Parkway Central student blends travel, entrepreneurship into local business | Business

According to 18th-century British poet William Cowper, “Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.”

That’s precisely what Andrew Rubin has experienced this school year. The Parkway Central rising senior has enjoyed an all-encompassing journey involving travel, school and entrepreneurship.

But that old poem is especially fitting for Rubin – on Sept. 6, 2023, he started a business called State Street Spices, which now boasts bottles of spice covering eight different flavors, most of which are named after the cities he’s traveled to.

While Rubin likes to innovate and explore, he’s also shown an ability to persevere and seek opportunities despite battling a variety of physical ailments throughout his life.

“When I was younger, I had a bunch of stomach issues which I still have,” Rubin said. “I’ve had eye problems my whole life, too. When I was in (Shenandoah Valley) elementary school, I had to wear a patch over one eye for a few years because the vision was so little compared to the other eye. I almost went blind in fifth grade and had to have a procedure to save my vision.”

Rubin said he also suffered from bad headaches stemming from keratoconus, a corneal disease former baseball Cardinal Tommy Pham is also afflicted with. That led to extended stays in the hospital, as well as several years in a wheelchair during middle school. 

Despite this, Rubin persisted, taking the difficult steps leading up to his business venture.

“I first started to think of State Street Spices around March of last year,” Rubin said. “But I didn’t start it then because you sometimes push back before starting a business because you think of all the risks involved.”

It was during a 2023 trip to Madison, Wisconsin that Rubin came up with his business idea – the company name came because he was riding down State Street at the time.

“My thought was that I wished I could try the famous foods of different cities in the comfort of my own home, without having to pay to travel,” Rubin said. “So, I thought of the idea of a spice blend company with the focus on the authenticity of each spice.”  

With authenticity as the main focus, each spice requires 40-80 hours of research, as Rubin investigates various recipes and restaurants in the target cities to determine what flavor best embodies that location. He also looks to see what gaps in the current spice market need filling. New York Steak, Buffalo Buffalo and St. Louis Barbecue are only a few in the current State Street Spices lineup. 

In his junior year, Rubin joined the Spark! Incubator Program.

“(Spark!) gives you half the day on Wednesdays and Fridays to work on your business, grow your networking and work with a group of people who are also starting a new business,” Rubin said. “It’s been an amazing program not only to start my business but also to learn all these important skills in the business world.”

Parents Sarah and Phillip Rubin offered the initial few hundred dollars to get things started for State Street Spices. From there, Andrew combined his love of travel, cooking for his family and entrepreneurship. 

Other mentors have helped on his business journey. One is Erin Fluchel, Spark! director who works to help students grow their businesses. Rubin also mentioned Parkway Central business teachers Sarah Hale and Julie Weinde, who Rubin deems “equally amazing and influential.”

In addition to the initial financial support, Rubin credits his parents for helping mix spices and being beside him at various events. That began with the Parkway West craft fair late last October.

“Since then, I’ve invested everything and put in my own money to really grow this business,” Rubin said. “Before I got into this, last summer I was working about 60 hours a week through two different jobs in the daycare industry. I really worked hard because I knew I wanted to start a business and they can cost a lot of money. I’ve reinvested everything I’ve made to grow my business.”

So far, Rubin has sold at a half-dozen events.

“I’ve sold about 500 spice jars just at those events,” Rubin said. “On average, I sell a spice jar about every four minutes which is super neat.” 

He started an online store within the last few months and is excited about growing that part of his business. Throughout the summer, Rubin will also be working a kiosk at the West County Mall selling spices. 

“I’m really excited about that being another opportunity to help grow my business,” Rubin said. “But my goal in the next few months is to get into a grocery store. Getting into retail is a really big dream of mine.”

The State Street Spices will be at the West County Mall on the lower level near Nordstrom from June 24-30, July 15-21 and July 29-Aug. 4.  

“I’ve also actually gotten some interest from some pretty large companies both from the St. Louis area and Nashville companies,” Rubin added. “But I just want to focus on distribution and some of the other challenges of starting a business. Being able to grow my business but not grow it too quickly has been something I’ve had challenges with. So, I’m willing to find a good balance for that.”

In the meantime, he’s contemplating new flavors to add to the lineup. 

“There are so many cities with lots of different flavors to focus on,” Rubin said. “So, I’m looking to add more flavors, then later down the line, I would love to add some other things like dips and sauces. But that comes with a lot more legal corridors because they would be more perishable items. So, that would be more years down the line.  Right now, I’m just focusing on adding more spice blends and continue to grow that segment of the business.”