ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The annual Arts, Beats and Eats festival has returned to downtown Royal Oak, bringing together local and national artists, musicians and food vendors spanning across an 18-blocks.
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For one business owner, the festival marks more than just another successful weekend — it represents a turning point where incredible success was born from a moment of deep personal heartbreak.
Inside one of the busiest dessert stands at Arts, Beats & Eats, orders keep flowing for Lekker Choco Treats, owned by Nakija Mills and known for decadent chocolate-covered strawberries and artfully crafted sweets.
"She's crushing it — quality food, beautiful presentation, fast service. She's now one of our top dessert vendors," said Jon Witz, producer, Arts, Beats and Eats.
A former esthetician, Mills launched her business during the pandemic, but it was her debut at this festival in 2021 that truly put her on the map.
"Let me say it was huge, it was a huge success. You know, they were amazing, you know, they showed me so much love and I mean it just kind of pulled in my business," Mills said.
Success from that event led to the opening of her brick-and-mortar location in Livonia.
Tragedy strikes during breakthrough moment
But Mills' 2021 festival debut was overshadowed by devastating personal news. She hadn't seen her father, Ronald Mills, for 20 years when they reconnected shortly before the festival.
"I told him after Arts, Beats and Eats I'll take the first flight out and I'll come see you. But what happened was he ended up passing away the week before Arts, Beats and Eats and his funeral was the day after Arts, Beats and Eats," Mills said.
"The last conversation I had with him was the Monday before he passed on Wednesday. I told him the last thing I told him was make sure you get right with God and he was like, 'Don't worry man, daddy got this, daddy got this,'" she said.
Drawing strength from her father's memory, Mills keeps the only photo of him right by her side, channeling his hard-working spirit into her business.
"My dad was a hard-worker, and when I did Arts, Beats and Eats, I felt like I got all my strength to push through that. I felt like that's the day I found out how strong I am," Mills said.
"He would tell me, 'You got this,'" she said when asked what her father would say seeing her thriving business today.
While crafting each order with love and seeing happy faces enjoy her desserts, Mills believes her success is putting a smile on her father's face.
More than 200 food vendors are participating in this year's event, each with their own unique story to share.
Arts, Beats and Eats wraps up Monday. To learn more, head to https://artsbeatseats.com/
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
