Pacific Community Ventures provides affordable small business loans to California businesses that are creating quality jobs in underserved communities. Meet our latest borrowers!
The Pilates Workshop
Erika Groff is the sole proprietor of The Pilates Workshop — a company that offers classes in the classical Pilates method of Peter Fiasca, a well-known leader in the field. Erika’s credentials attract students from across the region as well as the nation.
The Pilates Workshop offers daily private and group lessons taught by Erika or one of her six independent contractors, as well as workshops and teacher trainings throughout the year. The company has attracted a steady following of Pilates practitioners throughout San Francisco. However due to the size constraints of the studio, the company can only accommodate two individuals at a time and often is forced to turn away business.
For this reason, Erika came to PCV for a loan to help move the company to a new location, which accommodates more students, and at the same time, allows them to host larger group sessions. This new space is on a major thoroughfare, with outward facing windows which will improve their visibility to residents and commuters in the neighborhood. Talk about improved flexibility!
Svetlana Catering and Events
Ukrainian immigrant Polina Sycheva launched Svetlana Catering in San Francisco four years ago. Inspired by her mother’s love of cooking, Polina left her position at a San Francisco law firm to pursue her associate’s degree at the California Culinary Academy. After working for five years as a chef for two catering companies, Polina decided to focus full time on building her own company.
After some initial success, Polina came to PCV for a loan to help her build out a commercial kitchen in a warehouse in Oakland. The entire space is 5,000 square feet, of which they will utilize 3,000 square feet as kitchen space. This will enable her to handle the additional volume from three more corporate contracts, double food production, and sublease to three food producers.
The construction of the new space is underway, and we can’t wait to taste the results.
Seven Stills Of San Francisco
Those spirits fans in our office are particularly excited about this one. Seven Stills began as a bootstrapped business in a parent’s garage, and is now housed within a no-frills section of a Dogpatch warehouse. Founders Tim and Clinton made Zagat’s 30-Under-30 list of “Rock Stars Redefining The Industry” in October of 2014.
Seven Stills’ Whipnose Whiskey was one of only 14 craft whiskeys selected, reviewed, and featured in the Fall issue of Whisky Advocate, America’s most respected Whiskey Magazine. Seven Stills’ Chocasmoke Whiskey just won the 2014 Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while Whipnose took home the 2014 Bronze medal. Seven Stills Bitters were just named “10 Great Gifts For People Who Like To Drink” by Drink Insider.
Their PCV loan was used to purchase a new 300 Gallon Series 2 still from ASD, allowing Seven Stills to produce its own beer while at the same time allowing for in-house distilling. Cheers!
Kainbigan
is a minority, female‑owned business in the heart of Oakland. Chef Charleen Caabay started her career cooking delicious food as a street vendor and caterer. In 2012, she opened up a pop‑up inside a local venue in Oakland where each week she would serve Filipino food. The pop‑up restaurant —named Kainbigan — became so popular it confirmed for her that people wanted Filipino cuisine. In 2013 she opened the doors of Kainbigan’s brick-and-mortar location.
Kainbigan sells both well‑known Filipino dishes along with a few Filipino fusion dishes. This makes the menu attractive to customers who know and love Filipino food, and for newbies being introduced to Filipino food for the first time. Their success suddenly made their space seem cramped, so they came to Pacific Community Ventures. Their loan will help them purchase additional kitchen and catering equipment, to help them grow their business.
Could your business benefit from a small business loan? See if you’re eligible!