Kelly Rowland Reminisces on 'Delicious' Houston Restaurant She Frequented with Destiny's Child (Exclusive)

• Kelly Rowland is teaming up with Pepsi to launch the Local Eats with Pepsi campaign and highlight one of her favorite restaurants, This Is It Soul Food
• The singer and actress told PEOPLE about her memories of eating at the venue with family and Destiny’s Child co-stars Beyoncé and Michelle Williams
• Rowland also eats based on her hilarious and slightly unSFW idea for her own restaurant

For Kelly Rowland, home is where the food is.

Some of the Grammy winner’s fondest memories of growing up in Texas include enjoying meals at This Is It Soul Food in Houston, where she felt like part of the family. Now it’s teaming up with Pepsi to highlight the spot as part of the beverage brand’s new Local Eats Better with Pepsi program.

“This is it, there are so many memories in my heart that I share with my oldest son to this day,” Rowland, 43, tells PEOPLE. “The owner, Mr. Craig [Joseph]they would come to ask someone if they needed something. It was a personal experience that you gained. The fact that this black business owner had this establishment made people feel so loved, seen and, of course, well fed.”

Kelly Rowland.

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The “Dilemma” singer enjoyed most meals on This Is It with her late mom Doris, Destiny’s Child members Michelle Williams and Beyoncé, as well as Tina Knowles and Matthew Knowles after they all attended church together. But despite the fact that all members of the girl group “Say My Name” were under the same roof at the restaurant, they rarely used the place to talk about work.

“It was more about togetherness than anything,” Rowland recalls. “We were coming from church, so we talked about so many different things under the sun, but it was usually about what we heard in church and just silly things and being kids because we were kids at the time.”

Destiny’s Child.

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As part of the Local Eats Better with Pepsi program, The Mea Culpa star wants others to enjoy one of her favorite This Is It meals — peppered steak with rice and gravy, green beans, peach cake and a fountain Pepsi. On sale for $15 at the restaurant’s two Houston locations from August 27th to September 4th.

“Everything about ‘This Is It’ is absolutely delicious, but this particular meal, the green beans remind me of my mother, the peppered steak with rice and gravy is just warm and loving, and the peach tart is an out-of-body experience,” says Rowland. “You chase it all down with a really cold Pepsi, and it’s just amazing.”

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Kelly Rowland.

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In addition, the Pepsi campaign invites anyone across the United States to nominate their favorite local restaurant on PepsiLocalEats.com by October 31st for the chance to win their own commercial and signature dish named in their honor — which they can order for free for a limited time.

Rowland recently shot her own This Is It commercial for the campaign, and the experience brought back fond memories. “I was literally blown away when I tried that peach cake again. It’s been years since I had it. My eyes rolled back,” she says.

About three decades into her career, the chart-topping musician, actress and mother of two has branched out into other areas of the entertainment industry, from judging singing reality shows to writing books. Would you ever open your own restaurant?

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Kelly Rowland.

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“I thought about opening a breakfast restaurant, but I quickly changed my mind after telling my friends what the title would be,” Rowland says with a laugh before revealing the hilariously promising name: “Morning Grove.”

“I was going to literally design the whole place in this beautiful forest and it was beautiful,” she explains. “They were like, ‘Kelly, no.’ I said, ‘I’m just saying, you can make really sweet, sexy quips like ‘bottomless mimosas’ and stuff like that.’ They said, ‘Oh, please don’t do that.'”

Morning Wood may not be coming anytime soon, but Rowland has a lot of respect for everyone in the restaurant business. “I admire my friends who have restaurants. It’s a lot of work, but you also need passion,” he adds. “Sounds like a wonderful job.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education