Meet the Team
James is from the huge metropolis of Phenix City, Alabama and has lived in Birmingham since 1999. At an early age his Grandmothers instilled a passion for cooking in James (see meet my Grandmothers). His dream has always been to open a restaurant and a catering business. Most of the menu items are his original creations, or cherished family recipes. He describes the food as a blending of Mediterranean & Down Home Southern Cooking. “It’s kinda like Mee-Maw went to Greece or Italy and brought back some recipes to blend with her own” He also has a passion for Ministry, and he sees this opportunity at Kairos as a way to bring his two passions together- Cooking and Ministry. For more information see “Get to know James” on the Reviews/Extras page.
Jeremy is from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and has lived in Birmingham since 2001. Over the years we’ve rubbed off on him a lot, and he has become a sweet-tea drinking good ole boy with a southern accent! Jeremy has a passion for any type of service to people and a history of working alongside people both in business and ministry. Jeremy and James both share a passion for what they are accomplishing here at Kairos. James sees himself as the Kairos Head Coach & Jeremy as his Assistant Coach! Together they head up an awesome team!!!
Lenora is from Blountstown, Florida and has lived in Birmingham since 1986. She has many years of experience as a wife and a mother, so it’s no surprise that she was chosen to be the Lead “Coach” in the Dining Room to oversee the Waitstaff, and to serve the customers! Lenora is prompt and hospitable, and she loves to serve people. She can be counted on to see that your visit to Kairos is a “special” time.
Branden was born & raised right here in Birmingham, Alabama. He is on the fast track to becoming one of the Leaders here at Kairos, and one of the only team members who has the ability to step into any job and help out when he is needed. His hobbies include Shopping, hanging out with friends, making desserts, and being with his family. Branden’s enthusiasm for life is contagious and we are blessed to have him on the team!
Doris is from Birmingham, born and raised. We consider ourselves blessed to have Doris on board at Kairos. Her passions include her family, her relationship with Jesus, crossword puzzles, and T.V. Doris says she lovesworking at Kairos because she loves the people. And we love Doris! She helps keep the place in tip-top shape, and she is an encouragement to all of us here at Kairos!
Mary was born in New York, but raised for the most part right here in Birmingham, Alabama. She is exuberant about life, and loves meeting the customers and serving them in the dining room of Kairos Kafe. She is also a big fan of the food, and she is truly living out our Mission Statement as she connects with people and builds relationships around food. Her passions include her relationship with her daughter Lauren, her relationship with Jesus, Floral Arranging, Art, & Cooking (she loves to imitate James’ recipes) Mary is a vital part of the Kairos team and a blessing to spend time with!
Kayla is from Manheim, Pennsylvania, and is currently a resident of Birmingham. We’ve decided to make her an honorary Southerner! It only takes a few minutes to be around Kayla to realize that you are in the presence of someone special, and we are delighted to have her as the first person you encounter when you come into Kairos! Her passions include “doing” Hair, Baking, and connecting with family & friends. We are honored to have Kayla on our Team!
Carla is from Birmingham, born & raised. The thing we all enjoy the most about Carla is her outlook on life. She always seems to find something positive, even in negative circumstances, and that is something we all need to learn! She is also one of the cleanest people we’ve ever met! She keeps the kitchen in tip-top shape, and has been nicknamed “Clean-Carla-Girl” by James. She is very passionate about her relationship with Jesus, and the Transformation that has taken place in her life, she loves music, and from time to time you can hear her singing along as she goes about her work! We are so thankful to have Carla on the Kairos Team!
Don is from Chicago, Illinois, and has lived in Birmingham for over 18 years. Don is very diligent and has been described by Lenora as having a great eye for customer needs in the Dining Room. He also loves to cook, and we are in the process of sharing some of our secret techniques with him, so he may be behind the line with James & Jeremy before long! His passions include his children, basketball, football, & swimming. We are honored to have Don on the Kairos Team!
Behind the Scenes
Steve was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Colquitt, Georgia, and has lived in Birmingham since 1986. He is the Pastor of Grace & Truth Church and he’s been instrumental in helping us lay the foundation for Kairos Katering. Our mission statement is “Building Relationships Around Food”. Steve is helping us to practically live out that mission statement so that it’s not just words on paper, but something we actually “do”. He’s also helping us to set guidelines for interaction between Staff-members, as well as interaction with Customers. Although he isn’t involved in the day to day operations, we welcome his wisdom that comes not only through knowledge, but by many years of experience.
Tonya was born in Atmore, Alabama and has lived in Birmingham most of her life. Her passion is to help people. She’s been with us every step of the way helping us in any way that she could. Tonya has organized Fund-raiser Dinners and Yard Sales to raise money for Kairos, and she always does it cheerfully. She’s been an asset to us, but because she’s behind the scenes, she rarely gets any recognition for her hard work. Thank you Tonya!!
Norma was born in Phenix City, Alabama and has lived in Birmingham since 2000. One of her passions is meeting new people and getting to know them. After a few minutes with her, you’ll feel like you’ve known her all your life! Norma has been a constant source of help to us in laying the groundwork for Kairos Katering. She is also the Mother of James K Jones. And although she won’t be working with us full-time, you will be very likely to see her around the place, helping in any way she can. Thank You, Norma!
Shana was born in Atmore, Alabama and has lived in Birmingham most of her life. Her passion is people. She loves meeting new people and loves spending time with others and building relationships. Shana has been behind us from the start of this dream called Kairos, and we are very thankful for all the details she has helped us work through, and her commitment to help us out whenever there is a spot that needs to be filled. It would be hard to imagine where we would be today without all the hard work that she has contributed, and we are grateful for all that she continues to add to the Kairos Team!
Meet the Investors
Kairos Katering would never have gotten off the groundif it wasn’t for the generous support of our investors.
These are the people who believed in James when all he had was a dream,
and we are eternally grateful to them. We believe that in the
future we will make them all very proud!
Sherry Alvis
Wendy Beabout
Jay Davis
Mike & Becky Farrell
Dan Graber
Nelson & Ann Grice
Eric & Katie Hess
Doug & Becky Horst
Oren Horst
Josh Isley
Jerry Landis
Daryl & Janet Longenecker
Tiana Longenecker
Steve & Lenora Longenecker
Norma Pierce
Joey Plaia
Michael Roberts
Jeremy & Tonya Sauder
Leon & Harriet Sauder
Dave & Jane Slabaugh
Roland & Linda Stutzman
Tim & Marian Stutzman
Shana Joy
Sue Whitaker
And special thanks to Latanya Jordan from the BBRC
Meet My Grandmothers
(By James K Jones)
Some of my earliest memories are sitting on the counter watching my Granny, Sara Jones, cook.
She said it was the only way to keep me quiet. By the time I was 10 years old
I would wake up early and cook breakfast for her. She came from the old school where you
cooked everything from scratch, and dinner was on the table for her family every night of the week.
All my life we’ve cooked together and traded recipes. Our relationship
is definitely one that was built around food!
My Mee-Maw, Gladys Whitaker, was famous for her buttermilk biscuits.
Even though she had 5 daughters, none of them could duplicate her recipe.
When I was about 12, she said “Sonnyboy, I’m gonna teach you how to make biscuits.”
And she did just that! Needless to say, it stirred up a little bit of strife in my family
that a twelve year old could make Mee-Maw’s biscuits!
I’m grateful to both of my Grandmothers for teaching me how to cook,
and for allowing me to make endless messes in their kitchen.
Meet Grace & Truth
Our church is different than most churches. Here you will find peoplefrom all different backgrounds and denominations coming together to worship God,
follow Jesus, and love each other. We all participate in worship, share time, praying for one another, etc.
If you come to visit us, we will treat you so many different ways that you’ll have to like one of them!!
Our many thanks go out to the people of Grace & Truth for
giving us the opportunity to make the dream of Kairos a reality.
For more information about Grace & Truth
please visit our website: Graceandtruthonline.org
“We, as a people, can do all the things that God desires
for us to do, through Jesus Christ, who is our source of
strength and encouragement.” Philippians 4:13 (paraphrase)