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Sunil Tch of Eat Street Barnwell and Felicia Kinard and Tonja Alexander of Kinard's Kitchen (seated, center) are surrounded by their fellow classmates from the Propel Business Lab. Pictured (left to right): Donald Bolen, Andrea Blackeney, Tabitha Blume, Tykesha Jenkins, Milisa Peachey, Todd Teems, Nadine Debrosse, Billy Baldwin, Stephanie Williams, Gibby Sanders Jr., Dominique Johnson, Farrah Maner, Latrice Culbertson, Shannece Mack, and Eric Badger.
Sunil Tch of Eat Street Restaurant and Felicia Kinard and Tonja Alexander of Kinard's Kitchen were the winners of the Propel Business Lab Pitch Competition on September 23. Each business receives $10,000 to help kickstart their business.
Felicia Kinard and Tonja Alexander hug Sunil Tch after all three entrepreneurs were named winners of the Propel Business Lab Pitch Competition on September 23.
In 2024, a new brick-and-mortar restaurant called Kinard’s Kitchen will open in the area. Additionally, a new food truck will serve as an extension of the multi-cuisine restaurant Eat Street.
These were the winners of the Propel Business Lab Pitch Competition, in which entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to the community at Allendale’s Carolina Theatre on September 23. Several community leaders, like Barnwell Mayor Marcus Rivera, Fairfax Town Council member Phyllis Smart and Allendale’s Lottie Lewis acted as judges of the competition. The judges then voted and the two winners of the competition, one from Allendale and one from Barnwell, received $10,000 in seed money to help start their business.
“There are so many incredible businesses that took part in the 12-week program to level up their business skills. Go out and support these businesses,” said Bob Snead, president and CEO of Southern Palmetto Regional Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the Propel Business Lab.
The competition is a program of the Chamber that's sponsored by USC Salkehatchie, SRP Federal Credit Union, Barnwell County Economic Development Commission, Barnwell County, and USDA Rural Business Development grant. The program puts local entrepreneurs through a three-month training that ended with their pitches for the $10,000 grant.
In total, pitches for 16 businesses were made, and two were chosen - one for Allendale and one for Barnwell. Although restaurants were the winners of the night, pitches for non-profits and businesses regarding beauty, car cleaning, self-care, transportation, home improvement, youth activities and men’s mental health were made.
“I’m really happy,” said Eat Street owner Sunil Tch, shortly after winning the competition. “I always say this, [but] I’m an Indian guy who moved to Barnwell about 10 years ago. The way they accept me and the way they cheer for me and support me in the crowd makes me happy. I appreciate people trusting me and giving me this because it is putting more responsibility on me, and I will rise up to that.”
Tch said his new food truck and the $10,000 is going to help him get Eat Street’s cuisine on the road and into new areas, a business model that is increasing in number and popularity. According to the Census Bureau, the number of food trucks in America grew from 3,281 to 5,970 between 2013 and 2018, a number that has only grown further since the pandemic. Tch said his goal is to eventually have three food trucks on the road, expanding Eat Street’s reach into nearby Aiken and Orangeburg counties.
“With the food truck, I can take my food to more people,” Tch said. “I’m a businessman, so of course I make money, but what I enjoy the most is celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and high school banquets. With the food truck, I can go into the community and get more of a personal touch.”
In Allendale County, it is increasingly difficult to start a new business, particularly a small business, as the county’s depopulation has fueled a downward spiral. As a result of so many residents leaving the county, community members have seen main street businesses shutter. Although a handful of locally-owned restaurants remain, Allendale’s food scene is dominated by fast food restaurants, which have little stake in the local community.
The lack of locally-owned eateries is something that Tonja Alexander and Felicia Kinard, who aim to open Kinard’s Kitchen in 2024, want to help address. Though Kinard's Kitchen was the Allendale County winner, they do not have a specific location yet and are not limited to opening in the county.
“It’s hard to find a place — even after you go to church on Sunday — unless you travel 30-plus miles, sometimes an hour to get some place [to eat],” said Kinard. “We want to bring the experience to the community. We say it’s a rival to Chick-fil-a.”
Alexander said that currently, Kinard’s Kitchen mainly focuses on catering and community events, but can now expand and become more established.
“We started doing [Kinard’s Kitchen] one summer, the summer of 2021,” Kinard said. “We continued doing it on the weekends. In our business plan, we talked about the elderly. We want to reach out to them, and make sure they have proper meals at a reasonable price.”
Tch, Alexander and Kinard embraced shortly after winning the competition. Kinard said she was reminded of her grandmother, who taught her to cook when she was a child.
“I started in grandma’s kitchen when I was 13 years old, and my grandma taught me how to cook,” Kinard said. “She always told us that anything that y’all want to do is already here.”
The next round of the Propel Business Lab will launch in January 2024 with a new group of entrepreneurs. Those interested in applying must do so by Nov. 6 at https://palmettoinnovation.org/propel-business-lab.
