In 2013, Jennifer Sherrod-Blackwell, Martinique Bistro’s veteran GM and sommelier, and her husband, Brandon Blackwell, a former sous chef at Upperline and butcher at Cleaver & Co., combined their culinary experience to launch a pop-up called Splendid Pig. A common first step for food industry entrepreneurs with dreams of opening their own restaurant, the pop-up provided the couple with a low-risk, affordable way to test out their concept and develop a small following.

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