Entrepreneur Stories From the Food & Beverage Industry

Meet Mama J’s Restaurant Co-Creator, Lester Johnson Delicious home-cooked meals served up throughout his childhood by his beloved mother, Velma Johnson, were something that eldest son Lester Johnson was always there for while growing up. As he set out to pave his path, he realized how important it was to him to share his mom’s…

Who Is Coffee Entrepreneur Jon Allen? Jon Allen is the co-founder of ONYX Coffee Lab, a coffee company he started and has been running with his wife Andrea for the past 12 years. Jon is the innovative palate in charge of java perfection, creativity and quality control. In other words, he makes sure that every…

Who Is Mighty Muscadine Founder Jerry Smith? Currently, Jerry is the CEO and founder of Mighty Muscadine. However, to truly understand who he is and how he arrived at his current position, you must go back all the way to 2006. That was the year that Mighty Muscadine began to take shape. Jerry was diagnosed…

Stephanie and Steven Paulson moved to North Carolina from Wisconsin more than a decade ago and spent years developing a signature menu on wheels. The happily married co-owners have built an incredible culinary enterprise that continues to grow each year. Complete with food trucks and a recently opened brick-and-mortar spot, the two are taking over…

The Tea Company That’s Making A Difference Patricia Wallwork is the award-winning CEO of Milo’s Tea, a family-owned business that specializes in high-quality, fresh lemonade and tea products. With plant locations in several states, Wallwork is leading the company through several expansions while continuing a mission that benefits employees, customers, and communities along the way.…

Young Plantation’s Century of Success Nearly one hundred years ago, Young Plantation began its South Carolina legacy as the Young Pecan Company. It has since been the world’s largest pecan shelling distributor and offers countless quality southern favorites to sample at its flagship store in Florence, SC. The company has been passed down from generation…

Coffee With a Conscious Red Rooster Coffee is a coffee company that has a conscious. Their motto is simple “Taking Good Care of Our Coffee, Our People, Our Farmers, Our Planet”. Founded in Floyd, VA, in 2010 by high school sweethearts Haden Polseno-Hensley and Rose McCutchan, Red Rooster Coffee has proven time and time again…

If you’ve been to any of Krispy Kreme’s over 1,000 locations, you’re no stranger to the glowing “Hot Now” sign that can make any car stop in its tracks and turn right around to get a fresh, hot Krispy Kreme doughnut. Since 1937, the brand has been delighting customers with their one-of-a-kind yeast-raised doughnut recipe…

When entrepreneurship is usually discussed, the story is usually that of an individual who had a great idea and turned that idea into a successful business. Often we forget that behind every great idea is an even greater team of individuals who helped make that idea a reality. From the ideas of Shirkey Baddour to…

The Sauce That Took a Family From Rags to Riches Texas Pete is a name known around the country, especially for their trademark Hot Sauce. Most people would assume that Texas Pete was born in, well Texas, not so, actually the hot sauce company was founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Like many new enterprises, Texas…