One-of-a-kind restaurant finding success with no-cost assistance

Loaded of Pinellas County

In May 2020, Eddie Adams was having a conversation with a family member about the lack of a certain type of restaurant in the industry. That’s when he made the decision to take matters into his own hands and create his own business. Adams came up with Loaded, a new kind of restaurant in Clearwater dedicated to providing only the most deliciously loaded potatoes, wings, and salads.

After Adams put his business idea into motion, he realized that he was missing the necessary guidance to kickstart his business for success.

“We reached out to the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County because we felt like we were coming to a stand-still,” Adams said. “We wanted more information on our accounting, banking, and PPP loans. We just wanted to be a better business overall.”

Through the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED), Adams was able to get in contact with business consultant Debra Schweikowsky, who specializes in business management, banking, and finance. Together, the two worked towards growing and improving the business in various areas.

“Our business has grown since working with the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County by tremendous amounts,” he said. “We were able to receive the PPP loan, which helped us in hiring employees. Our accounting as far as our QuickBooks, along with our POS system programs are running much more efficiently now. Overall, our business has just gotten so much better.”

Adams is looking forward to what’s to come and is excited to see where the future will take him and his unique restaurant. He looks forward to continuing to work with Schweikowsky and utilizing all the resources that the Florida SBDC at PCED has to offer.

“As I continue to grow my business, I will continue to use the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County to grow my business by attending future workshops, using resources to hire new employees along with maintaining our current employees, developing more of an interpersonal relationship with my customers, and expanding my business,” Adams said.

“They’re patient, kind, and they really do care about how you grow your business. It’s an amazing benefit to be able to receive and know there are people who are working to help small businesses succeed.”