Fresha, born Frescia Belmar, is nominally a jazz bassist, but her artistry transcends the form, moving effortlessly between jazz, rock, fusion, and R&B.
"What we didn't expect was the response - customers were coming by, messaging us, and sharing stories about what the restaurant meant to them. It made us realize this wasn't just a place to eat - it had become part of people's routines and memories."
The expense, return on investment, and volume of investors needed to make it a reality did not make sense. I thought, 'maybe it's time to do something new.' The amount of money you need to run a restaurant in Brooklyn or Manhattan at this point is so crazy. If you fail, the loss is massive. Here, we were able to do a major renovation, we have a 100 bottle wine list, and we can use the ingredients we want and serve them at a decent price point because our overhead is not as bad.
Food waste in America is a significant and persistent problem that often goes unnoticed. According to a 2010 USDA study, 30-40% of our country's entire food supply winds up in landfills each year - almost 70 million tons. That's about $161 billion worth of food, meaning the average family's food waste totals around $3,000 a year. And while an enormous portion of our food supply is simply thrown away, roughly 48 million Americans - including one in five children - experience food insecurity.
