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Raleigh Sugar Bowl Case Study

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9-913-537
NOVEMBER 30, 2012
RICHARD G. HAMERMESH
ALISA ZALOSH

Sugar Bowl
Shelby Givens checked her watch as she jogged along Raleigh’s Greenway Trail; she was running late again. Since Sugar Bowl’s launch, there simply were not enough hours in the day to satisfy the overwhelming demands on her time. Givens couldn’t remember the last time she went to dinner and a movie with friends. And though three months had passed, she still deeply regretted missing her college roommate’s wedding because of an unanticipated staffing crisis.
Givens had thought that by now, April 2012, a full year after the bowling lounge’s opening, her fast-paced and sometimes sleepless entrepreneurial life would be slower, or at least more predictable.
But that simply …show more content…

The lack of any direct competition in Raleigh, paired with Raleigh’s ongoing gentrification and influx of young professionals,1 led Givens to believe a market existed for such a venue. She even had a name to propose for the reconceived business: Sugar Bowl.
Before his death in 2008, Dane Sugar upgraded Westlake’s lane machinery and scoring technology. Givens wanted to update the outdated 16,000 square foot interior, reconfiguring the space to foster casual dining and socializing, as well as bowling, for 150 people, nearly doubling capacity.2 She believed that revenue levels from the new business would support significant jumps in costs, such as rent and insurance,
Givens projected she would need $600,000 to renovate the bowling alley, and forecasted an additional $100,000 for startup costs and incidentals. She raised $200,000 in the form of convertible notes from friends and family, and secured a $400,000 SBA loan from a local bank. Both loans were 5 years in length, commanded 8% interest, and required quarterly interest-only payments with the principal to be repaid in full at the end of the term. The bank, however, listed additional terms; failure to comply would result in rate renegotiation or a truncated loan term.
Loan Terms:
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Givens provided her home, a downtown Raleigh condominium, as loan collateral.
The venue must open no later than 15 months post-funding.
Actual revenue must reach 70% of

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