Keyia Yalcin

Keyia Yalcin is a Baltimore-born restaurateur, real estate entrepreneur, and community builder shaping what’s next at the intersection of hospitality, sustainability and impact.

Bio and Featured Works

Keyia Yalcin is a Baltimore-born restaurateur, real estate entrepreneur, and community builder shaping what’s next at the intersection of hospitality, sustainability and impact. A graduate of St. Paul’s School for Girls and Howard University’s Hospitality Management program, she also earned a Master’s in Real Estate Development from Georgetown University, where she is Adjunct Faculty.

Keyia opened Fishnet in 2011 with her husband and fell in love with the memory-making magic of the restaurant business. Today, Fishnet is in a bold growth phase, currently operating the Fishnet Food Truck and debuting a Flagship Fishnet Restaurant in Late 2026. As a sustainability-forward innovator, Keyia is also the creator of Fishies, an upcycled pet treat made from fish byproducts that would otherwise be discarded—turning waste into something purposeful and delicious for pets.

A recent recipient of an Entrepreneurial Fulbright to study Sustainable Agriculture at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Keyia is working toward a sustainable future. Her successful summer program, Career Lab, with Maryland Sea Grant teaches Baltimore City Youth innovations in agriculture through hands-on STEM learning and real career skills—building pathways, not just experiences. Keyia was featured on Season 17 of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, she is a recipient of the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s Defining Industry Award and a board member of Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust.

Alongside her entrepreneurial pursuits, nothing inspires Keyia more than time spent with her husband, their two girls and their cadre of plants and pets.

About Keyia Yalcin

Expertise

Entrepreneurship
Hospitality
Real Estate

Languages

English
Spanish
Turkish