Theo Martin, one of the owners of Columbia City Caribbean restaurant Island Soul, has been trying to open a new restaurant in Kirkland for going on two years now. Announced in 2021, Arleana’s was a particularly personal project for Martin — he spent a big chunk of his childhood in Kirkland, and the restaurant is named after his mother, who took Martin in after he bounced around 14 foster homes as a child.
“Island Soul and its generous community has given me the wings to follow my dreams and create a legacy for my mother,” Martin says. “It is important to me as a Black business owner that
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