Meet Kenny Fikes

Founder & President

Fikes Brands is more than a product offering, it is a culmination of experiences that have been fine-tuned to create a quality lifestyle brand. Our focus is in developing a combination of tastes that evoke memories of our experiences, while providing you with a taste of the Fikes Lifestyle.

From our roots in Chapel Hill, NC, we've traveled the world. Along the way, foundational experiences were created with extended family and friends. Whether a home cooked country meal by my grandmother Gladys who was born in 1904; or the Havarti, quiche, and chocolate covered coffee beans at A Southern Season - the palate was being trained.

On to boarding school in Massachusetts where adventure and exploration with international friends, blue bloods, the countryside and mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, and the allure of Boston, fashioned more. Whether Vermont maple syrup, New Hampshire clam chowder, or Boston Ale - tastes expanded. The experience was steady while eating local fish and red beans and rice in Santo Domingo, or curried goat and jerk chicken in Ocho Rios.

Next, the Ivy League education at the University of Pennsylvania ushered in a world view through the pedigree of steel sharpening steel, Philadelphia arts, Italian culture of South Philly, and an urban experience rivaling any city in the world! Whether cheesesteaks from Sofia’s truck, seafood from Bookbinders, or oysters from Villa Di Roma on the Southside - the symphony of tastes continued to amplify. Trading on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange opened further experiences wrapped in excellence. Whether beef tartare at fine restaurants, single malt scotch, or single barrel whiskey at overblown events - we were growing.

Moving to the Midwest working in Oklahoma City, there were many shindigs where food and tastes included everything from locally raised beef to great French Restaurants. Whether it was Cattleman’s (where Presidents have dined) for a steak or Lamb Fries (Rocky Mountain oysters) - it was a robust scene.

Catching Bonitas in the Pacific off western Mexico that were served back on land with bread and tortillas cooked over a fire next to me; or eating Salt Fish and Potato cakes in Aruba; it curated additional taste excursions in Manzanillo and Oranjestad!

As a man in his 50’s, I’ve enjoyed hot chicken in Nashville, TN, had great breads and desserts in Paris, roadside chicken in Kampala, and enjoyed the sausages, soups, and unique items over a meal at Rôzana in Warsaw - where customers from global government officials and celebrities to the Dalai Lama have also dined.

Enjoying traditional Ghanaian starch rich foods in Accra and Kumasi (kenkey and jollof) continued the African continent’s rich heritage of time-tested fish-based soups and stews that influenced the Caribbean diets - giving way to spicy tastes enriched with plants. Alas Morocco! Moroccan cuisine is usually a mix of

Berber, Andalusian, Mediterranean, and Arab cuisines, with minimal European (French and Spanish) and sub-Saharan influences. This cuisine has more in common with Middle Eastern cuisine than with the rest of Africa.

Finally for now, the tastes of Hawaii – especially the mochi rice cakes, mahi-mahi, and local Poi -- all gave a new sense of sweetness alongside heartiness all in one.

What connects all of these experiences? Good times, lots of laughs, and sharing fine whiskey, food, and good cigars. Now I want to share them with you.

Fikes is a culmination of the best PERSONAL experiences coming together in one brand. I am a connoisseur inviting you to my table to have a bit of my experience, tradition, consistency, exploration, and pedigree bound by the hard work of trial after trial resulting in a robust coffee and a refined cigar.

Sip, smoke, and enjoy.

Welcome to EXCELLENCE.