Fedwell: A true story of perseverance 👩‍🌾

📞“Alexis, guess what?! We got the space! It’s yours!” 

That phone call was one of the highlights of my time at Pedal. It’s not often that we’re in suspense over whether we’ll “win” a deal definitively, but that’s how it went for Fedwell, Alexis Starkey’s neighborhood farm-to-table comfort food concept.

The experience was all the more amazing because of how close it came to not happening at all. Alexis’ road to finding her dream space was long, winding, and quite literally tragic at times. Nothing ever felt certain.

And yet, here I was, letting Alexis know that she’d 🥇 beaten out two established restaurant concepts for a rare second-generation space right in her own neighborhood, on the most desirable block in Petworth.

How did she do it? The time-tested, killer combo of professional representation and a compelling business plan.

✅ Professional representation

Alexis hadn’t rented a long-term space of her own before, but with Pedal in her corner, the building owners were comfortable that Alexis was prepared. Moreover, we had to navigate a situation that was more complex than most. Since the space was already 🔒 leased to a tenant who closed up shop, the simplest path was for Alexis to take over the existing lease…but not before making the revisions necessary to allow her to  transform the space and concept into Fedwell.

Since this was a lease “assignment” instead of a new lease for a vacant space, the timeline was short and the competition was high. 😰

We needed to stay top-of-mind for the landlord without losing our leverage or appearing desperate, and we needed to persuade them that Fedwell was the concept the neighborhood needed.

💁‍♀️ Call me Elle Woods, because I am not afraid of a challenge.

✅ A compelling business plan that emphasized Alexis’ professional experience

Alexis is a classically trained 👩‍🍳 chef with experience in kitchens around the world from Bavaria to Istanbul to Oaxaca. She trained at Restaurant Zum Löwen, a restaurant led by one of the first female chefs in Italy to earn a Michelin star. Returning stateside, she launched her catering business, Farm to Feast in 2011.

At Farm to Feast, Alexis built a team and a reputation for excellence, catering weddings and special events throughout the region. As her business grew, her team was increasingly 😖 hamstrung by the shared kitchen space she used for production. They dreamed of a space to call their own.

And so, while this would be Alexis’ first long-term lease, she was already an experienced business owner and foodservice operator – not a high-risk newcomer the landlords wanted to avoid. 

✅ Financials that showed how the math all mathed

While the Fedwell concept would be new, the existing Farm to Feast operation would also be moving to the new storefront. So her 📈 financial projections demonstrated that the mature catering business could afford the rent even without the new revenue streams from the on-site restaurant traffic and special events. So there it was in black and white — a new venture that felt a lot more stable to the landlords.

✅ Fedwell’s fit with the Petworth community

Beyond her desire to get out of the shared kitchen space, Alexis wanted to provide a community gathering place for the neighborhood…HER neighborhood! Her home is within walking distance of the storefront, so she knew exactly what she and her neighbors needed. Fedwell would cater to Petworth’s stroller brigade as well as the foodie set with happy hours, space rentals and special events. And bonus — the weekly Petworth Farmer’s Market was literally  right outside the front door.

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My heart still swells thinking of that phone call to Alexis to let her know her concept had been chosen – it was a moment I will always cherish. The only better feeling than hearing Alexis’ excitement and relief at winning the deal was the knowledge that she was prepared for what would come next.

Fedwell is now open at 821 Upshur Street in Washington, DC.