Short Blurb from Alloy Alum Malique Smith
"It was hard leaving Alloy and Brooklyn, but to further my trajectory personally and professionally, I had to take a leap in a new city. Hospitality has always been a strong pillar in my life because of my grandmother, who showed me what impactful service was through food. Once the pandemic hit, like most, I had time to reset and think about where I wanted to be. After successfully running another food concept for 2 1/2 years, it was time for me to be a part of something that aligned with my heritage and goals. I made the decision to start my own Caribbean food concept.
In June of 2020 I was introduced to my now partner, Rashida Holmes. Rashida, who was already selling patties out of her window, and when we met we chatted for hours about developing a new type of Caribbean concept that was scalable. Fast forward to today ... We've been named Best New Restaurant by Eater, been featured in over 90 media publications, she has been nominated for a James Beard award, and we are currently building out our flagship space in East Hollywood. Crazy what a couple years can do!
In the background, I’ve also been able to branch off and form a design agency, called HyperGroup, which helps entities create multimedia solutions across platforms and campaigns. Life isn’t perfect, but I found a way to do what I love, and I couldn’t be more excited for the future."
