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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Food Network Star' chef explains 3 ways to finance a new restaurant
Listen and subscribe to The Big Idea on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Russell Jackson, a chef who's appeared on shows like "Iron Chef America," "Food Network Star," and "Going Off Menu," has learned some key business lessons after financing and running three separate restaurants. On Yahoo Finance's Big Idea podcast, Jackson shared the three different ways he funded each of his restaurant ventures, including the one method he would recommend above all others. "I would probably always say try to go with an SBA loan," Jackson advised budding restaurateurs, referring to the loan through the Small Business Administration that funded his Harlem-based fine-dining restaurant, Reverence. "It's still a sizable chunk of down payment that you have to come up with, but the terms are better than any other bank can get for you." This embedded content is not available in your region. Before opening Reverence, Jackson created and eventually closed two other restaurants: Russell's in Los Angeles and Lafitte in San Francisco. Russell's was Jackson's first business venture, which he said he opened with capital largely amassed from those close to him — a move he said he would "absolutely not" recommend others take. "I had some friends and my family ... [who] kicked some money in," he explained, detailing some of the names who were integral in getting that first venture off the ground financially. "My father kicked the lion's share of money in — and that was tough. Closing that restaurant was exceedingly difficult. But again, we went through some very unprecedented things when closing that restaurant." Read more: What can I use a personal loan for? Lafitte, on the other hand, was financed through private equity. Though that removed the emotional connections that can complicate getting a restaurant off the ground, he noted it also required him to forfeit quite a bit of say in the big decisions for the restaurant. "Ultimately, ... I didn't have the highest amount of equity," he said. "I had a percentage that was a reasonable voting block, but the decision was out of my hands in the respect of, 'Do I continue on with this while we're losing money, or do we have to close?'" In those situations with private equity investors, Jackson explained, "you lose the ability to have that say and control you need." In the end, when Lafitte closed, it wasn't ultimately his decision. "The investor said, 'Eh, we're done,'" Jackson said. Jackson was able to open Reverence thanks to an SBA loan, though he admitted the process was far from easy and one he said he didn't think would ultimately be successful. "The labyrinth of red tape and hurdles ... it always seemed like a sheer impossibility," Jackson admitted. "So I applied for the SBA loan in this respect, almost as just trying to turn over a last rock, not having any expectation whatsoever that this was a possibility. So when I got the notification that I had gotten it, I realized that I had turned into a unicorn." Though Jackson ultimately made the difficult decision to close Reverence this year after facing setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic and in the restaurant industry, he noted he's not one to give up easily when fighting for his business. "I've said this before ... you can never give up," he said. "You just have to keep fighting until you are utterly dead. I think that if I look at some of my other ventures, giving up when I did might have been construed as a mistake. I think that that's why now I'm willing to go down with the ship in a spectacularly fireball way and keep trying to figure out how to make it work to some degree or another." Every Thursday, Elizabeth Gore discusses real-life stories and smart strategies for launching a small business on The Big Idea podcast. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Food Network Star' chef explains 3 ways to finance a new restaurant
Listen and subscribe to The Big Idea on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Russell Jackson, a chef who's appeared on shows like "Iron Chef America," "Food Network Star," and "Going Off Menu," has learned some key business lessons after financing and running three separate restaurants. On Yahoo Finance's Big Idea podcast, Jackson shared the three different ways he funded each of his restaurant ventures, including the one method he would recommend above all others. "I would probably always say try to go with an SBA loan," Jackson advised budding restaurateurs, referring to the loan through the Small Business Administration that funded his Harlem-based fine-dining restaurant, Reverence. "It's still a sizable chunk of down payment that you have to come up with, but the terms are better than any other bank can get for you." Before opening Reverence, Jackson created and eventually closed two other restaurants: Russell's in Los Angeles and Lafitte in San Francisco. Russell's was Jackson's first business venture, which he said he opened with capital largely amassed from those close to him — a move he said he would "absolutely not" recommend others take. "I had some friends and my family ... [who] kicked some money in," he explained, detailing some of the names who were integral in getting that first venture off the ground financially. "My father kicked the lion's share of money in — and that was tough. Closing that restaurant was exceedingly difficult. But again, we went through some very unprecedented things when closing that restaurant." Read more: What can I use a personal loan for? Lafitte, on the other hand, was financed through private equity. Though that removed the emotional connections that can complicate getting a restaurant off the ground, he noted it also required him to forfeit quite a bit of say in the big decisions for the restaurant. "Ultimately, ... I didn't have the highest amount of equity," he said. "I had a percentage that was a reasonable voting block, but the decision was out of my hands in the respect of, 'Do I continue on with this while we're losing money, or do we have to close?'" In those situations with private equity investors, Jackson explained, "you lose the ability to have that say and control you need." In the end, when Lafitte closed, it wasn't ultimately his decision. "The investor said, 'Eh, we're done,'" Jackson said. Jackson was able to open Reverence thanks to an SBA loan, though he admitted the process was far from easy and one he said he didn't think would ultimately be successful. "The labyrinth of red tape and hurdles ... it always seemed like a sheer impossibility," Jackson admitted. "So I applied for the SBA loan in this respect, almost as just trying to turn over a last rock, not having any expectation whatsoever that this was a possibility. So when I got the notification that I had gotten it, I realized that I had turned into a unicorn." Though Jackson ultimately made the difficult decision to close Reverence this year after facing setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic and in the restaurant industry, he noted he's not one to give up easily when fighting for his business. "I've said this before ... you can never give up," he said. "You just have to keep fighting until you are utterly dead. I think that if I look at some of my other ventures, giving up when I did might have been construed as a mistake. I think that that's why now I'm willing to go down with the ship in a spectacularly fireball way and keep trying to figure out how to make it work to some degree or another." Every Thursday, Elizabeth Gore discusses real-life stories and smart strategies for launching a small business on The Big Idea podcast. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Funding a restaurant is a beast - here's how one chef tackled it
Listen and subscribe to The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcast. This week on The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore, chef and restaurateur Russell Jackson joins the show to answer the question: How do I fund a small business? Jackson breaks down all the different ways he has financed his restaurants in the past and offers his pros and cons to the different methods, especially for small business Finance's The Big Idea with Elizabeth Gore takes you on a journey with America's entrepreneurs as they navigate the world of small business. This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff How to, I'm Elizabeth Gore. Welcome to the Big Idea from Yahoo Finance, the show that navigates the world of small business and entrepreneurship. All businesses start with one light bulb moment, and I'm going to take you on a journey with America's entrepreneurs. As the co-founder of the small business funding platform, Hello Wallace, it has always been my mission to help ensurewhere entrepreneurs have the tools they need to live the American dream. We're going to get between the spreadsheets with these operators to flow from their smallest failures to their biggest successes. So let's cowboy up. Today, our big idea question is how do you fund a small business? Today's industry is restaurants and I love to eat. My special guest this episode is Russell Jackson, a chef, restaurateur, and community leader. He's also a great Jackson has appeared on shows like Iron Chef America, Food Network Star, and Going Of Menu. He is the owner and chef of Harlem's fine dining, Michelin star nominated restaurant Reverence. Now, in full disclosure, since we recorded this episode, Chef Jackson had decided to put Reverence on hiatus. This is indicative of the environment small businesses are currently in, where small businesses are riding the highs and lows of the economy, butI love this conversation with Chef. I want to share it with you. He has so much wisdom. There is no one better to answer our big idea question today. How do you fund your business? Here's my chef. I'm so, so happy you're for you. Absolutely anything for you. we talk about the big lightbulb moments, and I just have to know what was your big idea when you were moving in and starting Reverence? What was I thinking? How did I end up here again? You know, um, I built Reverence, um, I, I, I built Reverence because there was a need for it. Um, but it was also at the coercion of my very small, very small circle of friends and family when I when I got because I had retired. I, I was done with being in the restaurantbusiness. Imagine you're retired though. I mean, it's almost like a joke. And yeah, yeah, and that's, I think the sad fact of the reality of it is that I retirement wasn't necessarily really what I wanted to do. I think I, I, I ran away from it because of the pain of closing Lafitte in San uh, and then getting sucked into the world of of media on doing television and TV shows and things like that. So you decided to go back in your own kitchen. Yeah, which again wasn't necessarily the brightest moment in my life, but it's what I love to do. Um, again, I'm, I'm an African American and I grew up, I grew up in Southern California in the we were at the time in the 70s when we moved there. We were one of three African American families that were in that entire area, uh which now that people have better understanding the size and scope of it. Um uh so, very few of us, right? It'd be like 3 people living in in the whole of Manhattan, um, and, uh, uh, you know, it was justIt's a beautiful community. Uh, it was the first time I had lived in a predominantly African American community. What I do, how I do things, the reason behind why I do things was important to bring to bear, to help to change the conversation and also American culinary uh nature, you know, we don't just cuisine, uh, there's a wide range of us that cook exceptional levels of, of, of food, and California cuisine and it's in its aspect, in its own genre, uh, is an impor is an important element to the conversation because it leads the way in so many different for me to be able to do that and represent those ideas, uh, uh, within Harlem, within this community, and then to definitively work hard to get back to it in every aspect to from not just being there, but also trying to um create diversity within the workplace, build wealth within the workplace, um, uh, give opportunity for education expansion, uh, and now with us the best damn I've ever eaten. You know, I mean that kind of you got to make that happenforemost, you're one of, I think the the leading experts on on financing a restaurant. Well, you are. I mean, you've done such a good job over and over and our actually our big idea question today is how do you think through funding your business andWhether you're in the restaurant business or anything else, I mean, what are the steps that you take as you prepare to fund your business? Well, I, I, I've done three different approaches to thisday. Walk us through three. So, so the first one, my very first one, Russell's in, in, in, in Los Angeles on Lasanga, uh in uh in the early 90s, um uh not self fineness, but I had some friends and my family and, and like, um, uh, Marian Williamson kicked some money in and Stephen Bray kicked some money in and uh uh uh a a a guy who owned a uh a high-end model house and my father kicked the lion's share of money um, that was, and that was tough. That was closing that restaurant was exceedingly difficult, but again, we went through some very unprecedented. Oh my goodness closing that restaurant. Now we call it a and family round and and sometimes, I mean, you and I have backgrounds thatYou know, we didn't come from high net worth families. And so, um, you know, walking up to one of your family members and asking is tough. And sometimes relationships can change and so on. I mean, would you, would you say to a small business owner, really consider this option? No, no, absolutely OK, I think that's really fair because umYou know, sometimes that's our only route, but do you wait, do you self-finance? Do you bootstrap? So what was your second? So the second was Lafitte. Lafitte was a multimillion dollar monster that took, uh, we didn't have any any institutional lending, but we took private, private equity partners. We had a developer that was partnered with us for the build out, um, raised our rent at one point, I think we were paying the highest per square foot restaurant rent in the state of California, and that's California, I but again, another historic landmark property you had to deal with historic society, the waterfront and other federal government agencies to just do the build out. That was, that was an excessive raise. So that, so let's just for our listeners, so when you say raise, if we break it down, you are valuing your business at a certain potential amount andAnd you are saying, OK, so and so, if you put in $50,000 I'm going to give you quote shares or equity. It's essentially an SEC, it's a traded share. It has, it has an intrinsic value and ultimately, in those situations, like, like for myself, um, uh, I didn't have the highest amount of equity. I had a percentage that was a reasonable voting block, butUh, the decision was out of my hands in the respect of, do I continue on with this while we're losing money or do we have to close? And in that case, the investors said, we're done. So you lose, you lose the ability to have that control. That's a tough thing. We're at we're venture backed and you know, it's tough because you have a lot ofbosses at that point. And that's that's the thing it's the only way to get in a restaurant, you know, it's a Saturday night, and this is, I, I'm putting this example up from a from a true story that walks up on a Saturday night when you're getting hammered and says, I want to sit at that table, and we, you go, I don't have a waiter for you. I have no place. I can't keep you there. And then says, and I want a Diet Coke. Well, we don't serve Diet Coke. We'll send somebody out to get one. It's like I'm sorry, what? I know you and I can't imagine doing that. All right, again, this is the put the gun to the temple model, um, self-finance. So, uh, I had, I had money that I'd saved up and worked for, uh, and, uh, I went out and I actually got an SBA uh matching loan, uh, that, uh can we stop there just for a second. So, um, SBA loans, I critical. And um so how how did you decide to get an SBA loan and why, if I can ask real quick? Well, to be very honest, it having gone through so many different levels of development and even trying to get SBA loans when I opened my very first restaurant, the labyrinth of red tape and hurdles and all of the, it's, it's, it always seemed like a sheer impossibility. So I applied for the SBA loan in this almost as just trying to turn over a last rock, not having any expectation whatsoever that this was a possibility. So when I got the notification that I had gotten it.I realized that I had turned into a unicorn because I had only heard of one other restaurant group people that a group of people that I knew that had gotten an SBA loan for a restaurant, and they were as different than I as I as I could possiblybe, very white. They have lower interest rates too. Is that a fairlike a traditional they're great loans. I mean, they're not and and I think the type of loans that if I ever go back to deal with the SBA for my own work, uh, I would probably end up doing the 7A program because the idea for me now is I would prefer, and as I've learned over through the pandemic, uh, is I would rather own the real estate below So that would, if you're going to do an SBA loan, I would probably always say try to go with an SBA loan. It's still, it's a, it's a sizable chunk of down payment that you have to come up with, but the terms are better than any other bank can get for you. Uh, and money comes quickly, system, you know, there are checks and balances and things that you're going to have to go through, uh, a lot of signoffs that you're going to have to go through. ButAll in all, the last thing I would say is, is, especially about personal and self finances is figure out how to keep your credit, at least in the 600s. That, that I, yeah, that's absolutely critical because you can look at my 300 score credit right now and see how incredibly difficult it is to work around anything, you know, and credit's cre credit's malleable, it's flexible. It, it goes up and down every single frigging week, you know, all kinds of different factors, you drop below a certain number, don't freak out. Don't start thinking I got to do this and just figure out how to work it back up and, you know, I mean it. Yeah, yeah, but if you want to make moves, just make sure that you're keeping that in a thought process of if I'm going to take loans out or I'm going to do these things or I'm gonna, I need to, I need to make sure that my personal in alignment with where I want to ultimately go and then don't worry about it for a while. You alsoapplied for grants, right? Oh, so many so many grants. I'm also, by the way, a huge fan of small business grants. I think they're an underutilized resource. I mean, I mean, it's a lot of paperwork, but it's, I mean, not free capital, butCome on. No, it's, it's, it's accessible capital and, and, you know, the reality of, of grants didn't kick into for us until we had gotten to, to the pandemic. That's when we had turned to that idea and fortunately my wife is tenacious andshe, she is, so is your son. And that's how we ended up being introduced to heal Alice. So, and without, you know, and then learning so much about the grants programs, the different types of things, uh, we've, we've been awarded quite a few different grants through the course of the last 5 years of our 6 years of our existence. So, and they've been really helpful a lot of times, very you know, like, how am I going to make payroll? Well, chef, you, I mean, you've been through hell and back. I mean, you know, all of our restaurants are still climbing back from COVID. You had a significant break do, so tell me your advice to, so all small business owners are going to go through adversity for something. How do you, how do you get through that both the business and then personally through things like that. And by the way, I have to come in, you paid your employees while you were closed. I mean, it was, it was tremendous, but can you just give that small business owner right now who is just having a hard time?What? You know, I mean, and I've said this before, um, and I've said this with you many times is that you can never give up. You just have to, I mean, you have to keep fighting until you are utterly dead. And maybe that's the skydiver in me thinking, you know, just keep ripping away at it until, until I'm absolutely done, done, um, uh, but just never give up. And, and I, it's easy to say, and it's so much harder to do because, you know, there's so many different bearing pressures uh, uh, feeling bad and the guilt and the, the, the anguish and the stress and the, you know, it's like I, I, I currently have hives and losing my hair and, you know, you know, I haven't been able to lose the weight that has been on my frame for the last, you know, it's likeit's, it's, it's a wait, do you love your own food the most? I have to. No,really, I, I, and I, I' are moments in time when I'm working I'll say something and I'll go, wow, that's really good. That surprised me. And then there are there but for the most part, I again, I'm the hardest, you know, and I think that as a chef, you have to be entrepreneurs we are our worst bosses, aren't we? It's so hard on ourselves. I mean, it's it's an absolute necessity, but you know, I think just the the the the importance for people to remember is that they're, you're not you know, it may feel like it, but I guarantee you you're not, that you can't be in fear to reach out, to even just talk with people that may have had similar experiences. We've had a lot of my phone calls you and I haven't we just have, you know, talking to people that that can at least whether they can't necessarily solve the problems for you, but you have that ability to voice things outside of your, your, you know, treadmill, uh, andSometimes those solutions pop in those conversations. Um, so it's, it's important to. Yeah, that's that's really, really tough and I because I did that for years, I would just in everything and then it would blow up some other ways. Chef, hold that thought. We got to take a quick break and we'll be right back to The Big Idea. I'm Elizabeth Gore here with Chef Russell Jackson. Hey, speaking of problems, so on the show, we talk about the dirty unicorn, which is, you know, the biggest mistake you've learned from in business. What's yours? Oh, stop it, stop it. No, you know, I.I, it's hard to look back and say, OK, this was a real mistake. I think that, I I look at some of my other ventures, um, giving up when I did might have been construed as a mistake. I don't, you know, that why now you never give up? I think that that's why now I'm, I'm, I'm willing to go, go down with the ship in, in a spectacularly fireball way, um, and keep trying to figure out how to make it work to some degree or another, um, uh, simply becauseI know how hard it is to get back to it. I know the level of effort. I know I that I put into it, the, the importance of it to my family, to my staff, to the community in what we're attempting to achieve, whether they, whether everybody else realizes it or not, I realize it. Well, it's interesting because you umYou get so much of your time to educate other entrepreneurs, to community one fair wage. By the way, let's just talk about that really quickly. When does the world inspired one fair wage? Tell us what that is because it's an important part of your life. So one fair wage, I'm a board on the board of directors, uh, it's a 501c3 program that that was born out of um the attack at the Trade Center. Uh, it was, it was created as a fundraiser for the Windows in the world, uh, families and, and, and and what it did was it spawned this whole idea of equality, representation, and equal pay, uh, and now we are the, the, the, the tip of the spear when it comes to, uh, uh, hospitality workers, uh, to achieve equal pay, uh, uh, uh, pay parity as well as, um, um, a minimum, full minimum wages because there's so many laws that are on the books across the United States, which still represent, um, uh,Civil War level laws that that and even this state still has uh a carveout for hospitality workers to pay them a subminimum wage. So as a tipped employee that they do a calculation where, well, you've gotten so many tips where we can pay you less per the whole idea is that's ridiculous. You should be getting the full minimum wage with your tips ontop. So I just mentioned that you give so much of your time to your community, obviously to your family, and then I always think about you because you're so good at the business side of your business, but you also love to be a chef. How do you time manage being in the business or working on the business? I mean that's a really tough. It'sit's a ridiculous. What's your advice to small business owners?Because if my passion is cooking or doing this or that, and then I still have to do my accounting and everything else, how do you, what's your advice on time management that I thinkprobably one of the best suggestions I can have a a good accountant for God's sakes, don't try to do your own accounting in-house. Um, there are enough systems and organizations out there now that help to automate and and really streamline your business uh and make you have to do it early because you, you get a year in and you go, oh, I'll get around to it. And then all of a sudden there's this mountain of paperwork to have to deciphering, well, I thought I remember what that was, like, it's, it's best to have it set up ahead of time, you know, at the end of the day you're not, you willburn so much cash and then and the worst part about it is is your is your biggest equation. Your personal time is your biggest cost factor. Um, the, therunning the calendar, running the schedule, pre-planning, giving yourself enough time and then rest. I'm sorry, what is that? Yeah, I know, but like you know I try to carve out your son's pizza, right? Yeah, that's movie and pizzas now, um, but it's, it's for me, the importance of having that, that whether we do anything or we don't do it and don't fill it up with stuff like take your day and like really don't answer the phone, don't answer emails, play games, do whatever, do you go to a movie, yeah, just be there with the people that that love you and and probably one of the most fulfilling things and then you get to remember like, oh, this is why I work so hardbecause thisis this moment in time, this place in time, um, just walking with my son to go get groceries on Sunday, I had to stop and look at him and I just said, you know, I absolutely adore and love you and I get to have this right now. And he's like, well, I love you too, but know, at 5 years old, whatever, dad. I'm 10 and 13 and I'm getting the whatever now. Oh my God. Now chef, I just want to thank you. I loved your counsel on our big idea question on how do you fund your business today? Um, you know, self-funding, equity, SBA loans, grants. Thank you. And most of all, thanks for feeding me all these years. Thank you for being on the show. My the end of each episode, I like to give a shout out to a small business or entrepreneur who are doing amazing work. Since we're talking food today with Chef, I'd like to shout out Tratttori Farms in Geyserville, California. Their Dry Creek olive oil is the best in the business. So check them out at We are all out of time, but thank you, chef Russell Jackson for coming on the show and thanks to all of you for joining us. I hope you learned a has been the big idea from Yahoo Finance. Tune in every week on your favorite streaming service and find videos at and listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you follow on Amazon Music, just ask Alexa to play the big idea. You can also come say howdy to me on any of my social channels at Elizabeth Gore USA. I'm Elizabeth Gore, and as my grandmother always said, hold your head up high and give them hell. See you soon. This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hindustan Times
28-04-2025
- Hindustan Times
Caviar launches Om and Medina inspired iPhone 16 Pro models made of 24-carat gold, garnets
Luxury brand Caviar has unveiled its latest collection, transforming Apple's new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models into limited-edition pieces of spiritual art. The Dubai-based company's Spiritual Heritage Collection features three new ultra-premium designs – Reverence, Medina, and Om – blending sacred traditions with opulent craftsmanship. Each model draws inspiration from different spiritual and cultural motifs, crafted using high-end materials such as 24-carat gold, garnets, and fine enamel. As expected from Caviar, these designs are not merely phones but luxury statements, with prices starting at $8,340. The Reverence edition presents a bold aesthetic in black and silver, featuring ornate enamel work atop a geometric titanium medallion. Echoing Islamic artistic traditions, the repeated patterns symbolise harmony and infinity, while the stark contrast between silver and matte black lends it the aura of a futuristic relic. The Medina variant honours Middle Eastern Islamic art and architecture, boasting a sculpted gold relief framed by a botanical pattern and accented with turquoise composite stone. Designed for those who value cultural symbolism and intricate craftsmanship, it offers a strong connection to spiritual and artistic heritage. Meanwhile, the Om edition draws from Buddhist and Hindu traditions, centring on themes of balance and mindfulness. It features an orange 'Om' symbol surrounded by a three-dimensional lotus design, set with 32 tiny garnets embedded into a silver titanium backplate. Inspired by meditation and inner clarity, it delivers a serene and introspective aesthetic. The Spiritual Heritage Collection forms part of Caviar's wider Credo series, which also includes luxury designs inspired by Christian and Jewish iconography, such as the St. Peter's Basilica, Mogen David, and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour editions. The new models are available now, with prices ranging from $8,340 for the Reverence edition to $9,630 for special designs such as St. Peter's Basilica. The Medina edition is priced at $8,910, while OM costs $9,200. Earlier this year, Caviar also launched a $100,000 iPhone 16 Pro Max inspired by Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as an ultra-luxury Valentine's Day collection featuring custom-designed iPhones.
