The announcement of BuZhiee Taco closing all seven of its Charlotte, NC locations went almost unnoticed, except by its employees. The posh and trendy restaurant had been in business for 13 months, but never really took off. Owners Ken and Karen Everlove broke the news to their staff at the close of business Monday. “We hate to break this to you,” they said in a Zoom call with employees, “But we just can’t stay in business any longer. Today we sold a grand total of 17 tacos, all of which were kids meals.”
Damascus Dispatch reporter Raven Lair interviewed the owners to understand the impact this will have on the community.
Raven: Tell me about BuZhee Taco and what your goal was when you opened it.
Karen: We really just wanted to bring a new flair to the restaurant scene here in Charlotte. We wanted our food to be locally sourced, sustainable, excitingly fresh, and unique. We also wanted to provide living wages for all of our employees.
Raven: That sounds awesome. How was your idea received?
Ken: Well, the employees loved the idea of making $27.66 an hour with full benefits and 4 weeks vacation from day one. So we knew we were onto something there. But I think the menu confused people a bit.
Raven: How so?
Karen: People just didn’t understand what their bodies needed in terms of nourishment. I mean big picture nourishment. Our food didn’t just satisfy hunger, it satisfied the environment and the community as well.
Raven: Hmmmmm. Go on.
Karen: Take our emu spleen tacos for example. We harvest only the spleens of locally sourced free range antibiotic free, organic emus.
Ken: Which is no easy task in Charlotte.
Karen: Exactly! But then the Emus get to live out the rest of their lives on the farm. Anyway, we take these beautiful fresh spleens, garnish them with beet and kale salsa, then tuck it all into this cute little seaweed shell.
Raven: Sounds interesting. Did you have any menu items that actually sold?
Ken: We couldn’t understand why the kids’ tacos sold so well. I mean they were just ground beef and shredded cheese in a traditional corn shell. It just made no sense to us.
Raven: Seems people have a standard for tacos, I guess.
Karen: Yes, and that’s what we were trying to get people to see. We wanted them to overcome their unconscious bias and experience all the possibilities of tacos.
Raven: Well, it’s sad to hear that a local business is closing. Do you have plans for the future?
Ken: Absolutely! We’re already thinking about the future and transforming our business. By spring of 2025 we expect to launch BuZhiee Smuthiee.
Karen: That’s right. Our smoothies will contain locally sourced, sustainable, excitingly fresh, and unique ingredients. We also want to provide living wages for all of our employees.
Raven: Good luck with that.