Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shelby Oates. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shelby, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

When my husband and I were living in Atlanta, Georgia, I started a very small grass roots nonprofit called The Umbrella Project ATL & East Coast. The mission was simple: We can ALL fit under the umbrella. TOGETHER. It was a movement where I began sharing food w/ people as I walked around the streets. I would prepare warm home cooked meals and take them directly to my non-housed neighbors. I would sometimes get help from my friends and family, and eventually my sister and I worked really hard together to grow the movement to include also collecting various items that people may need to enable us to let people kind of shop through clothing and miscellaneous items, while also being served a hot meal–all of which came directly to them as we would just hit the streets w/ bags and meals to go. Eventually people would reach out to us w/ specific needs of people they knew or had heard of and we would do our best to seek out the specific help requested to deliver to who we could as we could. It ran very independently and remained a very humble movement in the streets of ATL, but it was something that gave me such purpose.

The most healing energy would come to me as I organized clothing and prepped food to hand out; I found a peace I struggled to find in any other way when sharing w/ my neighbors in need. There was and still is nothing better than the love in someone’s eyes who knows you truly see them, when maybe they are someone who is generally overlooked. Nothing better than someone wondering when they will eat next, being handed not just food, but quality home cooking still warm w/ an aroma that lets them know they are family. The connection from the briefest of moments driving past someone in need asking for help and being able to reach to offer them warmth via premade care packages that I kept w/ me at all times was deeper than one might imagine. And, on so many days when I might be spiraling out on my own stress wondering if I had enough, if I was enough, it would ground me so firmly to share whatever I did have w/ someone who needed more than I ever did. The most humble growth of this movement definitely had my sister and I handling correspondence to line up donations and requests, while also trying to organize ‘Soup Troups’ and ‘All Calls’ for feet on the streets, but I became so attached to my solo walks where I would hit the corners at L5P often, my staffie pup leashed up, a US Navy pickle bag on my back stuffed full of blankets, socks, clothing and a tray or two of to go containers filled w/ nourishing love. I needed it, all of it, as much as so many people needed what was shared.

I moved to Maine in 2016 and living in the foothills an hour or so from the city w/ a very different layout than what would be an hour from Atlanta in any direction had me unsure how to translate The Umbrella Project ATL & East Coast to my new locale. At first I wasn’t hitting the streets at all and would simply make sure I always kept something small to share w/ anyone I may come across when in the city, but it never felt like enough and the momentum that would build for me to share w/ my neighbors in ATL so often was most definitely missed. I eventually was able to establish a micro food business of my own over the past few years living in Maine, which started w/ earning my chops on a local food truck for a couple of seasons–we were often popped up in the city where many non-housed neighbors in need would be, so I would do my best to collect all the leftovers otherwise wasted to hand out around each corner after every shift. It awakened that part of me so strongly and I think almost every day about how I can help break bread w/ people who so often go unfed. Once that spark hit me like a lightning bolt from being able to just hand out a few leftovers, I knew that I wanted my mission for my own food business to include continuously sharing plates w/ our neighbors in need.

I am still very much in my infancy as a new business owner and there are many resources I need to be able to execute my mission consistently, so for now I donate any food leftover from my gigs that I can to one of our local food pantries and I make up to go plates to share w/ my loved ones along the way. Eventually though, soon I hope, I want to be able to set specific goals that allow customers to not only enjoy a plate or two of my plant based for themselves, but to also donate to help make plates for our neighbors in need. My eventual goal would be that for every plate served there is also one saved for someone who needs it. Until I can reach that goal, for now, you will still probably find me unloading donations at the Preble Street kitchen and food pantry and sometimes just walking the blocks trying to share plates and show people they can shelter under the umbrella w/ me because WE CAN ALL FIT. TOGETHER.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a small food business owner. I launched The Greenhouse by SAO food cart and established SAO Cooks and Catering, LLC officially in 2019. I have always loved to cook, even all the way back to childhood, where I would always sit on the counter while my mama cooked for family. I wanted to watch how she cooked and seasoned with such love and I started to fall in love with cooking for and feeding people very young. Like many others, breaking bread translated as love and family for me.

Fast forward to my mid-twenties when I was just starting my 13-year career in education and I still found myself trying to hustle a small side business by cooking and baking for people. My first independent brand was Shooby Cakes, actually launching while teaching, where I baked cakes and goodies to order. That sparked the smallest momentum from positive feedback that kept me focused on how I could get my food to more people, but at the time, juggling a full time corporate career in the school system, I was still mostly just the friend or sister who came w/ all of the ingredients to cook it up for family at every gathering. So many people were so encouraging at that time telling me I should really put myself out there as a professional cook, but I simply couldn’t see that for myself and I needed to develop more confidence in my food movement before I would ever listen to them.

Shooby Cakes was pretty short lived as strictly baking was not exactly what enlivened me, so I just kept plugging away in the educational system not realizing at the time how much I should have probably been investing in my food business. Alas, the woulda, coulda, shoulda and such. During this time, I was also committing to vegetarianism balanced w/ some select pescatarianism as well as developing strong feelings of wanting to change my career. Those factors, though not realized at the time, ultimately building my current brand and professional focus. Transitioning out of teaching was very difficult for me on all the levels for all the reasons and my husband and I decided to let that transition launch other major changes for us.

We moved from Atlanta to Maine in 2016. Trying to figure out how to apply my degrees to secure income without going back into the school system was very difficult. Food was what kept me grounded as I still spent most of my time in the kitchen cooking for my family, making new friends through shared plates and slowly trying to put myself out there as a small event luncheon type of caterer. The positive feedback once again began to hit and for the first time I felt that just maybe I had something that could be a real food business since this feedback was coming from people without a family connection or specific relationship w/ me–these were essentially strangers on the complete opposite end of the East Coast w/ very different pallets and food culture who were still telling me they wanted my food. So finally, what I truly should have invested in all the way back to at least college, was the only focus for me; it was time to grow a food business.

I knew I couldn’t afford any type of brick and mortar, nor did I want to even attempt that feat, so I found a food truck to work for and hustled hard for a couple of seasons to figure out how I could find a nontraditional kitchen of my own. Working for this food truck led to the opportunity to purchase a very small food cart of my own. Developing my food brand fell right into place. Being what I call a southerner abroad in New England, my rustic southern approach to flavor profiles, traditional southern home cook methodologies w/ a side obsession for beautiful fine dining presentation w/out the fine dining pressure all created plates that were set apart on many levels. Throw in the fact that at this point I was/still am a fully committed vegan and couldn’t find many food options, if any at all that I could enjoy as I made my away around Maine, and you get The Greenhouse by SAO (S.helby A.nne O.ates): 100% plant based rustic gourmet w/ a southern flare and an Atlanta attitude.

The plant based population of Maine is most definitely vast and there are many amazing food movements within it, but it is also definitely still a challenge to find spots in general w/ options for vegans especially once you travel outside the city. Since I live in the foothills an hour from Portland with essentially no plant based options as far as eat-ins, I am working hard to establish a plant based food business focused on serving those local to me and in proximity of others who often travel near or right by my venues who are seeking access to delicious plant based cuisine. Delicious vegan food movements are most definitely in Maine, but finding great vegan food here without having to commit to almost a couple of hours or maybe even longer in commute is still a challenge from my experience; the movement is growing steadily and strongly, but the reach in my opinion still needs much expansion w/ both strictly plant based options as well as more menu inclusivity in general. I am hoping to continue growing my business to serve as many as possible, while rooting outside the city in an area that is very underserved for vegans. I am honored to join the amazing plant based network already established here and I hope to serve plates of this southern plant based love to so many more, while helping to grow access for everyone.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I founded my business in October of 2019 and by January 2020 I had booked a 6-day work week w/ my food cart scheduled to pop up at a very popular organic farm owned and run by a fully vegan family. I was fortunate enough to be approached by an angel investor who secured my small food cart rig for me and after only a few weeks trial to feel out my demographic and play w/ menus, I jumped right into growing my business. I couldn’t believe it all felt like it fell into place relatively easy and that for my first season I was looking at an incredibly full work week w/ high potential of income for my family, while supporting a vegan family owned organic farm where my cart could park all season making the perpetual loading and unloading of food cart life much more manageable for my launch season. And then….March 2020.

As soon as the pandemic had the whole world on lock down, like many others I froze a bit not knowing how to process or translate my life into this new pandemic vernacular. So, my husband and I packed up our pups and all of our belongings and headed back to Atlanta from Maine where we had lived for almost 4 years at that time. I had attempted for about a month to figure out how I could still launch my food cart that season in Maine and what it would look like under COVID provisions, but even the smallest of permit investment panicked me and the extra needed gear and contact tracing responsibilities, the general absence of people coming out to especially eat out–all of it was just a panic attack that sent me to be near my family.

We wound up staying in Atlanta in an extremely unstable residence trying our best not to spend a dime so we could stretch our savings and figure out where we went from there. I took a job at a small factory kitchen, unbelievably hard work much needed to feed my soul at the time and for several months we kind of zoned out and let the societal trauma lead us. We were there for almost 9 months; while being able to see my grandmother who remained under strict solitary lock down at her nursing home only able to receive visitors through the window was a priority and being around the rest of our families and able to reach them in case the general situation grew worse was needed at the time, we realized almost a year later that we had just left our businesses and the life we were trying to develop in Maine w/out a second thought for far too long. We switched into survival mode like most others at that time and it was time to put effort back into regaining control.

My business essentially shut down as soon as it was launched. The thoughts of a first season that would even earn enough to grow my brand exponentially and maybe even secure a nest egg for winter were overwhelmingly exciting. And when the pandemic hit, losing the potential for all of that overwhelmed me to the point of giving up and shutting down both personally and professionally. But, even though it took a couple of very stressful cross country moves w/ a few (and I mean very seriously several) sketchy, depressing places of residence in between to get us back up to Maine and ready to try again, we made it back up and I hit the ground running even harder and faster to get my business back.

We now live in literally our dream home–a gorgeous cedar shingle sided tiny lofted mountain cottage in the woods with an old unbelievably cozy iron wood stove, an amazing panoramic view of the forested foothills where we can watch the sunrise from our living room every morning with so many acres stretching behind us for our three rescue pups to roam freely. My food cart will be popping up come spring for its fourth season with a local brewery on the books as a new main venue, several wedding parties already requesting catering quotes, festival applications flooding in and plans have been laid w/ a potential business partner for what comes next. Even when the world literally shuts down, even when your business crashes before it can even leave the launch pad, even when you are worried about where your family will lay their heads at night and money is tight enough to make you nervous daily, even when you have thrown up your hands and given up–you can still find your way and grow your business. ‘From the ground up’ is not just a phrase, building a brand and creating a business that can also support my family, a business that had to start from the ground up twice in it’s first two seasons taught me that ‘from the ground up’ is a lifestyle and I am all about being grounded.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Growing this business in small town Maine without the ability to invest in a marketing team or promotional manager at this point has shown me the power of good ole word of mouth. Almost everyone I met here in my first couple of years would hear that I was thinking about starting a small business and some would even hear about my concerns that I couldn’t keep up w/ the social media and online platform demands to start and each one would let me know that word of mouth would take care of growth, if I was patient enough. Of course I knew word of mouth mattered in business even still with some of the largest brands known, but I didn’t realize the power of it when it applies to trying to grow a business w/ minimal online presence in small town America. Without the willingness of supporters and returning clients to share their positive experiences w/ The Greenhouse by SAO and SAO Cooks and Catering, LLC, I wouldn’t even be able to think about opening for another season. Countless clients and venues have been secured simply because one guest ordered up and fell in love then told their friend who owns a food cart ready venue or has an upcoming event, countless random guests have found me at the cart where it pops up because their friend or neighbor told them they ‘had’ to try it out–word of mouth has kept my business alive enough to still have so much more room to grow. I still don’t have the time or investment to truly develop the proper online presence a small business should have, but I am still growing because people are willing to talk about the delicious plant based love they were served by SAO.

Contact Info:

• Website: thegreenhousebysao.com
• Instagram: @sao_cooks_and_catering
• Facebook: @saocooksandcatering
• Linkedin: Shelby Oates

Image Credits
All photographs were taken via SAO Cooks and Catering, LLC. The street corn grilling image can also be credited to @_wildlyyworn_ and @abbi.bphotography (IG) w/ permission.