In Conversation: Isaiah Seay

Isaiah Seay needs no introduction. His infectious personality bursts through the door of Ma Dukes, greeting his cooks as they file out for lunch. I first met Isaiah in summer of 2020 when the world seemingly fell apart. My family and I got takeout here nearly every week when the pandemic sent all of us into athleisure wear and hand-stitched masks. Two years later, he still remembers the first time my mom and I came in to pick up dinner. The restaurant was the perfect pitstop on our daily walkabout through the neighborhood, when it felt like walks were the only thing holding families together during that long spring and then summer.