The culinary influences at Flavor Restaurant in Richton Park include Jamaican, Creole, Cajun, American and Italian.

“It was just something I wanted to do. I always wanted a restaurant. It was really a lifelong dream I had,” said Rochelle Kemp, who co-owns Flavor Restaurant with her husband, James.

Here is the dish on this eatery, which opened in Flossmoor in 2002 and moved to Lakewood Plaza in Richton Park in 2015:

On the menu: A modern collaboration between Southern and Caribbean cuisine. “In the summer when I was a child, my mom sent me to stay with my aunt in New Orleans,” she said. The food there is really a fusing of Creole and soul, she said. Her aunt taught her how to choose spices.

Kemp, who is Flavor’s executive chef, said she likes to use lots of herbs and spices.

“I’ve always grown herbs,” she said.

About the owners: “My mom had restaurants when I was young,” said Kemp, noting that her late mother, Christine Harris, last owned Christine’s in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Flavor has been featured on shows including “Check, Please!” on WTTW-TV (Channel 11) as a recommended spot and “Chicago’s Best” on WGN-TV (Channel 9) for best breakfast.

A mission statement: “I love talking to the customers. I love that because I love people. We have really nice customers,” said Kemp, of Olympia Fields. “In terms of being in the kitchen, I just like the way it feels, the way it looks and the excitement of seeing the food come out.”

Decor: “It just feels very warm,” Kemp said. She chose the same colors for the restaurant that she has in her family room. Flavor seats 110 indoors and another 30 on the patio in warmer months. “People eat with their eyes and their environment,” she said. “There are a lot of things that should happen before they eat food. We always try to plate food really beautifully. Lighting is always important in decorating. We have different levels of light and different levels of color.”

Specialties: “The shrimp and grits are what we’re known for,” Kemp said. “The salmon croquettes, my favorite things, seem to be favorite things of the customers.” Other popular dishes include the short ribs of beef, Cajun wings and waffle, jerk chicken, and sauteed liver and onions.

We’re different because: Live music is performed from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturdays. A $10 surcharge is added if no entrees or drinks are purchased during one’s seating. “It’s all part of the dining experience. I love music. I sang with my church choir and I played piano years ago. When I had the idea of opening the restaurant, it was all part of the plan that I would always have music,” Kemp said. Flavor also offers karaoke the first Thursday of the month.

Prices: Start at $5 for appetizers; $10 for salads, Caribbean dishes or Cajun selections; $11 for beef dishes; $12 for breakfast for dinner items or pork selections; and $15 for seafood dishes. Items for breakfast, which is served until 3 p.m., start at $3 for pancakes, waffles and French toast; $5 for appetizers; $7 for specialties and $11 for egg options.

Logistics: Flavor Restaurant is at 5091 Sauk Trail, Richton Park. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m to 11 p.m. Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, closed Mondays and Tuesdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Thursdays. Call 708-748-3000 or go to www.flavordining.com. Flavor Brunch & Bar, 17575 S. Kedzie Ave., Hazel Crest, 708-914-4373, www.flavorbrunch.com, is owned and operated by Kemp’s son Jerome and Jerome’s wife, Dawn, and offers a modern brunch experience.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.