Lowel Hawthorne, Founder and CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill immigrated to the United States in 1981 from Jamaica. With a Green Card in his hand, he found a job as an assistant stock handler with the New York Police Department, but he yearned to have a business of his own one day.
After a lot of thought, he decided to open a bakery like the one his father had inJamaica. With the help of his family, he managed to raise a little more than $107,000 to start the first bakery by borrowing the money from family and friends since he did not have any assets then for the banks to get excited about and give him a loan.
There are now more than 100 Golden Krust locations across the United States. The company generates more than $100,000 million in revenue per year and is expected to grow. Lowel will be expanding the product lines to include sauces, among other products.
A self-made immigrant millionaire in America, Lowel strongly believes that anybody can achieve the American dream if they wanted to. “You have to be focused, educated, self disciplined and just go for it.” That’s sound advice from someone who took calculated risks and turned one bakery into a business empire.
