The restaurant business is tough. Even nationally recognized entrepreneur Tabitha Brown could not keep her Los Angeles vegan spot open after a string of setbacks, including hiring family and friends who were not ready for the responsibility.
Lessons From Failures
Kale My Name in Los Angeles was Brown’s first endorsed restaurant and the first one she entered as a partner.
She had been a frequent visitor of the award-winning Chicago location, and after doing a viral video that boosted its success, she fell in love with the concept.
When founder Nemanja Golubovic mentioned he was interested in opening an L.A. location, Brown took it as a sign from the Lord.
As Brown explained on KevOnStage’s iHeartRadio podcast “Not My Best Moment,” published on YouTube on Nov. 19, the venture quickly became a risky situation.
Despite the 50/50 agreement, she often found herself covering more than her share while relying on Golubovic’s guidance.
Details emerging from Brown align with previous reports the restaurant was having technical difficulties. Essence reported in 2022 the opening of the restaurant was delayed, saying “God is in control.”
She also admitted she had reservations about the building they chose.
It was a rented space she was not fully sold on, but she approved it because her partner was confident in the location.
From there, the problems continued. Brown hired regulars and aspiring actors who frequently left for auditions, and she says some employees even attempted staged slip-and-fall incidents to sue the restaurant.
These attempts were caught on camera.
“Thank God for cameras, people acted like they slipped and fell so they can sue, people acted like stuff fell on them and everything is on camera,” Brown told Kevin. “Scammer tried to take advantage because of who you are.”
Hiring family and friends created additional issues because some lacked the skill sets needed, which put everyone in a position to fail.
The building became the final breaking point. Parts of the ceiling collapsed, and tenants told her many renters did not stay long because of ongoing structural issues.
“Baby, them walls started to fall apart,” Brown said. She claimed that the difference between renting and buy property is that renters only had an outside view of a build, as opposed to a thorough inspection if they were buying.
Brown refused to risk serving food in unsafe conditions or risk auditors shutting the place down.
After eight months, she made the decision to close the restaurant.
The closure resulted in losing friendships, money, and trust in the process.
Brown said she still gained something valuable from the experience.
She explained that she never puts all her eggs in one basket, and although she will never see the money again, the loss helped offset her taxes.
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