WORDS AND PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY SUTA

As a leading culinary business incubator and accelerator in the United States, Break Fast & Launch has had a phenomenal and far-reaching impact on the Alamo City, far more than you might expect. Graduates of this program — who are local entrepreneurs, chefs and producers in the food and beverage sector — have gone on to become superstars, creating delectable eats for us all to enjoy.

“Discovering Break Fast & Launch through our church ministry marked a transformative moment for Southern Roots Vegan Bakery,” shares Cara Pitts, co-owner of Southern Roots Vegan Bakery. “This program provided us with a comprehensive blueprint for initiating our business, guiding us through the intricacies of securing the necessary permits and licenses. Our journey has since come full circle, as we’ve had the privilege of mentoring subsequent classes, sharing insights from our growth and success. ” Southern Roots Vegan Bakery has also recently launched their products in over 160 Sprouts grocery stores across the country in addition to broadening their reach elsewhere.

Another San Antonio entrepreneur, Diana Anderson of JD’s Chili Parlor, is also a BFL success story. After completing the program, Anderson went from selling her Chili Queens- inspired chili at the New Braunfels Farmers Market to becoming a finalist in H-E-B’s Quest for Texas’ Best competition for her exceptional chili sauces (which are now on the shelves at H-E-Bs across Texas). The company also makes numerous other products, including enchilada sauces, BBQ sauces, spaghetti sauces and the first ever drinkable chili in the form of their Bloody Mary mixers called Chili Marys.

BFL Participants with Mentor Kimberly Suta

“Break Fast & Launch provides such a valuable forum for young entrepreneurs who have an idea for a business to learn and bring them to market,” says Anderson. “It’s just a wonderful way to network with a community of your peers. It gave us a lot of direction and helped us to set goals and learn from our mistakes. I’m excited to see the next iteration of such an important resource to the entrepreneurial food community.”

Even mentors, such as Steven Darby and Erik Ford of t he creative studio Heavy Heavy, have been positively inf luenced by the program. Darby and Erik have recently launched Okay Decent, a company that partners with local producers to create premium lifestyle products, such as drinkware, apparel, and more, in an effort to support entrepreneurs and small businesses like the ones who go through BFL.

This year, the LaunchSA program aimed at building a community for culinary entrepreneurs — which was formerly a partnership between the City of San Antonio and Liftfund — will be taken over by Geekdom. Matthew Espinoza, director of LaunchSA, is confident that Geekdom’s focus on supporting the entrepreneurial journey through programming and networking events will lend itself toward continuing to develop a thriving community with BFL.

“Break Fast & Launch … is amazing,- and we want to make sure to nurture it properly. ” says Espinoza. “For a lot of new entrepreneurs, it’s really just about having someone to talk to about the challenges they face and then identifying the next steps. We then direct them to organizations that provide the right business support, such as funding through grants or other programs.”

While an official re-launch of BFL under the new ownership is anticipated for this summer, LaunchSA already hosted their first BFL event at the end of 2023. BFL will continue to be free and open to any small business owner in the food and beverage space looking to launch a physical small business or work with the city in some capacity.

“I am thrilled to witness the dynamic transformation underway at LaunchSA,” says Nick Honegger, Geekdom’s director of marketing. “The upcoming relaunch of programs like Break Fast and Launch are not just milestones but catalysts for innovation in San Antonio.”

For more information or to participate, visit launchsa.org and get ready to be the next food and beverage superstar of San Antonio!

About the Contributor

Kimberly A. Suta is editor of Edible San Antonio, a filmmaker, food writer, event planner, culinary tour guide and has a media company called Homegrown Chef. She loves nothing more than sharing the phenomenal food, chefs and restaurants that San Antonio and Texas have to offer.