In the heart of Georgetown, a city with a complex history with African Americans, a small business stands out not only for being one of the few Black-owned businesses in the area but because of the moment it was founded and the uniqueness of its owner, Wendell Allsbrook. 

Wendell Allsbrook grew up in a rough environment, surrounded by the wrong crowd, which led him to make dumb decisions during his teenage years, like dropping out of school. However, thanks to his ambitious mindset, the certainty that he could do more, and against all odds, he managed to open his own business. 

The week Wendell opened his butchery, the world shut down due to COVID, forcing him to roll up his sleeves, double the efforts, and go through an accelerated course in entrepreneurship. However, as if building a successful business during the pandemic wasn't worthy enough, he managed to create an extremely personalized business born in the detached space of contactless delivery and online shopping. 

In this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with Wendell Allsbrook, Founder and Owner of Georgetown Butcher. We delve into Wendell's past, his experiences growing up in the U St. corridor of NW Washington, DC during its rough, declining years, and his relationship with the school, his family, and the environment he was surrounded by. We talk about his drive to be successful and owning his own butcher shop, how he dealt with facing the pandemic right after opening his business' doors, and why he decided to approach that challenge the way he did. We also talk about his future projects in his shop, the products they offer, his relationship with the neighborhood, and more. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• Can you please introduce yourself and tell the people what you're all about? (9:15)
• How did you get into butchery? (10:03)
• What was going through your mind when you opened your business, and the world shut down? (19:08)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• A bit of context about Georgetown's history with African Americans (3:08)
• About Wendell's rough childhood and his decision of being around the wrong crowd (11:18)
• Just use common sense. Wendell talks about how he managed to differentiate by creating a personalized business (26:36)
• The importance of working with local farmers (30:03)
• About Wendell's decision of educating himself in trains and buses going and coming from work every day (46:18)

Resources:

• Georgetown Butcher website
• Georgetown Butcher Instagram

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