the United States after she met her husband, who is American, in Kiev, Ukraine. Her husband served in the military.
Taylor said she’s been living in Huntsville for ten years now.
“Actually I was born and raised in Kazakhstan, which is the Asian part of Soviet Union. ”It’s how my cuisine is formed, Eurasian-American fusion, because core food is Slavic, and me born and raised in Asian part of Soviet Union is Eurasia.”
Her background is a tie between two countries, which is the center of attention now as it was back then.
“My mom’s line is from Russia, and my father’s line is from Ukraine. They were enemies of the state during Soviet time. That’s how we got Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan was a labor camp.”
Taylor can’t help but think about her loved ones, as she sees the crisis in Ukraine.
“I feel horrible. I am. My family, my friends from all around. I can say a lot more because I have family in Ukraine of course, and Russia, and Belgium, and Germany of course, and Kazakhstan. Nobody wants war. Nobody wants war,” said Taylor.
However, here at Neon Lilly, Taylor hopes you find peace. “If you want to come, negotiate some peace treaty here, I think it’s the place. It’s how before actually it was done. People have been eating, and it’s how we negotiate it. Because if you’re happy, you have a happy belly. You have a better mood. So historically I think it’s done that way, a long time ago anyway.”
“Just peace for everybody,” added Taylor.