As the owner of Q’s Crackin Crab & Seafood Kitchen restaurant, Quinisha Bredwood carries years of experience as an entrepreneur and business professional. She began her journey as an undergraduate at EFSC (then BCC), where she gained confidence to confront challenges and pursue her dreams. In this Alumni Spotlight, Quinisha shares her journey through college into the business world, including how she handled the challenges of COVID during her restaurant’s launch and advice for students pursuing their own passions.
What’s a fun fact that people might not know about you?
I’m funnier than people think, even though I’m more of an introvert than extrovert. I’m a “mama bear.” I truly love being a mom. It’s one of the most important jobs I have — especially being a mom of so many girls.
Tell me a little about your background.
I’m born and raised here in Brevard. I went to three different high schools but graduated from Satellite High. I worked in a lot of different restaurants while I was in school. I’m a big foodie and took a particular liking to pharmacy. Outside of restaurant work, I was a pharmacy tech. I did oncology retail pharmacy as an auditor.
What degree did you pursue at EFSC?
I received my A.A. degree at EFSC (then BCC). I did the debutante pageant my senior year of high school and received a scholarship. It helped with college expenses.
How did your time at EFSC help you pursue your dream as an entrepreneur?
EFSC helped me become confident within a smaller community. I enjoyed EFSC; it felt like it was a family. I still talk to my speech professor, Maria Parnell, to this day. EFSC poured into my confidence: That I can do and be whatever I want. This helped me confront my own challenges. I was a young, working mom as a student, and having more confidence helped with that area of my life, too. Since then, both my daughter and my mom have gone back to EFSC — that’s three generations!
How did you become interested in running your own restaurant?
At an early age, I was in the restaurant business as a hostess server. I’ve always enjoyed being around food and have been cooking since I was a little girl. I’m the oldest of four siblings and twenty-seven grandkids, and I’ve cooked for them for a long time. Cooking is just a part of me. It’s in my DNA.
I always knew that I liked the freedom and the money that came with being an entrepreneur. Being a server or a bartender was always good for me because the income was based off my individual skills. That’s how I feel about owning a restaurant. For me, it’s the ability to showcase my skills to make a livable earning.
Could you tell me a little bit about your work as a restaurant owner?
It’s a cool story. I found myself living on my own for first time with no Mama and two daughters. I was working in the pharmacy and in-between work I was having these game nights at my house. Everybody would bring seafood, and we would play games. I realized people really enjoyed my cooking. One day I thought, “I’m going to start selling plates!” I did it in-between work to help supplement my income. I think that’s why people love to follow my journey. It’s a real-life thing that started in my kitchen and led to opening my restaurant, Q’s Crackin Crab & Seafood Kitchen, in Cocoa Beach during the pandemic of July 2020. Five years later, it’s still going strong and successful.
Opening a restaurant during the pandemic must have been a challenge! Could you tell us more about that?
From January to July, so much happened. I was at the stage of giving up on my passion of cooking in January. I had just had a miscarriage, and I decided to try to find a little part time job for two weeks, but that didn’t work. But one day, when my husband and I were having lunch I said, “You know what, let’s give it one more try. Let’s go look for a restaurant.” After having lunch, we drove around and found a location in Cocoa Beach. We negotiated a deal in February. We didn’t know that COVID was happening (although we had a friend who was in China, and she was talking about it a little). But then, suddenly, COVID, was really happening. March 13th, 2020, is when I signed the lease, and the next day, all of the restaurants closed. I was like, “What are we doing?!”
Thankfully, I had negotiated four months of rent abatement, so we technically didn’t have to pay until August. Because so many restaurants were closing, we found a lot of equipment on Facebook market for pretty cheap. Mind you, I had a following already because I started cooking at my house and doing catering. Fast forward to July 4th weekend, and we decided this would be a great time to open. Everybody was ready to be outside again. The support was unreal. Everybody came out. We had lines out the door, down the street. It was amazing.
How did overcoming that challenge change you?
Sometimes you feel like you’re right at the end of your journey, thinking, “This is fun, but I need to move on and do something else in life.” I really was at that place. I felt depleted of my hope. Usually, I’m a very optimistic person. I try to find the good in everything. But taking that drive with my husband and finding that location was a pivotal moment. I think that resilience is what makes our story so impactful.
What advice would you give students who want to become entrepreneurs or business owners like you? What does it take to be successful?
Just don’t have a “give up” in you. My husband and I say, “We’re giving it every ounce of greatness” and just have a mindset of, “No matter what, whatever it takes, I’m gonna try my hardest. Give it my all.” The other part is just being passionate, having something you’re passionate about, something you want to learn inside and out. I think being a risk-taker and finding something you’re passionate about will help you pursue your entrepreneurship dream.
What do you love most about your work?
I love the freedom of owning a restaurant. At this point I’m a full-time mom and I run my business with a supportive spouse who works alongside of me. I love standing around and talking to my customers, asking them how they found us, how they like the food, and hearing their stories. I’m a people-person. If you go to a restaurant, you’ll see me at the register. Sometimes I’m there cleaning up the tables. I just love it all, honestly. My favorite part is the “people part,” running the operation, ordering marketing… That’s what I focus on.
Is there a memorable moment or experience you can share?
I learned a valuable lesson that I do too much sometimes. I set up a comedy and seafood show on Valentine’s Day. It was on a Sunday when we’re only open five hours. But the event sold out and we were open for seven hours! I think we made almost $10,000 in sales. I had to stop taking orders. It was one of the wildest days, and I had to figure out everything on the fly and take care of all the customers. They were waiting two and three hours!
One thing I love about my business is that I get to set the tone. I might do a comedy seafood show, a jazz night, or day party. I just like to be creative.
What advice would you give students who are currently completing their degrees?
While pursuing your degree, cultivate your passion. Pursue the “why” behind your passion — both your degree and the thing that makes you wake up thinking, “I can’t wait to do this!” Align those two things together and you’ll find the happiness that you desire.
Once I aligned my passion with something that could help me make a living, it was a game-changer. I would probably never pursue anything else outside of life being my own boss.
What do you hope others take away from your story?
I think as a mom and as a woman, a lot of times, society tells us that we have to choose between our family and our career — that we can’t do one well without neglecting the other. I just want to be a representation that you can have a successful business and be present in the lives of your children and your family.
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