“I believe that everyone should experience my husband's food at least once in their lifetime,” says Detric Fox-Quinlan about her husband and chef Malik Rhasaan. Detric is the owner and administrator of the restaurants they jointly operate, Che Butter Jonez and now Butter + Scotch.
Detric and Malik recently ran a successful Honeycomb community investment offering and raised $63,200 from 70 investors! Read on to learn more about their story from protest to pots and pans, and from activism to accolades.
From activism in the streets into the kitchen
Malik is a well-known community activist, working to increase the presence of people of color in the Occupy movement in 2011, and was recognized by Time magazine as one of the People of the Year in the Year of the Protestor. However, food has also always been a passion of his.
“I begged him for 5 years to open a restaurant,” continues Detric. “After quitting my corporate job, we decided it was the perfect time to pursue his dream.” And so, Che Butter Jonez was born in 2018, starting off as a food truck and growing into a brick and mortar restaurant in 2021.
Che Butter Jonez began to gain a lot of local attention, and was named Eater Atlanta’s #1 best restaurant for September 2021 to December 2021.
“We were initially going to use Honeycomb when we moved into our first brick-n-mortar from our food truck,” notes Detric. “We were able to build our first restaurant without the assistance of Honeycomb, but kept them in mind because we loved how allowing those who support our brand to invest in our business and receive a return on that investment was incredibly rewarding.”
Expanding their brand into upscale dining at Butter + Scotch with community investment
About a year later after Che Butter Jonez moved into their brick-and-mortar, a new opportunity arose.
“We actually were presented with an incredible opportunity to bring Che Butter Jonez to a boutique hotel, Origin Atlanta, in downtown Atlanta. We decided to establish an upscale version of our current brand and Butter + Scotch was born.”
Detric and Malik decided that with their current success and with this new restaurant coming up, this would be the opportune time to pursue a Honeycomb investment offering.
“[Running a Honeycomb campaign] seemed like the best way to ensure our customers felt like they were an actual part of our growth and development,” says Detric.
They decided to use their Honeycomb loan to fund the move into the new restaurant space, putting it towards new kitchen equipment, a point of sale system, glassware and plateware, and bar equipment.
About the experience, Detric found it easy to navigate and that they received a ton of support on the crowdfunding journey from the Honeycomb team. “It was just fun all around the board,” says Detric. “Not too much work involved, friendly team who worked with you to ensure you were getting the absolute most from the platform.”
Taking advantage of Small Business Saturday - Honeycomb style
Butter + Scotch also greatly benefited from Honeycomb’s Small Business Saturday push. On Small Business Saturday, that is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Honeycomb drops investor fees, making it all the more easy for people to invest in small businesses like Butter + Scotch. Because their campaign landed on Small Business Saturday, Malik and Detric were able to build momentum towards their eventual success.
On Small Business Saturday weekend, Butter + Scotch received $20,250 across 23 investments alone! That’s almost a third of their entire raise in just one weekend!
“Small Business Saturday was phenomenal!” says Detric. “The support was more than we imagined, but the appreciation for that support is beyond measure. We're humbled by how you rallied behind our vision!“
Detric and Malik’s Honeycomb investment offering for Butter + Scotch ended up immensely successful - they raised $63,200 from 70 investors - many from their community! And we’d be willing to bet those local investors are going to be some of the first people at Butter + Scotch’s door on opening day, later in 2023.
“This is going to be a restaurant unlike anyone Atlanta has ever seen and we are so grateful to everyone who has invested to help make this a reality!” says Detric. Butter + Scotch’s 1-3 year plan is to continue cultivating the Atlanta culinary scene, and to also expand their brand into other cities across the country.
Start your business funding journey with Honeycomb Credit - your community is at your side.
Malik and Detric are prime examples of business owners who deeply care about their community - their history of activism is just the iceberg! It goes without saying that this community involvement was an element of success in their Honeycomb offering. If you’re ready to grow your business, why not put your community to the test? Learn more about running a Honeycomb investment offering by filling out the form below.
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