Comcast continues to invest in small businesses with the Comcast RISE program. Announced at the April 2024 kick-off event at the Russell Innovation Center, now and through May 31, eligible businesses in Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton and Fulton counties can apply for a grant package at https://www.comcastrise.com/. A total of 100 grants will be announced in August 2024.
Issa Prescott, founder of Life Bistro, was awarded a Comcast RISE grant in 2021, during the restaurant’s second year of operation. Located in Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills neighborhood, Life Bistro serves vegan soul food in a sit-down, fine dining atmosphere. The Comcast RISE grant helped Issa navigate and grow his business to become a thriving food hub that is now expanding throughout the Atlanta area.
About Life Bistro
Opening its doors in February 2020, Life Bistro is Atlanta’s first fine dining, full-service vegan restaurant. Customers can sit down with their families and eat a healthy vegan meal, drink custom cold-pressed juices, and enjoy live music every Friday night. Founder and owner Issa Prescott created Life Bistro from his lifelong love of cooking and passion for healthy food:
“I grew up in a big family of six. We all had a day to cook, including the children in the family, and I think I was the only sibling that actually looked forward to his day. From there I always said, okay, I want to be a chef one day.”
When Issa discovered the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle, he wanted to share his passion with the community. Half of Life Bistro’s customers are vegans, while the other half are health food enthusiasts. Issa shares the stories of customers who didn’t realize that vegan food could taste so good: “I had one customer tell me just yesterday, ‘that was the best pasta I ever tasted in my life.’ He didn’t put best vegan pasta on it.”
Life Bistro attracts customers from all over Greater Atlanta, but its location in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood is particularly meaningful to Issa. He moved to the neighborhood when he was seven years old, and his family still lives there. Sylvan Hills has historically been a food desert, making healthy food hard to come by for residents. It is also a high-crime area, somewhere that most people would not expect a restaurant to thrive. But, Issa explains, the growth of Life Bistro and other small businesses have helped elevate the neighborhood and encourage growth. “I’m very connected to this neighborhood, and I’ve always wanted to see better things for Sylvan Hills. And by putting a vegan restaurant here, I think we started to see that dream come true.”
Elevating the Business with Comcast RISE
Comcast RISE provides many benefits to small businesses, including a monetary grant, technology makeover, commercial production, and businesses coaching. For Issa, the part of the grant that stood out the most was the technology makeover, which includes one year of free Comcast Business Internet and provides equipment including laptops and iPads.
Life Bistro relies on technology for their day-to-day operations from taking reservations to playing background music to processing credit card payments. However, the costs of buying and running that technology add up. Comcast RISE helped Life Bistro save money on technology, which they were then able to invest into other parts of their business operation, including hiring a general manager.
“Comcast RISE was definitely key to us advancing our business. Without that program, we wouldn’t have had the funds to be able to dedicate to employees, to having some really strong managers in place. That allowed us to really just ensure that we were consistent and providing quality business for our customers.
Issa Prescott, Executive Chef and Owner, Life Bistro
Life Bistro is now a thriving spot in Sylvan Hills, and they still use the iPad and laptop provided by Comcast RISE. Since 2021, the business has expanded to include a ghost kitchen in Buckhead and is looking forward to opening a new location in Atlanta in September 2024.
About Comcast RISE
The comprehensive grant packages include business consultation services, educational resources, a $5,000 monetary grant, creative production, media schedule, and a technology makeover. Comcast RISE is committed to supporting the growth of all small businesses, while advancing the objectives of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as community investment. The program was created to help businesses and their communities thrive with a focus on economic growth. To learn more about Life Bistro, visit https://lifebistroatl.com/, and for more about former Comcast RISE recipients, check out Brown Toy Box and Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks.
For more on eligibility requirements and how to apply for the Comcast RISE grant program, visit www.ComcastRISE.com.
