Gene and Natasha Williams of Natasha’s Cafe are on a rip roarin’ roll. From strictly a business perspective, today they look great. On July 4th they celebrated their third anniversary at a new, expanded location, and business is thriving. Their gross sales have more than tripled–nearly quadrupled–since 2000. Natasha’s now occupies 6,000 square feet of prime real estate on The Esplanade, right off Main Street in the heart of downtown Lexington.
Originally, they operated a 2,000 square-foot mom & pop gourmet restaurant and boutique on suburban Southland Drive. Within the first six months of expansion planning, they increased from six to 25 employees. But that’s only the numbers. Natasha’s is establishing a reputation as the region’s most uniquely cosmopolitan dining establishment. But Natasha’s is more than a top-ranked restaurant featuring “fresh, imaginative international cuisine presented in the funky-elegant atmosphere of a Soho bistro.”
The Willliamses are owner/proprietors of the Balagula Botique, an on-site retail operation and webstore offering “one-of-a-kind artifacts from around the world, exotic jewelry, romantic clothes and beautiful items that stir the artistic soul.”
Moreover, their evening dinners feature a monthly repertoire of ethnically inspired entertainment acts such as the Rakadu Gyupsy Dancers, Jaleos Flamencos, jazz ensembles, string duets, blues performers, Appalachian musicians, and
small sophisticated troupes who produce thought-provoking plays.
Natasha’s has become an area treasure, and CVC is proud of its role in nurturing this emerging business. The Williamses appealed to CVC to help finance their 2000 expansion and 2001 move.
“CVC loaned us money,” Gene said, noting that banks typically resist financing non-franchise restaurants because of their high failure rate. “CVC scrutinized us very carefully,” he said, “but they’re able to handle individual cases with more flexibility than banks. I guess they considered our decade in business counted for some credibility.”
Beyond funding and technical assistance, CVC identified a weakness in their accounting procedures. “They sent in an employee to train us, and that resolved the problem handily,” he concluded.
