Forty Acres Soul Kitchen
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Forty Acres Soul Kitchen
Black-owned business weaving together culture, community & great food
Financing
$50,000 Loan
Business Assistance
Post-financing curated support with industry expert on operational opportunity assessment
Grand Rapids, Michigan
When we look at a business’ potential to advance environmentally and socially regenerative food systems, Forty Acres knocks it out of the park. Located in the mid-sized Midwestern city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, its impact extends far beyond the plate — from creating living-wage jobs to sourcing from area farms. In a city with nearly 20 percent Black residents, Forty Acres is also the only full-service, sit-down, 100% African American-owned restaurant.
In just the two years since its grand opening, Forty Acres had become a gathering place that wove together culture, community, and great food while bringing in approximately $1.3 million in revenue.
Then COVID hit.
The questions facing Forty Acres were daunting: What business models should they consider in order to remain viable through the pandemic? What capital, in what structure, and in what amounts would be most helpful? Could they maintain their vision of long-term expansion and if so, what did they need to put in place now? Who in their networks could they go to for appropriate financing, as well as broader thought partnership to tackle these questions?
Together with our Michigan Good Food Fund partners, we were able to provide flexible, working capital as Forty Acres navigated the early days of the COVID crisis. We also paid for a nationally recognized business consultant to provide support.
Throughout, we aimed to deliver responsive support that met Forty Acres’ immediate needs while helping position it with strong footing post-COVID so it can continue to be an anchor institution in its community while building toward its long-term vision of expansion.