The Style and Soul of Flint’s Newest Culinary Destination, 810Tings

FLINT, Michigan — Somewhere in the middle of a busy Thursday afternoon at the Flint Farmers’ Market, a blend of Caribbean spices and Cajun heat rose above the buzz of hungry customers. The closer I got to the center of the market, the louder the aroma became — smoky, fresh, bright. As if flavors from different worlds met as strangers, yet blended like old friends. The smell led me straight to Chef Nate Campbell, owner of 810Tings, whose Caribbean–Cajun fusion stand is hard to ignore in the heart of the market.

Stunned by this unfamiliar, enticing combination of spices and seasonings, it became clear that Campbell isn’t simply running a food stand; he’s set a small stage where culture, memory, and technique blend together in real time — and you don’t even have to get on a plane to experience it.

“Flint is important to me. I was born and raised here. Broadening the horizons of the food scene here is just as important.”

These aromas are more than the result of a meal cooked with love and pride — they’re archives of a childhood spent prep-cooking and learning from his Jamaican grandmother. “My grandparents are from Jamaica, and my grandmother ran a catering business when I was a kid,” says Campbell. “And I would spend my summers with her. So I grew up like her little prep cook. That’s where I learned those Caribbean flavors.” Those early lessons moved with him into adulthood, evolving as he grew and eventually giving birth to the signature fusion at the core of 810Tings.

810Tings opened at the beginning of October, and according to the staff, the customers aren’t the only ones feeling the heat. Behind the scenes, Campbell is balancing the controlled chaos of running a new kitchen, learning the curve of ownership, and solidifying the foundation he wants before taking the leap into a brick-and-mortar store of his own. “We’ve been open for only seven weeks now, but it’s been a great seven weeks,” he says. “At the moment, I just want to focus on the now and tweak all the little things to make it perfect, so when we are ready for those next steps, it’ll be seamless.”

And while Campbell is still settling into the role of owner, the food itself comes from a place he’s been rooted in his whole life. Those Cajun and Caribbean influences guide his cooking while shaping the personality of the menu. Instead of serving the exact traditional plates he grew up on, Campbell bends and rebuilds those flavors into something Flint can walk right up to without hesitation. “I just wanted to bring that to the city because I felt like it was something that Flint was missing,” he admits. “Flint is important to me. I was born and raised here. Broadening the horizons of the food scene here is just as important.”

The bowls Campbell and his team — his sister Sonni and right-hand man Nate Willoughby — created feel familiar enough to navigate, yet bold enough to carry their own identity. “We are a Build Your Own bowl place, but we’ve decided to design three bowls to feature on our menu for people who might not know where to start.” The star among them is The Signature, stacked with jerk chicken, “citrus-pickled onion, cucumber, green onion, with a mango sauce served on a bed of rice.”

“Cooking is free-flowing. It’s art. And DJing is the same way.”

From there, the menu stretches into bowls that show just how far Campbell pushes the fusion without losing its roots. His favorite is the Heat Check, built on grits and a ginger garlic short rib cooked for twelve hours. Then comes the cabbage, red beans, green onions, and a jalapeño cilantro aioli that adds “that nice little kick.” It’s something he says he could eat every day.

The staff knows that while they’re used to the heat typical of Caribbean dishes, Flint’s taste buds might not be the same. “We have a ton of people who, understandably, can’t handle the heat. And to that I would say, ‘Come see us.’ There are only a few things that are actually spicy on the menu,” Campbell stressed. “There are so many things that are just packed full of flavors that you don’t have to run from just because you don’t like heat. We got something truly for everybody.”

His commitment to accessibility goes beyond spice levels. Ingredients are sourced locally, with halal meat coming from Detroit — choices that keep the business connected to the same community it serves. Campbell’s approach to locally grown flavor isn’t the only thing that sets 810Tings apart. It’s everything happening behind the counter, too. The pace, the people, the steady back-and-forth—they’re the heartbeat that keeps the space alive.

For Campbell, feeding Flint goes deeper than serving food. It’s about creating a place where people feel welcomed, seen, and genuinely surprised by what’s growing right here in their own city. And his journey to this moment didn’t begin with ownership. He’s spent fifteen years in kitchens across the region, learning every station from prep cook to sous chef, long before he imagined running his own place.

“We got something truly for everybody.”

At the same time, he was building another career — DJing at clubs, parties, and events across Flint. “Cooking is free-flowing. It’s art. And DJing is the same way,” he said. That creative flow shows up in every bowl at 810Tings. For Campbell, both crafts demand instinct, rhythm, and the ability to read people in real time, using the senses — eye, ear, or nose — to shape the experience.

Campbell isn’t in a rush to expand or reinvent anything. He just wants to keep showing up, keep feeding people, and keep building something steady in the city he’s always called home. With all of this in mind — his background, the flavors, the long nights in kitchens and DJ booths — it’s clear, even after a short visit, that 810Tings isn’t trying to be anything other than what it already is: a small Flint business run by someone who cares about the people standing in front of him.

To learn more about 810Tings, you can find them on Facebook, Instagram, and inside the Flint Farmer’s Market.