Meet the power couple behind New York’s The Brooklyn Pink
Inside The Brooklyn Pink: How This Couple Turned Black Love & Sweat Equity Into A Viral New York Getaway [Exclusive] - Page 2
New York couple Ahmad Hemingway, 35, and Jordana Hemingway, 37, opened The Brooklyn Pink, a rental space in New York, in 2023. The eccentric pink space has drawn attention from many travelers across the nation looking to book a night there.
“Being based in New York City is great because not only do we have people from New York City that come and celebrate with us, but we also cater to the people that are from all over the country,” Jordana exclaimed.
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What’s The Brooklyn Pink?
The Brooklyn Pink is a black-owned rental space that serves not only as a venue for events but also as housing for attendees. The venue, which includes two bedrooms and one bathroom, is decked out in pink from wall to wall. It comes fully decorated and stocked for customers, so they don’t have to worry about anything except having a great time.
“It’s like this unique experience of private events meets a short-term stay, meets a content space,” Ahmad said. “After it’s all said and done, I could spend the night. I don’t have to worry about driving home or breaking it down, all that stuff, too.”
The owners pride themselves on providing decorations, photo props, and household essentials to eliminate any stress customers have when planning an event.
“When we say that we provide everything, we really do. And then we’ve had clients come and they brought stuff and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t realize that you had everything.’ When we say we provide everything, we really do,” Ahmad said.
The space also offers party packages ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. The most lavish package, “IT girl dinner,” comes with a decorated space, tablescape, customized cake, private chef with a custom menu, soft drinks and concierge. Meanwhile, the basic package, “Moment 4 Life,” comes with a fully decorated tablescape, pink dishware, and cookware to display your food in an aesthetically pleasing way.
“I’m a girl’s girl and I want everything to be pretty,” Jordana noted.
Starting the business
The entrepreneur, wife, and mother of two was inspired to start this business venture because she believed New York needed a space for women to gather for fellowship, collaboration and celebration.
“I was thinking what about like the ultimate girls pad?” Jordana explained to MadameNoire. “I would deck it out in pink, so I came to my husband with this idea and he was just like, ‘Why would you isolate men?’ I’m like, that’s the point.”
Ahmad needed some convincing to accept the concept of the all-pink space, but he quickly saw the vision.
“I wasn’t really buying the whole concept at first because I just didn’t really see how marketing it to just women would work and then it being all pink, obviously, as a man. I’m like, I don’t get it,” Ahmad told MadameNoire. “But once she showed me…I was like, all right, I believe in you and I think we could do this.”
The real estate duo embarked on this journey as first-time homebuyers in 2021, spending around $20,000 to renovate the Brooklyn Pink. Although they spent a substantial amount of money to revamp the space, the couple found ways to cut expenses, even if that meant getting their hands dirty with the renovations.
“I didn’t have any handyman experience, so there are videos of me painting and drilling stuff. I just went on good old YouTube and TikTok University, like how to power the drill,” Jordana chuckled.
Ahmad added, “Blood, sweat, and tears, it really was. I mean, late nights on weekends, running back and forth to Home Depot [and] painting. The rooms that you see were painted by me.”
The Brooklynites confessed how much time they devoted to preparing to open the doors of their business venture.
“We didn’t have a life for almost like six, seven months, just every weekend,” Jordana said.
Worth the commitment
However, the time and money spent were well rewarded, as the couple made profits within six months of opening their business in May 2023.
The couple confessed that making such a big investment of their personal funds was scary because they didn’t receive any financial backing from family members or friends; it depended solely on them.
“We’re media professionals, first-time homeowners, you know, we couldn’t pick up the phone and call anyone and say, ‘Hey, we need $20,000 to invest in this idea that we have, you know?’ So everything was really taking a risk, believing in ourselves and it’s paid off so far,” Jordana said.
Business booming
As the establishment continues to flourish, they have a waiting list of people wanting to stay inside the pink apartment, some even booking a year ahead.
“It’s still a pinch me moment…the fact that we still have people booking out so far in advance,” Jordana said.
She recalled when a client revealed how determined she was to book a night at The Brooklyn Pink after trying to book the space for an event the previous year.
“She was like, ‘Last time I tried it and you guys were booked up. So I’m not playing,'” Jordana laughed.
Her willingness to pay so far in advance surprised the owners because, as a young business, they weren’t even sure if they’d be around within a year.
“I didn’t want to book them out that far because it’s like, like relax…I don’t know what’s going on with the Brooklyn Pink [a year out],” Jordana confessed, but her customer’s love for the space has reassured her that the venue is here to stay.
Jordana and Ahmad attribute much of their success to “the power of social media,” which has helped them garner nearly 25,000 followers who are eagerly ready to book.
The Brooklyn Pink has held major celebrations for guests such as Sweet 16s, 50th birthdays and bachelorette and bridal showers.
Booked and busy
Ahmad and Jordana admit they feel bad turning people away who envisioned their special day inside the Brooklyn Pink, but they recommend booking as soon as you’re ready to increase your chances of securing a first-come, first-served reservation.
“I know that being [on a waiting list] could be kind of frustrating, but it speaks to [our] popularity. So it’s kind of like a double-edged sword because we do want to be available [for dates customers request], but, you know, sometimes it’s just out of our control,” Jordana confessed.
Despite its success, Brooklyn Pink’s booming business has sometimes become overwhelming, but the duo has found a way to navigate through it all.
“This is hard work, but in a weird way, it made us stronger because it’s just tests,” Jordana said. “Being able to come out on the other side and have this successful business has certainly grown us completely closer because now it feels like, okay, we’ve gotten through all of these challenges. We could really survive anything.”
Balancing life as lovers, parents, and business partners
Ahmad and Jordana recently welcomed another baby girl into their family. They claim operating a business while working full-time jobs in the media industry and raising two young daughters isn’t easy, but has made them indestructible.
“Running a startup business by itself is a challenge, let alone having a newborn and all of these things converg[ing],” Ahmad said. “It’s almost like you’re seeing the empire kind of come, empire metaphorically speaking, from the household perspective to now the business. It’s like everything’s just growing, you know, in a beautiful way.”
The future of The Brooklyn Pink
Ahmad praises Jordana for formulating the idea to create their first “love child,” which has become a booming business centered around a space for women to fellowship.
“This is probably our first baby. Like this business, we had poured blood, sweat and tears into it,” Jordana gushed.
Although the pink-decorated space has only been operating for about two years, the New York couple already foresees the business’ future expansion.
“We definitely see ourselves expanding in a way that it would certainly be another [location], could potentially be in another city,” Jordana revealed. “We’ve spoken about the idea of a boutique hotel experience…where we’d have a multi-use building and the first floor would be like a venue space and then the upper floors would be boutique rooms.”
But for now, the couple will continue hosting events and pouring into The Brooklyn Pink.
“Everybody who has come here, they say it looks even better in person, and the pictures don’t do it enough service,” Ahmad said.
The couple encourages customers to inquire about bookings via Instagram or on Airbnb.
“There’s no place like Brooklyn Pink,” Jordana gushed. “I believe in our brand so much that you need to see it.”
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