A life lived running routes and reeling in catches.
To many, Malachi Dupre is the five-star John Curtis product and standout wide receiver with the LSU Tigers who was eventually drafted to the NFL.
Dupree’s legacy was built on the football field but not defined by it.
”Athletes have so many other gifts and abilities and talents that they learned through sports. They just got to find ways to channel them into other things. And I’ve been fortunate to do so,” Dupre said.
Dupre has taken all those lessons he’s learned on the football field and applied them to the business world, contributing to the restaurant scene in New Orleans and in Metairie.
“Hospitality was never on my radar. It’s something I have zero experience in, like prior to this. So, it’s probably 100 industries I would have chosen before this one,” the former wide receiver said.
That was until Dupre crossed paths with Chef Matt and experienced his culinary expertise.
“I was moved so much by his ability, his story, his personality that I just, you know, felt as though, he deserved the opportunity that we then created with Kenji.”
An opportunity that came with no promises on return.
Located just outside the French Quarter, Kenji doesn’t feature the Cajun flavors of gumbo and fried oysters but rather showcases Japanese cuisine by embracing its refinement.
“We took a huge risk in doing something where it’s an omakase for a restaurant where you’re serving a very high level, refined sushi. That is not something New Orleans has really ever had before. So you combine opening a restaurant in a place where hospitality is so competitive with something New Orleans has never seen before. We kind of went out on a limb with that,” Dupre said.
But it’s a limb Dupre would never regret going out on.
“My whole life now revolves around this, and I love it because we get to create an experience and host people every night to try and just, like, give them the best hospitality I’ve ever had. And it’s paid dividends,” Dupre said.
After nearly three years of booming success, Dupre is now able to open his doors to different demographics, opening another location in Metairie.
“Metairie and the thought behind this is being far enough away from our downtown location, giving someone or anyone the ability to come to something approachable, and also just caters to the people in Metairie,” Dupre said.
As Dupre approaches the opening of the Metairie location on April 29, his third restaurant, he’s hoping young athletes can look at him as an example of the endless possibilities after sports.
“Being an athlete, a lot of people put you in a box, and it’s very difficult for athletes to identify themselves outside of that box. I was always fortunate to still try and create an identity for myself outside of football and prioritize life outside of football,” Dupre said. “I think that there’s a lot of things that are applicable in life, from sports to the real world, but definitely a lot of the discipline, the teamwork, a lot of practice, a lot of preparation beforehand. When you open the doors at night, it’s basically a game for us.”
The Kenji team is winning every night, and Dupre is winning in the game of life.
“When we opened up the first one, it seemed like the craziest thing I’ve ever accomplished in my life. It was like even bigger than going to the NFL because there was almost some expectation I created for myself that I was going to go to the NFL at a certain point. I’d never thought I’d open a restaurant,” Dupre said. “In a city like New Orleans, where it’s such a deep culture and food and history, it means a lot to me to be, I feel as though, just a small part of such an amazing culinary world here in New Orleans.”
READ MORE:From football to food: Former LSU star Malachi Dupre’s successful venture into the restaurant world
