Charisse McGill resigned from her “cushy director-level job” at a local college to become an entrepreneur supporting inner city youth.
McGill is the founder of French Toast Bites, a Philadelphia, PA-based venture she launched in 2018 at the local Christmas Village just two days after her job exit, she told CBS News Philadelphia. It became evident that she was heading in the right direction when her gross sales began to near her salary at her previous job.
“The 45 days of the event, my gross sales totaled 75% of the salary I left behind, and that’s when I knew I was on the right track,” McGill told CBS News.
The business first started serving customers French toast bites paired with toppings.
However, McGill didn’t stop there. She also has launched a spice product, coffee, and even a beer flavored with her French Toast Bites, thanks to a partnership with Yards Brewing Company.
“We pour the bites into the mesh and the spice gets extracted straight from those bites,” she explained, according to ABC-6 in Philadelphia. “They love it because they think it’s going to be stouty or dessert beer, but I say no, it’s an anytime ale. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, you can have it with anything.”
McGill is reportedly the first Black woman in Pennsylvania with her own signature beer, Blavity reports.
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Besides expanding her business empire, McGill is also actively seeking to support the youth in the city by providing employment opportunities.
“I’m dedicated to hiring youth minority in underserved communities here in Philadelphia between the ages of 16 to 24, and I’ve been paying them a living wage before it was the thing to do,” McGill said, according to CBS News. “When I was in high school, I didn’t have a Black boss,” McGill said. “I didn’t have a boss that was in Forbes.”
