DURHAM – Beyu Group, owner of Durham’s popular Beyu Caffé, has nearly roughly $220,000 in equity, according to a recent securities filing.
And the owners want even more – $500,000 in all. They also don’t intend the funds to last more than a year, the filing notes.
Eight investors contributed to the round, which kicked off on August 12, with a minimum investment of $10,000 from any outside investor.
The filing does not indicate the use of proceeds.
Its president and chief executive officer Dorian Bolden signed the filing. However, he was unavailable for comment when contacted by WRAL TechWire.
Staff at Beyu Blue at Duke University. Credit: Elizabeth Ashley
Back in March, the cafe on West Main Street was profiled as being among those restaurants in the Triangle hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
To stay afloat during stay-at-home orders, Bolden successfully launched a new online delivery service through his website. He also operates a spin-off concept, Beyu Blue Coffee, at Duke University.
“Technology has not only saved our business, it has regenerated [it],” Bolden said at the time. “We are using technology to not only remain in communication with customers, to notify them of how we can still serve them, but to setup online operations, and navigate new delivery models we didn’t have in place, or hadn’t even considered, before now.”
Beyu Caffé also got a special mention in Walk West’s Donald Thompson April 6 editorial.
He wrote: “Like many other restaurants, Durham-based Beyu Caffé was in a difficult spot when the dining room had to be closed. They pivoted over a weekend by building an online ordering system to accommodate pickup and delivery orders. Instead of standing still, they have been able to keep employees on the payroll while recouping 50 percent of their business.”
Durham café is using tech to pivot, stay alive as ‘stay-at-home’ order kicks in
