Courtney Eby and Abbigale Reece repping their Brek Boss shirts on Sept. 24, 2022.
The partners work hard to promote their business and feed their community.
The heartbeat of Harding University is the community. Recently, a duo of hard-working entrepreneurs has married their love for baking with their love for bringing that community together. The result is a breakfast bakery start-up called The Brek Boss.
Co-owners Abbigale Reece and Courtney Eby met as Bible majors their freshman year, both passionate about spreading the gospel. As time passed, they realized they could minister to people in a unique, less traditional way.
Reece said, “after I did a ministry internship, I realized that I wasn’t interested in being involved with ministry inside of a church building. Courtney came to me with an opportunity to start a baking shop after that internship, and it all made sense to me that this was the direction that I needed to go in.”
Daniela Jacobo and Hanna Grace Garner serve up Boss Rolls in the Waldron Center on Sept. 13, 2022.
The two entrepreneurs eventually convened at Midnight Oil coffee shop to discuss their dreams and goals for the future, each bringing their unique skill sets to the table. Eby remembered sitting at MO for hours as the pair "researched and developed name ideas and vision and looked at many menus of restaurants and businesses."
Reece had already switched majors to marketing, so the skills she was developing in her education, combined with her interest in making coffee, were perfect for starting the small venture. “I designed the primary and secondary logo, which was super fun because I got to include my love for coffee and Courtney's love for baking to make a combined aesthetic,” said Reece. With her on the marketing side of things, Eby had the creative space to draw people in with a product. A talented baker can do it all, and Eby played to her strengths in the kitchen to make the business thrive.
On Tuesday, September 13, 2022, the duo officially set up shop for the first time in the Waldron Center. Eby brought three massive pans full of three different flavored cinnamon rolls: classic, maple bacon and pumpkin spice.
Students came in droves to try the appropriately named Boss Rolls, making the small office space come alive with conversation. Senior finance major Johnny Galloway said that “it was really convenient to go to the Waldron Center after chapel and try out a fellow student’s product, so there were a lot of people fellowshipping there before class."
The Boss Rolls shine with pristine icing on Sept. 13, 2022.
The Maple Bacon was a cult favorite among students.
After the success of their partnership with the Waldron Center, the co-owners look to a bright future. “Right now we're doing small scale launches on Tuesdays, but we hope to eventually be able to open up weekend preorders, give out samples after chapel, and do booths in the Stu,” Eby said.
Reece and Eby's long term plan is a food truck on campus, and then eventually to go brick and mortar. Once a food truck is secured, the menu-scope will expand to include coffee, breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls and authentic Belgian waffles. Eby said, "we want to make picnic tables and a fire pit by the truck and make it its own environment, and we hope to use that outdoor space to host events and live performances."
Students support The Brek Boss on Sept. 13, 2022.
The Waldron Center was filled with warm conversation and gooey cinnamon rolls.
With lofty goals on the horizon, it can be easy for a small business to fall victim to obsession over success and growth, but The Brek Boss consistently referred back to a focus on community to center their vision. “Courtney and I just want to make something that is unique and that serves the community,” Reece said. “My goal would be to use what skill I’ve already developed to attract people, whether they are our age or not, to our business.”
Eby and Reece declared that The Brek Boss’s “why” isn’t for “money, fame or fortune.” Instead, it stands for a deeper desire to empower the people they feed through service and kindness. The Brek Boss is about two women who want to bring people to come as they are to the table, a table that just happens to be filled with warm, gooey cinnamon rolls.
You can follow The Brek Boss on Instagram at @thebrekboss for news and updates about future pop-up offerings.
The Waldron Center is interested in telling your start-up story. Know someone we need to write about? We’d love to hear from you. Email huwaldroncenter
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