Bill the Butcher is Strapped for Cash

Local chain Bill the Butcher, Inc., the latest vehicle for the vaulting ambition of CEO/Owner J'Amy Owens (who Inc. Magazine once hailed as the "Diva of Retail"), disclosed in its latest SEC filing that it has a meager $40,000 cash remaining.

Rami Grunbaum of the Seattle Times analyzed the filing and discovered that a major cause of the cash shortage was that in June 2011, Bill the Butcher was forced to reverse a private placement (aka cancel a stock sale) that would have netted the unprofitable startup $4.5 million. Owens remains stalwart, asserting that the company has "several other offers the same size or larger, and we're entertaining those now."

The corporate chain of neighborhood butcher shops has six locations already open in the Seattle area in Woodinville, Madison Valley, Magnolia, Laurelhurst, Bellevue and Redmond. The company previously announced plans to establish stores in Wallingford and Edmonds, as well. Last year, The Stranger accused them of green washing and lack of transparency regarding their meat sourcing. They have since improved their labeling and released a list of suppliers.

This is the first SEC filing that Eater Seattle has delved into, wherein the number of Facebook/Twitters followers has been cited as a reason to invest.

· Big Infusion Eludes Bill the Butcher [Seattle Times]

Bill the Butcher, Madison Valley [Photo: Bill the Butcher]