Lamont’s Kitchen

Lamont’s Kitchen is a popular food truck and restaurant located in The Local, a micro business facility in downtown Jackson, Tennessee. The restaurant’s warm and welcoming ambiance, homemade southern and soul food, and famous jar salads are a favorite among locals and area tourists.

Chef Briyona Batchelor opened her food truck, Lamont’s Kitchen, in 2021 as a tribute to her father, Lamont Batchelor, who was killed when she was a child. She had dreams of also opening a partner restaurant of the same name, so she approached the TSBDC in the fall of 2021 to request assistance with building a business plan, financial forecasting, sourcing capital, and digital marketing to launch her restaurant. Briyona began one-on-one consulting with our Jackson TSBDC service center, with the help of her consultant she built a business plan and a strategy for locating a brick-and-mortar for her restaurant. Briyona’s consultant assisted her with reviewing real estate options, available loan options, financial forecasting, and event research to keep her food truck booked during the restaurant planning.

After viewing many locations Briyona chose a space in The Local in downtown Jackson. Working with her TSBDC consultant Briyona worked on how to style the layout of the restaurant, her consultant researched supply costs and connected her with resource partners for countertops and additional fixtures for the restaurant.  The TSBDC also assisted with market analysis for setting pay scales and incentives and helped Briyona with hiring strategies. The restaurant opened to a successful grand opening and is currently wrapping up the first year of business with plans to work with the TSBDC on an expansion strategy.

“The TSBDC has played a crucial role in the success of my business. I found these services online and was quickly paired with a mentor, Mr. Brad and our business has grown ever since. Mr. Brad and I started from scratch, and he helped me lay the framework for my business so that I could be successful. The TSBDC has been consistent with the resources they provided me, from start-up to a brick-and-mortar building. If I didn’t have the backing of a skilled mentor my entrepreneurship journey would not have been this easy.” – Briyona Batchelor