Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacari Brown.
Hi Jacari, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up, I imagined myself in many positions a lawyer, doctor, dermatologist, even a therapist not realizing I had my own problems to deal with. 2018 I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one day and I saw a close friend of mine going into business for himself, I always wanted to become my own boss just for the fact of not having to punch in on a clock anymore and being told when to take breaks, it just wasn’t something I saw myself doing for a long time. I saw the post and got a sense of inspiration, that’s when I decided I wanted to start a clothing brand. The same day I came up with the brand’s name VoiTure Fashion it means car in French, my name is Ja(car)ri you get it Jacari, car! Well anyways, I worked endless on it, visiting people who I felt could help me who always seemed to have turned me down which made me want to give up, but I didn’t. So, transitioning to 2019, I finally got it up and operating and sells did amazing, and it continued to grow.
In June 2021 A mall Corp in Indiana reached out to congratulate me on what I have achieved and that they believed my store would do well in their mall. I took them up on their offers and I struggled getting it opened, loss of funds, mistaken manufactures which caused me to almost have to close my store before it opened. I eventually did a soft opening in Sept 2021 where I generated a little over $80k from sept to now. I am the youngest store owner in their mall and the third African American owner. The last couple of months, I have been in Atlanta for school but also working. Clark Atlanta University is not a cheap school! I saw many ways people struggle with paying for school just like I did, that I felt like it was more my job to help. I have been working on opening a restaurant here in Atlanta that will employ college students who are struggling financially on partnering with our local colleges on using my restaurant as work study for those students. I also plan on giving an $5,000 academic donation to three students to go towards their tuition when the restaurant launch!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, the road has been very uncomfortable. Being the age I am, I always get told no, or my ideas were stupid, or they didn’t believe I could. And that was just from family. Losing my grandmother in 2020 to covid and my dad seven months later to heart complications it showed me I had a point to prove. I took every no and I turned them into yeses. Those types of obstacles from family are the hardest to overcome to me. When I realized my family thought about certain things of mine the way they did it caused me to eliminate them from anything, I tried to do or wanted to do. Luckily, I had the support from my teachers and friends who guided me and taught me what I needed to know.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Sin City soul food is the restaurant I am working on opening that will give jobs to people in need and college students. The restaurant was originally going to be named after my grandmother Norma who had a passion for cooking. She was the hero of food, she did all of our event’s food, our big family Sunday dinners, our holidays and she could cook, that was all the south in her! Opening this restaurant is just my way of helping, I want to help college students, I want to help the homeless, I want to help anybody who want’s help. And the team I have are amazing. This isn’t going to be different just because I’m only 19 but because I am going to mold this place into a safe haven and peaceful environment. We live in Sin, so the name represents itself. This restaurant is going to go toe and toe with a lot of south Atlanta soul food restaurants, mark my word! I’m proud to have come this far in the planning process, it’s like dang it’s really coming together, this is going to become one of the proudest days of my life.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Faith, all the way! Without faith and determination, you’ll never succeed. Forget what the little people below have to say listen to the ones above, they’ll become the ones you will always need to answer to. My mother too has always been a vocal critic in the process and she was definitely defined as an inspiration to continue to grow and not look back. Without the genuine support of faith and my mom I wouldn’t be established enough to be in the position I am in.
Contact Info:
- Email: sincitysoulfood@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrmogual/
Image Credits:
Tianna Brown Charmaine Tyson Photosbyv
