'Shark Tank' Coming To Brownsville's 3 Black Cats Cafe

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — ABC reality television series "Shark Tank" will land in Brownsville’s 3 Black Cats Café and Cakery this month to take pitches from local entrepreneurs, organizers announced this week.

"Shark Tank" — a show where aspiring moguls pitch their startup ideas in the hopes of earning an investment — will be accepting pitches at 3 Black Cats Café at 3 Belmont Avenue on April 19, according to the television show’s website.

The 3 Black Cats Café is an apt choice for the event — the business was developed and funded by local business incubator The Dream Big Foundation and inspired by a reality television show.

“My sister Diana was watching a reality show based on cakes” said bakery cofounder Ionna Jimenez, “She wanted to be a business woman and she said, ‘I could do that.’”

Diana, Ionna and their sister Melissa launched the cafe in 2016 and have since been providing the neighborhood with more than pastries — the cafe often hosts aspiring restaurateurs, event planners and designers who looking to spark interest in their business ideas, Jimenez said.

“People have designed eyewear, their own jewelry lines, their own beauty lines,” said Jimenez. “There are a lot of creative people here.”

Jimenez advice to those who apply to pitch "Shark Tank" is simple — do your research.

“Be able to answer, ‘Why is there a need?” Jimenez said. “Not being prepared is not a good look.”

The Brownsville event is part of the show’s diversity tour which will hold pitch sessions in Harlem and Brownsville, as well as diverse neighborhoods in Austin, Baltimore, Charlotte, Detroit, Memphis, St. Louis and Washington D.C., organizers said.

Jimenez believes that the people in her neighborhood are going to stand out to the "Shark Tank" panelists.

“They’re going to see a lot of creative ideas coming out of Brownsville,” Jimenez said. “People here think outside the box and they should be prepared for that.”

Image via Dion Hinchcliffe/Flickr