Kyle’s Kitchen Turns 10 Years Old

Ten years ago, Deena and Jay Ferro took a risk and opened Kyle’s Kitchen. They founded the fast casual restaurant with a much deeper purpose than serving burgers: to support and uplift families in the community who have children with special needs. 

“For us, it was pretty clear because we had our son who has special needs. We just want what’s best for him and others like him, so that was the reason we started it,” said Jay. Their mission has guided them, and the outcome is phenomenal. Over the last decade, Kyle’s Kitchen has served more than five million burgers and raised more than $300,000 for local special needs organizations.

The idea of incorporating philanthropy within a business was important to Jay as he was brainstorming and planning for the restaurant. “We really didn’t know how the community would respond to it. I remember back then I had gotten some inspiration from TOMS Shoes,” he said. Jay drew inspiration from their charitable aspect but had to brainstorm how he could apply this idea on a local scale. “Obviously, we can’t send burgers to Africa, so we had to come up with a different way to support them. We just committed to highlighting, partnering with a different local special needs organization and letting the community know about them,” he said.

Kyle, the inspiration and face of Kyle’s Kitchen, was born with an undiagnosed brain injury. “It’s a profound time in your life. Now you know that you’re with someone that’s going to need your support for the rest of their life,” said Jay. Despite this brain injury, Kyle works hard at the restaurant, greeting customers and showing them appreciation as they walk through the door. “He has a spirit about him, and he connects with people,” Jay said.

Giving back at Kyle’s Kitchen is as routine as opening the doors every day for customers. In the first few years, the team partnered with a new organization each month. Once the pandemic hit, they decided to focus on an organization once a quarter, to allow more time and attention to be spent on the partnership.

“One of the downsides, and what you learn as you go through these processes, is it almost didn’t give us enough time to talk about them,” Jay said of the switch. “By going quarterly, it gives us more time to participate with their events.”

Kyle’s Kitchen has partnered with more than 60 organizations in their 10 years, and they’re not done. Their commitment to routine charitable involvement has had phenomenal success and continues to thrive. “We’ve learned so much and met so many great organizations and the people. The community has been a great blessing for our family,” Jay said. Each organization the restaurant partners with has a unique cause creating a diverse group of organizations. “We love Slingshot — they are a part of Alpha Resource Center; they do all this art work. A lot of the artwork you see here [Kyle’s Kitchen] are made by artists with disabilities,” he said.

Currently the restaurant is partnered with the Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization that provides athletic competition opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Goretti Ortiz, the Director of Development for the Special Olympics of Southern California, said, “It is through the generosity of community partners, such as Kyle’s Kitchen, that we can provide year-round sports and programs free of charge to our local Special Olympics athletes. Our mission of inclusion and awareness strives to provide an equitable and safe playing field for all individuals with intellectual disabilities where they can learn, play and connect with their peers.”

Kyle’s Kitchen provides support not only through partnerships but also by employing those with disabilities and providing them a source of income. “One of the big emphases of making this and calling it Kyle’s Kitchen was that Kyle has a built-in career and a job,” Jay said. “We want to support how we can and how can we continue to employ those with special needs so they have a career. They want to have purpose.”

Gabe Donovan, an employee for two years at Kyle’s Kitchen, found a community and second home there. Donovan worked as a service clerk at a grocery store before switching to Kyle’s Kitchen in the summer of 2023. “I felt like I was starting a new beginning. I felt a lot more needed and respected,” Donovan said. His favorite memory at the restaurant is eating the buffalo chicken sandwich, which he said he has done 68 times. Because of Donovan’s experience of coming into a job where he felt more appreciated, he now wants to advise people to listen to their inner voice and go where they feel valued. 

Celebration of this milestone is in order at Kyle’s Kitchen and they’re doing this by offering $10 deals through September on their three most popular items, Klassic Kyle, OG Krispy Chicken Sandwich, and the Spicy Krispy Chicken Sandwich. 

Kyle’s Kitchen currently has two locations in Goleta. For more information and the full menu, see kyleskitchen.com.