Today we’d like to introduce you to Lavell Bynum.
Hi Lavell, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Panamá City, Panamá where my great-grandmother raised me, alongside my sister and cousins. I saw how hard she worked to provide for us, and never complained. I didn’t fully understand our financial state and just how much she was able to do with so little, until I came to the U.S. in 1997. Even at such a young age, it was a wake up call, just how much we didn’t have living in Panama. I wrestled during high school and had plans of going to Kennesaw State on a scholarship, but unfortunately sustained an ACL injury, so plans changed. I went straight into the telecom industry right out of high school, where I worked for nearly 12 years. I worked my way up in corporate America, and began making excellent money, even without a college degree; so it was intriguing, but the one thing I wasn’t satisfied with, was working under someone else. While maintaining my corporate career, I began venturing out and trying different side hustles from personal training to credit repair, but quickly realized neither of these were careers I wanted to pursue full time. Although the money was good, being in corporate America was taking a lot of time from my family. After I had my daughter in 2016, I knew I had to make some changes in my career so I could spend more time with her. I continued my side jobs so I could to save money to transition to entrepreneurship. My son was born in January 2020 where I then quit my job to be able to spend more time with my family including my 12 year old daughter, to solely focus on my business and create work-life balance.
Where BlaqHaus was born was, one random day a friend of mine gave me a call saying she had her eye on a vacant space in North Hollywood, CA for some time and was wanting to know if I’d be interested in going into business with her. Neither of us had ever worked in the hospitality industry, but we both had management experience so we figured we would be able to figure it out. And that’s exactly what we did – we figured it out, and our first location, BlaqHaus NOHO was born in June 2018. Just like everyone else, we took a hit during Covid and had many questions of what to do next, and if we’d be able to sustain.
One day in 2020, while we were all home during quarantine, I was browsing online looking at various websites that list businesses for sale and stumbled across a business with an undisclosed location in Cobb County. The listing ensured it was prime location and all the items listed in the sale were a win-win, so I reached out to the listing agent, and to my surprise, it was located in Marietta Square. This was a huge bonus for me, personally, because I went to school nearby. Additionally, it was a historical move, being the only black-owned restaurant on Marietta Square. Although we were still in the midst of a pandemic, they offered us a deal we couldn’t pass up, so we decided it would be worth the risk, began renovations during the last quarter of 2020 and opened BlaqHaus ATL on March 27, 2021. We are looking to expand to more cities in the near future.
The start of BlaqHaus has afforded myself and my business partner many other opportunities and ventures, like our legal marijuana grow house, Tremendo, located in California. I have also begun another project with another partner in real estate, where we will be developing a modern home community, here in Atlanta, GA.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have had some bumpy roads throughout the years, healing from the pandemic with unemployment payments making it difficult to find adequate, quality staff; mainly in the kitchen. This seems to be a standard for most restaurants right now, especially here in Atlanta, and has been an issue since we opened, unfortunately. We are currently working on over-hiring so we can make sure we are fully staffed to deliver to the best of our ability.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about BlaqHaus?
Our brand was founded in North Hollywood, California and we have expanded to Marietta, GA. We are a black-owned southern cuisine restaurant and lounge. We have a full bar and feature specialty cocktails, along with hookah and a live DJ. Our most popular days are Saturdays and Sundays during brunch from 11am-4pm, where we also offer bottomless mimosas. Our top seller for brunch is our Shrimp and Grits, as well as our Fish and Grits. We are also the only restaurant that offers Karaoke for brunch on Sundays. For our dinner menu we are known for our “Soul Rolls,” which is a hand-rolled crispy egg roll that features mac & cheese, short rib, and collard greens, served with a sweet chili sauce. We offer birthday packages and a private room that is available for rent. We offer happy hour during the week on food, drinks, and hookah, as well as specially scheduled events such as sip & paint, etc. We are open seven days a week, and you can see our daily hours and special events by visiting our website at www.blaqhaus.co
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up with a very modest lifestyle in Panamá City, Panamá and was raised by my great-grandmother around all women. I was sent to the United States in May of 1997 along with my sister, to live with our mother in Marietta, GA. I was always quiet growing up but I knew at a young age I wanted to be an entrepreneur. When I was younger I started detailing cars, selling cars, selling shoes, etc. so I knew it was my destiny to be a business owner.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://blaqhaus.co/
- Instagram: Blaqhausatl
- Facebook: Blaqhausatl
