Situation
What happens when you fuse traditional Italian recipes with soul food grilling? You get The Black Italian Grill Kitchen. In 2008, Chef Paula Hunter was cooking and needed to add meat to her traditional marinara sauce. So, she used hamburgers just cooked by her husband, “Grill Master” Anthony Hunter. The combination of flavors was unique, and a fast-casual catering company was born. Paula, who had lost her job due to the 2009 recession, focused on growing her small business and expanding the menu with more Italian family recipes and Anthony’s grilled meats. The Black Italian business continued to grow. Paula and Anthony honed their business skills by taking classes offered by the SBA and its resource partners – the Louisville Small Business Development Center (SBDC), SCORE and Women's Business Center (WBC) of Kentucky, as well as Louisville Metro Government, and Community Ventures, an SBA microlender. By participating in these business-... Read More