Pueblo Food Project program helps entrepreneurs develop business plans
Pueblo entrepreneurs are well aware of the trials and tribulations they experience when starting a business, but they are receiving a boost to fulfill those passions and dreams.
“I don’t know anything about business,” said Ed Schmal, a local entrepreneur who recently completed Pueblo Food Project’s entrepreneur development program. “So just learning about business was huge, and then the opportunities and connections with other people, not just classmates but marketing folks and professional chefs.
“The opportunity that’s going to be coming is probably the greatest gift the class could have given me. People love the idea and want more of it.”
Schmal is hardly the only person to shower praise toward the program, which offers a 16-week, semester-style course for food, beverage and agricultural entrepreneurs. He applied for it earlier this year as he sought ways to grow his business, Broken Veil Mushroom Supply.
“I’m walking away with a business plan,” Schmal said. “I can present that to banks, investors, anybody really. It’s so valuable in itself just having that document, and we did it piece by piece, little by little and put it all together at the end. It’s been an incredible experience.”
Entrepreneurs laud program, Fuel Kitchens
There were 15 participants in this year’s program, five of whom were named finalists and competed for prizes at PFP’s annual Snack and Tell event on Tuesday.
Each of the finalists during presentations laid out their business plans and what inspired them, but also shared their beliefs about product gaps in Pueblo’s market.
Jenn Chamberlin, owner and confectioner of Treats by Chamberlin, believes Pueblo lacks a true, old-fashioned candy store but is aiming to open one by the end of 2026.
Eliza Hartsfield of Eliza Jane Cakes said Pueblo could use a custom-cake artist who matches quality with appeal.
Filling those gaps and making them a reality, however, is a monumental effort, requiring both knowledge of how to run a business and do so efficiently. Entrepreneurs shared as much at PFP’s Sun Soil Water Ag Summit earlier this year.
“It’s been pretty amazing,” Chamberlin said of the class. “I’m not much of an outspoken person, but it’s kind of given me a leg up to be able to have a conversation about my business instead of just saying, ‘Here, try my candy.’ I can actually talk and express what it is that I want to do in Pueblo.
“So that’s been a huge benefit to us — getting us in contact with a lot of good resources.”
Some of the entrepreneurs have recently spent time inside Fuel Kitchens, Pueblo’s new commissary kitchen led by Fuel & Iron. Chamberlin said she made a “huge push” to get in there quickly to take advantage of the space and its equipment.
“It’s wonderful,” Chamberlain said. “I like the fact that it’s completely away from my house, for one, but they have all the equipment that I could possibly need and then some.”
Nathan Sterns, co-founder of Fuel & Iron Food Hall, said he views the facility as a “bridge” between people making products at home and eventually opening up their own brick and mortar stores.
That’s also how Schmal sees it. He and Jolene “JoJo” Collins, the director of operations and mentorship for Fuel Kitchens, discussed potentially hosting a mushroom class there. Schmal ultimately wants to open his own shop in Pueblo, but plans to focus on his product first and take smaller steps, such as selling it at the farmers market this summer.
“I do want to just keep growing and growing and selling more and more,” Schmal said. “Not only do I want to make money, obviously, but I believe in mushrooms and the health benefits that people can get from them.”
Spanish speaker joins program cohort
Pueblo Food Project, as it often does, had a translator at its event on Tuesday for Spanish-speaking attendees. It went a step further when program participant Eva Leon, the founder of Cocina Mexicana 017, notably delivered her presentation in Spanish.
Collins said Leon was the first Spanish speaking member of the program’s cohort of entrepreneurs. Collins thanked PFP’s interpreters for translating during the semester so that it could offer the program to Pueblo’s Spanish-speaking community.
Deya Gonzalez, the event’s interpreter who runs Language Partners, said in English and Spanish before the presentations that “Fuel Kitchens and Pueblo Food Project understand the importance of language justice, and that is the key component of true equity and access.”
“I think what makes our program so effective is the focus on community and building a network of people who are genuinely interested in helping one another, whether that means sharing resources, time or emotional support,” Collins said in a text message.
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Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
