This Killeen photographer’s property has an interesting history

KILLEEN, Texas ( FOX 44 ) – After buying the property of her new photography studio, Khandiese Cooper quickly discovered that it once ran as a “white people only” restaurant in the 1930s.

Cooper says she followed in her dad’s footsteps and became a photographer. She grew up in the space of photography and loved the business side of how photographers should interact with their customers.

Before buying the studio, Cooper was shooting in her 150-square-foot living room for six years until a grant process gave her an opportunity. The Khanetic Images property was built in 1913, making it 111 years old, with left over belongings from the past. Cooper got to work on renovations when something caught her eye.

“I kind of looked over to the left, and between the two by fours, and, you know, you have paint and it’s chiseled different layers,” Cooper explains. “And I was just like, ‘Does that say what I think it says?’ And you can make out the L and the W, and then on the other side you saw the A and the K, and I was like, ‘I know that doesn’t say what I think it says!'”

Cooper is also the president of the Downtown Merchants Association and has been working hard with helping other black-owned businesses open up in downtown Killeen. She says it’s a beautiful process to watch other businesses ready to grow and take a chance on themselves.

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