Brooklyn Eateries Expand with Help from their Neighbors

Brooklyn eateries Rangoon and Poetica Coffee expanded their businesses with help from their neighbors through SMBX, the Small Business Bond marketplace that empowers small businesses to raise capital through investors in their communities and nationwide.

“We've received tremendous support from the community since we opened our pop-up restaurant seven years ago,“ said Myo Moe, Chef and Owner of Rangoon. “We want to give back by offering our customers and neighbors the chance to invest directly in our future success. As we repay them, our success will be their success.”

Chef Myo Moe and her husband Daniel Bendjy opened Rangoon Noodle Lab as a pop-up location in 2015 serving traditional Burmese cuisine. Rangoon’s Crown Heights brick and mortar location opened in 2020 to rave reviews. Rangoon raised $62,680 to renovate the Crown Heights restaurant and open a new location in Chelsea.

Poetica Coffee has seven locations in Brooklyn including coffee shops in Boerum Hill, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens, and Williamsburg. The $227,520 in new investment added an eighth location in Soho and allowed Poetica to hire more staff.

“When we opened our first Poetica Coffee location, community support showed us how much our neighbors wanted a comfortable place to work and enjoy unique coffee,“ said Poetica Coffee founder Parviz Mukhamadkulov. “Now we want them to have the opportunity to invest and grow with us. We’d rather repay our community than a bank.”

SMBX is a financial marketplace that connects qualified small business owners with everyday investors. By issuing a Small Business Bond, businesses can borrow money from existing customers and their community at competitive rates, raising the funds needed to expand their business.