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Tamara

Pick Up N Go

Waterloo, Iowa

Matching Partner: N/A

Pick Up N Go is a Southern BBQ, Seafood, and Cajun-infused restaurant offering excellent customer service, providing great food – at a reasonable price – and valuing our customer every step of the way. Our business is located in the historical Western Downtown Waterloo neighborhood. Pick Up N Go was established in 2016 as place to get southern food that was not readily available. We currently offer catering, dine-in, or take-out & delivery. We are looking to expand, and plan to take this ‘heaven on wheels’ to other locations around our city, and beyond. We want everyone to have the chance to experience our delicious menu items and share in our love for food.

These Kiva funds will help us secure the purchase of a food truck, which will allow us to generate more revenue and further grow our customer base. We believe this business expansion will lead to the growth of our staff, creating job opportunity for others in our community.

We are two very hard-working women that have over 29 years of combined experience in the hospitality and food industry! We are tired of facing never-ending car troubles that slow down our operation. Several years ago, I wanted to make a career change, so I decided to test out my business concept. I went to my freezer, took out a 5lb pack of ground beef, and made my kids favorite meal (tacos!) in bulk. From there, I drove around to crowded work sites/construction sites until I sold out. This was my pathway to becoming a business owner. I have a bachelor’s degree, and we have our own brick and mortar space.

Despite some challenges we experienced in the early days that resulted in a bad business deal, we refused to give up on our dream. Our love for food spreads joy to those we encounter, making people (and their belly’s) happy. We will continue to serve those in our community and will continue to build this business so we can leave a legacy for our grandchildren. This loan will be so helpful at this point in our business journey. Thank you!