Life & Work with Silas Coffelt

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Silas Coffelt.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My wife Lindsey and I come from a residential construction background. Her position was in the office while I was on the production side out in the field, on-site building new homes in the greater Lansing area. As my 50th birthday was quickly approaching, I realized that the wear and tear of hauling in refrigerators, installing microwaves and hood vents, and carrying heavy equipment was taking a toll. That’s when we started discussing some possibilities for what the next chapter looks like regarding careers. That discussion led to her finding a business matchmaker of sorts.

 

We were presented with 15 or so opportunities to ponder over and discuss. It was fun to look at some of the opportunities because there were many options. We knew we wanted to be involved in the food industry somehow, but we did not have much experience besides what I knew about managing a pizza shop 30 years prior. We wanted to bring something fun and new to the area. This is how we found Graze Craze charcuterie boards and boxes. We loved the idea of owning a restaurant that does not require many things most restaurants need to survive. We are pick-up and delivery only, so there’s no dine-in that would require extra staff.

We also don’t have any cooktops, hood vents, or fryers. It was an obvious #1 choice for us for all of those reasons, most importantly because it was a new concept to the area. We picked the right business. We are happy, humbled, and truly grateful for the thousands of wonderful people we have met during this epic journey.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have never owned a small business before, so I’m not sure how smooth the road was supposed to be. With our construction background, we were able to be the general contractors on our storefront build-out. My previous experience was very beneficial in demoing and reconstructing our retail space. Lindsey specializes in marketing and had built a large social following long before we opened our doors to the public. Only two struggles really come to mind.

The first was tackling the issue of describing what our business provides to people. It’s great to have something fun and new as far as restaurants go, but not everybody has ever heard the term charcuterie before. Lindsey did a fantastic job marketing to this point by describing our product and what we can provide and by showing beautiful pictures of our finished product through different social media outlets. The second struggle we found was to get our delicious, healthy, eye-appealing food into people’s mouths. At Graze Craze, we make our dips, jams, and hummus fresh in-house daily.

The food kind of sells itself once people get to see it and taste it. We learned early on that the best way to get our food out there for people to enjoy is to give samples. Lots and lots of samples. It has become part of our weekly culture here to ensure we do marketing sample drops. Who doesn’t like free delicious food? We have made many great connections and have seen the power of doing marketing sample drops with those same people or companies returning to us for personal or business events.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At Graze Craze, we specialize in making charcuterie boards and boxes. Charcuterie boards come in various sizes. Charcuterie boards are wooden boards filled with cured meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, and sweets. They are carefully arranged to show off how beautiful food can be with contrasting flavors, textures, and colors.

We can make a charcuterie cup for one person, and then turn around and cater a large event for hundreds of people with our grazing tables. People ask what are your boxes? We can do cracker boxes, bread boxes, and pickle boxes. These boxes go alongside your charcuterie boards as extra additions. Undoubtedly, our homemade in-house dips, jams, and hummus set us apart from others because our recipes are delicious.

What matters most to you? Why?
In life, giving of oneself to help others and always treat other people and animals as you wish to be treated. In business, there is nothing better than making someone smile with the goods and services you provide for them.

I think it’s extremely important for small business owners to understand that people aren’t just buying a product or service from you. Most of the time, they buy from you because of who you are and how you make them feel.

Pricing:

• Charcuterie cup $8.49
• Large charcuterie board $179.99

Contact Info:

• Website: www.grazecraze.com/okemos-mi

Image Credits
517 Magazine