December 2023
Kyle Bundy, owner of It’s All Good Southern Kitchen, is much busier this holiday season. Thanks to a $12,000 Alamance Chamber Small Business Grant he received this past September, his catering business is thriving.
It’s All Good Southern Kitchen is a fast casual, (i.e., counter service), restaurant specializing in truly homemade food. Kyle is so committed to “homemade” quality that the kitchen does not have a deep fryer that would otherwise help him avoid labor-intensive fresh food preparation, (but would allow the simpler “freezer to fryer” method). The restaurant employs six full-time employees and 2 part-time employees. It’s All Good recently moved to a new location at 3281 South Church Street in Burlington, from the former location at 2306 South Church Street. This allows for more space and greater visibility.
Kyle says that aside from freshly prepared foods, his business’ other competitive advantage is the leveraging of online ordering technology and optimization of those tools. While this strategy was their lifeline during the COVID lockdown days, the business has had to shoulder the commission-heavy burden of utilizing third party apps. It is his goal to convert third party customers to his own in-house system. This is especially important for the catering segment of his business. A company vehicle would open new opportunities for staff members without asking them to risk their personal vehicles or cause their vehicles to the normal wear-and-tear that occurs on catering deliveries. With a company vehicle, catering delivery capacity no longer be limited to availability of owner’s car, nor would it incur costly on-demand third party services (and are not guaranteed to provide a smooth customer experience It’s All Good staff provides). It would also increase restocking capabilities for the same reason of allowing staff to complete these activities. Self-restocking from Sam’s Club, Restaurant Depot, and Walmart incur savings of 30-50% off staple products from common restaurant food distributors.
On September first of this year, the Chamber announced the seven recipients of small business grants, of which It’s All Good Southern Kitchen was one. Fast-forward to the present: Kyle and his staff now have a van that is more than capable of picking up restock supply orders and delivering catering customers’ meals. Business is very good, and Kyle is considering adding to his staff. Overall, an economic win for this small business owner, his customers, and the community!
Stephanie Williams, Alamance Chamber