08/25/2026
I’m laughing now…
BUT THREE HOURS AGO when the day stopped before we even made it to our first event …
I was surely on Indeed about to submit my resumé. 😂
Running a business has easily been the hardest thing I’ve ever done—and at 31, I really haven’t done much else professionally considering I started this when I was just 25 years old.
And even then, it was completely accidental.
I went from being the manager of a Dominican restaurant to owning my own business practically overnight. Those who know, KNOW!
OGs, do y’all remember when the sign still said La Taberna Dominicana, but inside we were slinging funnel cakes like our lives depended on it?
I say that jokingly, but our lives really DID depend on it. Our job was about to go out of business, and we were in the middle of a pandemic. Looking back, COVID was a WILD time. 😂
The OGs were ordering funnel cakes from a laminated Office Depot menu with random pictures placed sporadically throughout the storefront. No real branding. No real plan. Just vibes, powdered sugar, and survival. 😂
The health department was gracious enough to allow us to remain open because it was the same staff and same location—the concept was just changing. I didn’t even know I was supposed to seek approval before switching everything over. Please don’t copy what I did. Again, COVID was a very weird time. 😂
But sitting on the side of this back road since 10 a.m. has made me realize something:
Funnel Cake Lounge has never had a business plan.
This business has grown off luck, a good-quality product, a hell of a lot of support from the CSRA and beyond—and my ability to make SOMETHING happen when everything starts going wrong.
I don’t get many opportunities to just sit still and look at how far I’ve grown this business. But today, what else could I do? I couldn’t fix the problem as quickly as I normally do, so maybe a moment like this was necessary.
I really do love what I do. At this point, it doesn’t even feel like a job anymore. It’s a hobby that pays well…most days. Because three hours ago, Indeed was definitely about to see a submission from me. 😂
But there’s something about me when things go wrong—I naturally go into “make it happen” mode.
Even while sitting here in the heat waiting on a tow truck, I opened up my little mobile office, sent invoices, booked another festival, checked on what everybody else needed help with, and still found a way to make some money.
Anywho, I just wanted to give the masses a quick little ‘Behind the Batter’.
Funnel Cake Lounge is still evolving every single day, and I genuinely appreciate y’all for rocking with me throughout this journey while I continue figuring it all out.
Because y’all…I am absolutely figuring it out as I go. 😂🎡
- Andre
