FLAVORUSH LLC

Wajiyha Muhammad is a third-generation food business owner in a long line of successful Philadelphia

restauranteurs. She is the owner and operator of FLAVORUSH Catering LLC. She started catering three years

ago in 2019 when she quit her job with a national catering company to start the business and she is grateful to

still be standing, even though the pandemic. Wajiyha said that she struggled because she had never run a

business on her own, but she learns something new every day. She ventured into third-party contracts, which

helped her to spring forward and increase sales. With the help of The Enterprise Center’s Culinary Center,

FLAVORUSH was able to work in partnership with the food consortium to expand her market. Her acumen for running her business has increased and over the last year, she has been able to hire one full-time and 4 part-time

staff. She has gained an additional 10 contracts in comparison to the 5 contracts FLAVORUSH had last year,

for a total of 15 contracts, and her revenue has more than doubled. The business has acquired large contracts

with Amazon, two universities and one hospital, providing meals for students and staff.

Over the last 6 months, Wajiyha has been working on the opening of her first brick and mortar restaurant,

which will be in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. The grand opening is slated for September, and at that

time, she plans to hire 2 additional workers. Wajiyha expressed how grateful she is for the support that the

business centers have provided. She stated that our support helped her to increase her revenue and she is

now choosing to use all black-owned businesses to fit out her space. Wajiyha said, “Every business I'm using to

do the work on my restaurant Is a black-owned business…from the HVAC company (which is also an MBDA

Business Center client) to the general contractor to the electrician to the plumber. So, to be able to take the

revenue that I made from contracts with these major companies and to circulate that money back into my

community is an extra blessing for me. I know how hard I work to get to where I am, so to be able to help

someone else get a leg up and get that exposure for their company is a plus for me. I'm just excited to be on

this venture… a little nervous but I know I didn’t get this far for no reason.