BINGHAMTON, NY- Our weekly Black Owned 607 segment profiles an Eastside Binghamton eatery that’s relying on faith as it endures the pandemic.

Tsha’s Kitchen on Broad Avenue is a family affair.

Named for head chef Judith “Tsha” Charles, the restaurant features what she calls Caribbean fusion food, blending recipes from her Haitian roots, with soul food and cuisine from the islands.

Popular dishes include the mac and cheese and peach cobbler along with Haitian specialties like ox tail and legumes, a vegetable stew with beef and crab legs.

Charles says her strong Christian faith has sustained her through the pandemic as she’s transitioned to mostly takeout and seen her catering business dry up.

“It’s the love. I think it’s the love we put into the food. One customer came here and said, ‘I come here because I see your family eat the food and you eat the food.’ I’m like, ‘You think I’m going to go home and cook again?’ Whatever we’re doing for ourselves, we’re doing for the customers,” says Charles.

Charles is joined in the business by her husband Brutus and sons Jeffrey, Fabrice, Noah and Caleb.

They opened Tsha’s Kitchen last Summer and have recently received a big boost from the new Facebook page Support Black Business 607.

“Before 607, I was getting mostly Caucasians. Then, 607 brought the Black businesses and Black customers. Because they didn’t know we were here. But other people, through us going to the Mac and Cheese Fest, were getting more Caucasians,” says Charles.

Charles says her eatery is welcoming to everyone.

She says she knows racism exists but that she hasn’t experienced discrimination directly in opening her business.

Tsha’s Kitchen is currently open Tuesday through Saturday 1 to 8 P-M.

But she considering opening for breakfast starting in November.

For more information, go to TshaKitchen.com.