We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yonder Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Yonder, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

My thoughts on Family Business is that it can work. My mother started our family business with 5 children. There will be times of challenges that will be faced but understanding the bigger purpose & the love is what brings everything back to the forefront. Every family member must have a clear understanding of roles & expectations in the business no different if they worked for another company. I believe if you establish these things in the very beginning, it will be a beautiful thing to see unfold when you truly understand what working together can bring and what it looks like. I’m grateful to have my family still be apart of the Way Down Yonder Journey.

Yonder , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Yonder. Owner/CEO of Way Down Yonder Beignets & Coffee located in Downtown Columbus. I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana and moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2003. I began to develop my own hands at entrepreneurism in 2016. During that time I became a stay at home mom raising 3 kids. I would make delectable mini desserts, pound cakes, pies, beignets, king cakes, cook food, and I would sell to local customers. The home business took off quickly and the demand for my desserts skyrocketed. In 2017, my mother began following her dreams of opening a family business called Way Down Yonder New Orleans Finest Restaurant, and she found the perfect location to open at the Columbus Food Hub in Olde Towne East. My desserts Cakes By Yanda Millz (former name) came along for the ride. The food hub was a start-up incubator for small business owners to get their experience in a place with other like-minded owners. We shared the same space, dining room, equipment, and the refrigerator. Before you acquire your own brick and mortar this was a great experience that taught us a lot of things regarding the restaurant industry that we would be required to know along the way.

In 2019, my mother finally was able to acquire her own brick and mortar and we began a partnership that was amazing. I was able to help my mother manage day to day operations, marketing, hiring, became her photographer and loved capturing all the food photos in the process of selling my own desserts.

As time moved on and several transitions within the business, I noticed that out of all the dessert options I offered, my specialty beignets were the shining star. With the pandemic in full swing, end of 2020, I had a moment to reflect on my past accomplishments and my future dreams, from which came the idea to expand the Way Down Yonder Brand. With beignets being a New Orleans staple that Ohioans seemed to really enjoy, I decided to create the brands newest concept, Way Down Yonder Beignets & Coffee. It was my desire to continue my family’s mission to share the rich and unique culture of New Orleans, Louisiana, with as many people as possible! Way Down Yonder Beignets & Coffee specializes in making authentic beignets in-house, we serve savory hot breakfast, and we have our own signature house coffee.

What sets me apart from others? Authenticity. I believe we are bringing the true essence of our culture honestly in the most unique, vibrant way to the City of Columbus.

I am most proud that the City of Columbus and others all over the world love the concept, love the brand, love what we are bringing to the table, and genuinely wants to see us succeed.

Way Down Yonder Beignets & Coffee is a small business with big dreams & visions. My hope is to continue to share our culture with others and expand to different locations all around the world. I’m on the journey of teaching our youngest generation culinary skills, and business entrepreneurship at every level. Our Cafe is rooted in culture. We exuberate love for all, happiness, peace, good vibes, respect, understanding, and fellowship, amongst others.

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

During this journey, you will come in contact with many walks of life. You will encounter those that are for you, those that are only around for a quick benefit, and those who want nothing more but to see your journey fulfilled and will help you in any capacity and want nothing in return. The resilience is when you come across those beings, you quickly identify their purpose and you have to move forward when it is not in alignment with your assignment.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what helped build our reputation in the market as “Way Down Yonder”, is the fact that we are truly a family-owned business that is from New Orleans, Louisiana. Many were skeptical in the beginning and questioned our authenticity but once they hear us speak, and take the first bite of their food they know it’s real. This was our foundation from the beginning. The restaurant was built on family love. Our mother started Way Down Yonder with her 5 children. I’m happy we can say that and we’ve created some beautiful memories together as a unit before we started growing. We are still around in both locations greeting families with love and cooking with our hearts. In closing, I would like to leave my readers with a phrase that is near and dear to a New Orleanian heart Laissez les bon temps rouler which means (Let the Good Times Roll).

Contact Info:

• Website: wdybeignets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wdybeignets/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdybeignets/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdybeignets

Image Credits
Food Image Credits: Captured By Chrissy Photography