支持ing veteran-owned businesses helps enrich the quality of veteran and military family lives—and is an opportunity to say “thank you” to those who answer the call to serve. Yelp’sVeteran-Owned Business Resource Hubprovides inspirational stories and valuable resources, including how to add the veteran-owned attribute to your Yelp Business Page.
In 2022, Yelp launched theVeteran Business Fund, awarding $10,000 each to several veteran-owned small businesses. In thisBehind the Businessfeature, meet one of the winners of the fund: bRaised in the CLE.
Key business takeaways
- While it can sometimes feel difficult, try to keep a positive attitude in the face of business challenges to inspire others around you—and yourself
- It’s okay to ask for help; lean on your network for support to help you avoid burnout on your entrepreneurial journey
- Get involved with your community by giving back, attending local events, and partnering with other businesses
在outside, thebRaised in the CLEfood truck is painted with words like “family” and “community,” but inside the truck is where these words transform into values. bRaised is owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo Greg Kobunski and Stephanie Bacskay, who integrate family and community into every aspect of their business—from the dishes they create to the events where they serve them.
The idea for bRaised was born in fall 2021 when Greg and Stephanie attended a music festival and found themselves waiting more than an hour for their meals from a food truck. At the time, Greg was finishing his fifth season as director of food and beverage at the Lake Erie Crushers, a minor league baseball team. During his off season, Greg wanted to reinvent the food truck concept, making it more efficient, and Stephanie was instantly on board.
“He brought up [the food truck idea] again, and he was like ‘What are you thinking, maybe in three years?’ And I said, ‘Why wait?’” Stephanie shared. “I would not go into this business with just anyone. I was willing to take that step and make that commitment to him, so we did.”
命名的克利夫兰的根、炖CLE serves comfort food inspired by family traditions, such as tacos, flatbreads, ciabatta sandwiches, and mac and cheese bowls, all topped with bRaised’s signature slow-braised meats.
“We didn’t want to be like a lot of the other trucks that we see,” Stephanie said. “A lot of trucks are barbecue trucks with smoked meats, taco trucks, hot dog trucks, so we knew we wanted to do something different.”
Stephanie likes to say that Greg is the “cooker” and she is the “booker.” While Greg has been in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years, Stephanie had never worked in the food and beverage space—but now she’s responsible for business operations, finances, social media, and event booking.
Running a food truck with no restaurant experience is no easy feat. However, Stephanie felt prepared for the challenge given her 20-year career in the Army National Guard. where she learned the perseverance and humility that would become invaluable to succeeding as an entrepreneur.
Transitioning out of service
The shift from military to civilian life can be difficult for many veterans—from financial insecurity to mental health challenges. About55%的退伍军人report employment is the most difficult part of the transitioning process.
After retiring from military service, Stephanie worked as a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs federal police officer in Cleveland for more than five years before opening bRaised. The biggest challenge of her transition was feeling a loss of direction when she was no longer an active service member.
“I joined so young, at 17, so it really helped me grow up. It was my first real step into adulthood,” Stephanie said. “I do miss feeling like I have such a big purpose. I’m a fixer. I am somebody that wants to help everybody.”
However, Stephanie said bRaised has given her a new purpose, and she tries to bring joy to the community through the truck’s food. While she misses regularly engaging with veterans, she loves interacting with customers and getting to know them.
“I feel like I’m making a difference with Greg and with the truck. I love talking to people, so I love taking people’s orders,” Stephanie said. “I still feel this is just another chapter of my life, and I still have a lot of responsibilities.”
Persevering despite challenges
When bRaised opened in June 2022, Stephanie and Greg faced many obstacles in keeping the truck alive. Unlike a typical brick-and-mortar restaurant, food trucks are more susceptible to weather conditions. This is particularly true for Ohio, where food truck season only lasts from April to October before it gets too cold to operate, a hurdle Stephanie and Greg encountered within their first few months of opening.
“Our last few weeks, it was snowing, and we were worried about our water freezing,” Stephanie said. “But we took the chance. We kept going. We wanted to get as much revenue in our first year as possible, even though it was a shortened year because of bumps in the road.”
Stephanie’s background in the Army prepared her to stay positive through tough times. She said the most important lesson she learned was to be patient and creative when facing obstacles.
“The military creates lifelong learners, and then once you’re out, that shouldn’t stop. I always strive to learn something new,” she said. “We learn from our own mistakes and not to be upset if we make a mistake. You pick up, you learn a good lesson, you move on, and you don’t let that mistake happen again if you can help it.”
In addition to having a strong positive attitude, Stephanie said being awarded the Veteran Fund money was essential in keeping her business afloat. The funds will be primarily used for repairing the truck over the next decade.
“It was a blessing, and it came at a time that we really needed it, in the middle of our off season when money gets tight,” Stephanie said. “We needed to get some maintenance done on the truck, so it came at a really good time to get us over that final hump for the 2023 season.”
Infusing family roots
Running a business as a married couple, Stephanie and Greg put their values at the forefront. Along with the word “family” plastered around the sides of the truck, the back of the truck features caricatures of both of their late mothers.
“‘Patti’s Kitchen’ and ‘Sandy’s Kitchen’ are forever going to be on the back of our truck because they’ve influenced us with food,” Stephanie said. “Food brings people together. Food brings families together.”
These family values are most prominent in bRaised’s menu, which features classic dishes reminiscent of a Sunday night family dinner, such as mac and cheese and their new baked beans, which Stephanie learned to cook from her great grandmother’s recipe.
In creating the menu, Stephanie and Greg wanted to transport customers back to their childhood but also incorporate inspiration from their three daughters.
“When [Greg] was working at the stadium, the kids would mix ketchup and ranch together, and he put it on his menu and called it ‘Awesome Sauce,’” Stephanie said. “Everybody has a say and a play in the food we have.”
Giving back to the community
Since bRaised doesn’t have a formal storefront or restaurant, Stephanie strategically chooses what types of events they attend, keeping in mind different factors, like attendance volume, to ensure they can turn a profit.
To find events, Stephanie turns to both social media and other food truck owners, who she collaborates with to find events.
“I don’t see them as competition. If we’re booked, I’m going to recommend one of the other trucks that I’ve met personally,” Stephanie said. “I want to get to know people that don’t sell what I sell because that way, we can offer that to a community. I don’t sell desserts, and they might want an ice cream truck, and they might not know one.”
To reinforce their commitment to building community, Stephanie and Greg often participate in community events at a discounted price. While they regularly charge a booking fee on top of food prices, they waive this fee for events such as church picnics and their new weekly lunchtime spot at the local Veterans Affairs clinic.
Stephanie also continues to honor her military roots by donating proceeds to veteran-related organizations, such as the Samuel L. Felton, Jr. Valor Home in Lorain County, which provides housing to veterans in the local community. Later this year, bRaised will serve food at Cleveland’s annual Vet Fest, where they will be donating a portion of their sales to SAVE22, an organization focused on fighting veteran suicide.
“When we have opportunities to donate a portion of the sales to a certain organization, we jump on doing that,” Stephanie said. “It would be nice to have that income for ourselves for the work and time we put into it, but I feel that if you give back, more good things come to you.”
Photos from Stephanie Bacskay and from bRaised in the CLE on Yelp
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