库尔特和艾莉森·达瑞齐奥夫妇, working with a local lender was the secret ingredient to their rise to success in the bakery business.
The restaurant industry brought Kurt and Allison D’Aurizio together — and today, 它帮助他们把社区成员聚集在一起, 太.
这对夫妻拥有1748面包店, a popular bakery and café located in the historic Springfield neighborhood of Jacksonville, 佛罗里达:离罗切斯特的餐馆很远, 纽约, where the couple met while Kurt was a sous chef and Allison tended the bar.
在他们的恋爱和职业生涯中, 两人辗转于不同的州和厨房, picking up new skills and experiences at each stop along the way. 当他们搬到佛罗里达时, Allison started baking items to sell under the name “My Grandmother’s Pie” in honor of the woman who inspired her love of the culinary arts.
“My grandmother was an excellent cook and military wife,” Allison recalled. “对于她那一代人来说，她的厨艺非常有趣. I’d always eaten well; when I married Kurt, it became part of our world.”
Allison’s sweet and savory creations quickly attracted a loyal following at local farmers’ markets and events, eventually leading the pair to consider opening a brick-and-mortar location. 然而, it quickly became clear that these accomplished bakers needed the help of a banker to turn their dream into a reality.
这对夫妇在餐饮业有着丰富的经验. 他们拥有(并出售)了一家餐饮公司, 领导餐饮集团的运营, 并管理大容量厨房. Navigating the funding process to launch their own venture was a different story, though.
“我开了好几家餐馆. 我知道怎么做菜单，怎么买盘子，怎么训练团队. But I had never dealt with lenders, leasing, or contractors,库尔特说。. “这是一个陡峭的学习曲线.”
两人决定向小企业管理局申请贷款. 他们从市场销售中拨出资金, 低股本注入是一个有吸引力的考虑, and they felt confident that their business plan — combined with the City of Jacksonville’s commitment to revitalize the Springfield neighborhood — would lead to a winning outcome for their venture and the small business community in the growing area.
Kurt and Allison were referred to the team at 佛罗里达资本银行 to secure a loan. 下一个, they signed a lease on the perfect location: a storefront on Main Street with a brick-lined facade and large windows. The old-world charm seemed like the ideal setting to sell the made-from-scratch pastries their guests already knew and loved, 同时扩大他们的菜单，提供咖啡, 三明治, 沙拉, 和更多的.
“对我来说，这感觉非常欧洲化. It had a small feel that was exactly what I wanted,” Allison said.
1748 Bakehouse于2019年10月开业. The bakery and café became an instant hit with Northeast Florida diners, with sales 30% higher than the couple projected for its first few months. 常客们一周都来来往往, including the lending specialist from 佛罗里达资本银行 who guided them through the SBA loan process.
“Working with a lender here in the community was a huge plus,库尔特说。. “I’d looked around a little bit and talked to a few lenders in Chicago and California, but it’s not the same as having somebody local involved in the process.”
他们和佛罗里达资本银行的关系还在继续, plus a team of experts at the Small 皇冠正版APP下载 Development Center at the University of North Florida, 1748 Bakehouse is on track to continue growing in the years ahead. The D’Aurizios credit their strong network of advisors for helping the business launch with such enthusiastic community support.
“We could not have done this without 佛罗里达资本银行 and the SBDC. 过程中的每一步，我们都有指导. 作为一个小公司, we literally would not be here if we could not have secured that loan,库尔特说。.
Allison hopes their success inspires other entrepreneurs to launch their own ventures — especially in their beloved Springfield.
“我并不轻视‘社区高于竞争’的理念. 这对我来说非常重要。. “我希望其他企业、餐馆和咖啡馆开张. 这对我们大家都有好处.”