Jive Turkey

“Bridge Street believed in me, and I think it’s very important to have someone who believes in you when you’re a small business owner, someone who keeps pushing you. When you’re ready to give up, they’re there to say, ‘Don’t give up.’”
—Aricka Westbrooks, Owner, Jive Turkey

In four short years, Arika Westbrooks went from deep-frying whole turkeys for Thanksgiving in her Brooklyn backyard in 2001 to opening a commercial kitchen and shipping her product to every state in the union by 2005. Early on, before she made the move from her backyard to a renovated Brooklyn storefront, she made a connection to the Bridge Street Development Corporation.

“Bridge Street has definitely been an invaluable partner for me since I started the business,” says Ms. Westbrooks. “They were here before there was a storefront, before I even had one employee.” Ms. Westbrook first connected with Bridge Street when she signed up to take a business planning course in 200X. Although she had a background in marketing, she wanted to deepen her general business knowledge and prepare a business plan.

She turned to Bridge Street for guidance in drafting her business plan and in arranging financing to buy a storefront in the XX neighborhood of Brooklyn; do a gut renovation of it, and hire a professional culinary staff to help her run her commercial kitchen. Bridge Street’s help with her business plan and its connections to financing sources were both key to her success in establishing her business.

“Bridge Street made the journey for me easier,” she says, “because they were instrumental in helping me negotiate the whole maze of financing and securing financing.” Today, Jive Turkey’s menu offers its unique signature dish in 15 different versions, from Honey Pecan to Cajun. And Ms. Westbrooks is looking to expand to a second store. For more about Aricka Westbrooks and Jive Turkey, click here.