Warren Braxton Luckett was working as a wine wholesaler when he first met Karinn Andrea Chavarria in April 2016, at the Menu of Menus culinary event at Silver Street Studios in Houston.
“I should have focused on promoting my wines, but this amazing woman had an aura about her,” said Mr Luckett, 37.
After introducing himself, he learned she was in a relationship, so “I planted my seed by giving her my business card and my most charming smile,” he said. Before their split, the two, who lived in Houston, also kept in touch on social media.
Seven months later, Ms. Chavarria, 33, appeared on Mr. Luckett’s Instagram feed and he contacted her to invite her to an event. Though obliged, Ms. Chavarria was still with her then-boyfriend, and Mr. Luckett’s interest eventually waned.
It was about this time that Mr. Luckett, who graduated from Morehouse College and received an MBA from Texas Southern University, founded Black Restaurant Week in Houston. The event, which promotes Black-owned restaurants and culinary businesses, has since expanded to other cities.
Mr Luckett had reflected on the deaths of Michael Brown, in 2014, and Alton Sterling, in 2016. He noticed a growing awareness among black millennials like himself who wanted to take action. He kept coming back to the idea of the family dinner table and decided that combining his love of food and business was the solution.
“My hope was to use Black Restaurant Week as a way to showcase the city’s diverse black food scene,” he said of the original Houston event.
In December 2017, about a year after he last saw Ms. Chavarria, Mr. Luckett ran into her at an event where she worked as a model serving drinks.
“Karinn seemed friendlier than in the past,” he said. “She had a twinkle in her eye and her energy was completely different.”
They soon started dating, visiting spas and attending art exhibitions and wine tastings together. In August 2018, Mr Luckett hosted a charity event that also served as Ms Chavarria’s 30th birthday party. With his help, “I was able to fulfill my philanthropy birthday wish,” she said. “It really made me fall in love with him.”
Like Mr Luckett, Ms Chavarria said she “has always had an interest in the culinary world”, noting that “I spent some time in my twenties as a food blogger and recipe developer.” In 2019, following his success with Black Restaurant Week, Mr. Luckett and Mrs. Chavarria Latin Restaurant Weeks in Houston. The event, which has since expanded to other cities, promotes and supports “those I consider to be the backbone of the culinary industry — Latinos and Latinas,” she said.
That same year, Mr. Luckett moved to Atlanta to be closer to his 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and to expand his family’s wine distribution business, Branwar Wines in Houston. Ms. Chavarria, who currently works in marketing for Equifax, the Atlanta credit reporting agency, moved in with him shortly after.
Mr Luckett proposed to her on August 21, 2021, while the two were visiting Costa Rica. They were hiking to Arenal Volcano and “when we reached the top, I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life to marry me,” he said.
The couple were married on May 5 by Harry Bowden, a Fulton County Magistrate Court judge, at his Atlanta home. On May 14, they held a wedding party with 80 guests at the Villa Punto de Vista, a private estate in Quepos, Costa Rica.
“Our wedding was a true testament to how carefully Warren listens and how he will always make sure I’m happy,” said Ms. Chavarria. “Even if that means traveling to the rainforest.”