Lourdes and Smith Jerome were approached by Jerome to boost foot traffic for his high-end steakhouse through a happy hour. The success of the event led to the formation of The Refined Agency. Capitalizing on their success, they created Café Lola, a creative hub and coffee shop, with Jerome as a partner. Subsequently, they launched Saint Honoré, a boutique doughnut shop. Initially, the doughnut shop struggled, selling only a few items while wasting more than they sold, demonstrating the challenges of starting a new business.
Lourdes, then a Ph.D. student at UNLV, had started collaborating on campus events with her friend Lin Smith Jerome, who was married to Jerome and would soon become her closest creative partner.
At the time, Jerome was running a high-end steakhouse and needed to boost foot traffic. He asked Lourdes and Smith Jerome to organize a happy hour at the restaurant.
So they made one. That night, Smith Jerome filed the LLC paperwork. Lourdes mocked up a logo at the dining room table.
We were throwing more doughnuts away than we were selling. One customer would trickle in. That was it.
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