Former UFC fighter Kevin Lee has opened his comfort-food business, Braised, in Dallas, bringing a brand that started at a South Florida farmers market to North Texas.
Braised held its Dallas grand opening at PREP Dallas on Sunday, November 1. Lee’s younger brother, food critic Keith Lee, joined him for the launch, and the first 30 customers ate free.
From the Octagon to the Kitchen
Lee challenged Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight title in 2017 and went 11-8 in the UFC. After a first-round loss in his PFL debut in June 2025, he stepped away from fighting.
Braised began in 2024 as a pop-up at the Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood, Florida, and grew into a food truck and catering operation. The menu centers on slow-cooked meats: braised oxtail, barbecue beef short ribs, chicken pot pie, and lamb chops.
Lee expects the oxtail to lead the way. “I think it’s going to be the real star of the show,” he told The Dallas Morning News.
A Little Help From Little Brother
Keith Lee’s review of the Florida pop-up drew millions of views, and the stand sold out within three hours, SB Nation reports. He also gave his brother $10,000 to reinvest in the business.
Still, the operation remains lean. “My brother’s kind of hard-headed, so he ain’t got no big team,” Keith said in a TikTok video promoting the opening. “This is my way of saying, as a younger brother, that I’m extremely proud of him.”
Plenty of athletes lend their names to restaurants; fewer start in a farmers market tent and do the cooking themselves. For Black men weighing a second act, Lee’s path shows how a small, scratch-made concept and family support can turn into a real business.
