Kim Prince is a third-generation restauranteur with a knack for frying chicken. She recalls being the “pickle bucket girl” at the age of 8 in her family’s restaurant, Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville, TN . It was here, that the Prince family was recognized and awarded the creators of Nashville Hot Chicken (est. 1836).
In 2016, Kim started a pop-up called Hotville Chicken. Two years later, restaurateur Greg Dulan partnered with Kim to help her actualize her dream of opening a brick & mortar. In December 2019, Kim became the co-owner of a beautiful restaurant in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw district. Later in 2021, Kim & Greg, a 2023 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurateur Finalist, would add the DulanVILLE Food Truck to their roster of food ventures.
Hotville Chicken was recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as the best new restaurant in January 2020. Hotville has also been featured in and on: CNN, CBS radio, ABC radio, MSNBC Nightly News, Discovery+, iHeartRadio, the NY Times, Infatuation LA, Zagat, Thrillist, The Guardian, and The LA Times Best 101 (2020-2022).
Kim participates, supports, and donates to a growing number of communal and nonprofit organizations that focus on youth, the arts, and women in the food industry. She is a founding member of Regarding Her Food, a charitable organization created by and for women-owned restaurants. Re: HER provides small business grants, mentorship, and resources to women-owned/operated food businesses. Re: HER has launched chapters in Washington D.C., Boston, with more markets in the works. Re: HER received the esteemed Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2022.