Culinary duo Ernie Campbell and Aquila Kentish opened the doors to their new Jamaica Plain restaurant in early September to a crowd of faithful customers, city officials, and community leaders.
Previously, the couple had operated their world-class Carribean food business out of a seasonal Hampton, NH location, while striving to take their Boston-based food trucks to the next level. When LEAF met the Jamaica Mi Hungry team, they were cooking in CommonWealth Kitchen, a start-up food business incubator in Roxbury.
Ernie quickly realized that his business was growing faster than his current workspace could accommodate, and reached out to LEAF for assistance. Our Elevate Small Business team worked one-on-one with Jamaica Mi Hungry to develop an appropriate strategy for growth and to ensure that their financial models were sound.
LEAF then provided the business a microloan in January 2019, allowing Ernie to ramp up his production while he planned for a brick and mortar operation. Once JMiH identified a storefront restaurant in Jamaica Plain , LEAF made a much larger loan to finance the construction costs and working capital needed during the renovation.
It has made us very proud to support such a talented entrepreneur, and to be a part of Jamaica Mi Hungry’s success.
Update: Jamaica Mi Hungry chef and restaurant story makes the news.