Just BE Kitchen LLC | Application Preview
Just BE Kitchen LLC is seeking a $50,000 grant to enhance their marketing efforts, improve employee training and retention, boost employee morale, and address maintenance issues in their aging building. The business has expanded from one to three locations between 2022 and 2024 and aims to be the "Chipotle of healthy food," with future expansion plans including a location at Denver International Airport and additional sites in states like Arizona, Utah, and Texas.
Their business model features a unique approach to gluten-free dining, focusing on comfort foods while catering to individuals with food allergies and sensitivities. They emphasize community wellness through monthly events and partnerships with local practitioners and food vendors.
Despite being the largest 100% gluten-free restaurant group in Denver and receiving accolades for their offerings, they have faced challenges due to rising minimum wage, increased costs of goods, and declining sales. The support from the grant would enable them to continue making a positive impact on those with celiac disease and other food-related issues, as well as expand their retail presence with products like sugar-free dressings and sauces.
The business stands out in a limited competitive landscape, as few others focus exclusively on gluten-free comfort food or offer various dietary options like vegetarian and vegan dishes. They also run a membership program providing benefits like meal deliveries and exclusive access to new offerings. Just BE Kitchen is committed to serving nutritious, allergen-free meals and fostering a supportive community environment.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: Just BE Kitchen LLC
Location: Denver, CO, United States
Length of Operation: 6-10
Number of Employees: 11-25 Employees
Annual Gross Income: $500k to $1M
Annual Gross Expense: $1M to $10M
Open to Loans: NO
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Funding Usage
We would use the 50K to increase marketing edffort to increase in store online & catering sales. We would use some of the money to develop better training to retain employee and decrease turnover We woud use some of the money to increase employee morale and satisfaction by supporting deserved wage increases, bonuses for meeting KPI metrics as well as team building exercises and team outings to build relationships outside of work We would use some of the money to fix problems within our very old building that we have not had the funds to fix.
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Business Plan
We have opened 2 new locations from 2022 to 2024. We now have 3 locations and envision many more. Just BE Kitchen has a goal to be the chipotle of healthy food. We are eager to get a space in the Denver International Airport and expand our locations to other states like Arizona, Utah, Texas and more. We have a plan to launch our mindful market which would distribute our sugar free dressings, sauces & famous tortillas into a retail & grocery market. We have to work with a copacker to do this, which requires funding. Just BE Kitchen is currently the largest 100% gluten free restaurant group in Denver with 3 locations. We have a unique concept that caters to the many individuals with food allergies & sensitivities as well as diseases affected by nutrition. We believe in community education and support and do monthly wellness events that cover a wide variety of topics to support physical, mental & spiritual wellness. In doing these events, we support local practitioners by partnering with them. We support local food growers and vendors by partnering with them to feature their products. We have been featured in many magazines & articles and voted Best GF restaurant several times. We were the only paloe restaraunt to ever be featured on the food network's Diner's Drive In's & Dives. We are the only W30 approved restaurant in Denver. We have suppported the community throughout the pandemic and were featured on the local news for donating over 1000 healthy meals to front line workers, police workers & grocery workers. We we also featured for launching our immunity lunchboxes, which provide immune boosting lunches for office workers & people who could not leave their home due to auto immune disorders during the pandemic. We believe that eating healthy shouldn't mean you have to sacrifice or have a lack of options. We have something for everyone as we take comfort food and create our own twists to create 100% gluten & grain free comfort food free from many other common allergens like soy, corn, sugar, peanuts, legumes & dairy. We have had a very hard year with min wage madates in Denver dictating min wage at $18.29 coupled with COGS increasing almost double as well as sales decreasing. We would be so appreciative for financial support to continue growing our business. We know we have a uniwqu concept and we know what we do is making a difference in the lives of so many people with celiac disease & other food related illnesses. We have created a safe space for people to eat and visit with one another. Food is the only thing we put in our body except for medicine & it matters so much. Nutrition can affect all other bosy systems and we believe we can continue to change the lives of our patrons through nutrition, public education, community partnerships, & retail expansion. We have several otgher ideas that have not yet launched due to funding. but know our growth potential is significant if only we had support.
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Self Identified Competition
There are not many competitors at this time. Nurture is a single location Gluten free spot. Fresh Thymes recently closed down. Many other restaurants have GF options but are not dedicated GF. The restaurants that are dedicated GF focus mostly on salads and fresh eats, but none do comfort food and none have multiple locations and none are W30 approved. We are currently the largest 100% dedicated gluten free restaurant group and want to continue this trend in growing to be the chipotle of healthy food. We have a unique concept & we BElieve in serving mindful mouthfuls from a conscious kitchen with kindness. We are 100% gluten & grain free and free from soy, corn, refined sugar, peanuts, legumes & dairy. We offer Vegetarian, Vegan, Egg Free & Nut Free options, but can feed anyone as we also offer meat dishes. We take traditional comfort food and make them the JBK way to support the may people with food sensitivites, food allergies & diseases affected by nutrition. Not only do we serve food, but we are a wellness establishment as we host monthly wellness events on a variety of topics that support a lifestyle of wellness. We additionally have a monthly membership where guests can get weekly meals to take home & prepare, a free recipe a month, VIP access to new menu items & tastings, discounted events and more! - We are the only W30 approved restaurant in Denver. We are the only paleo restaruant to ever be featured on the Food Network's Diner's Drive In's & Dives. - We are the largest 100% gluten free restaurant group -We were voted Best GF restaurant by several local organzations -We make everything from scrtach by hand in house, including our tortillas which are an extremely popular item. These tortillas are the best GF tortillas available, but are a challnege to produce in store on a large scale.
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Contact Applicant
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