More Than A Mile: Ep. 6 - Reggie Green (Reggie's Creations)

Nick Carter (Host) (00:04):

Welcome to More Than A Mile, a local food podcast from Market Wagon focused on connecting you to local food through farmer stories from across America. I'm Nick Carter, your host, a farmer and CEO, and co-founder of Market Wagon. We are your online farmer's market with a mission to enable food producers to thrive in their local and regional markets. Food is so much more than just nutrients and calories. It's actually the fabric that holds us together. And I look forward to crafting a generational quilt of farmer stories and experiences, the victories and challenges of individuals, families, and teams doing their part to help democratize food in America. Thanks for joining me for this episode of More Than A Mile, and thank you for buying local food. That's one critical step in making an investment in food for future generations.

Nick Carter (Host) (00:54):

Well, my guest today is Regina "Reggie" Green. You go by Reggie, most of your life, Regina? I should assume so because the name of your company is Reggie's Creations. You are quite the chef, it looks like you started your company based on a recipe for Buckeyes. Can you tell me that story?

Reggie Green (01:14):

Yes, actually the story of how I got started is two—is actually two parts. I was working at a restaurant called Hyde Park Prime Steak House in downtown, Short North, Columbus. I had a girl that was actually transferred there. She was transferred from Cleveland and she was—it was during the holidays and she wanted to give her mother a gift of Buckeyes. And she said she can't get Buckeyes at all in Cleveland. She's been looking for somebody to do homemade ones. She said, no knock on Anthony Thomas—But she said the only ones that they really have there is Anthony Thomas, but they don't taste like homemade. They taste like processed. So she said, does anybody know anybody that can make 'em? And I said, well, you know what, if you don't mind, I'll just make 'em. I mean, how hard can they be? And I said, they don't look very hard. And she was like sure, if you want to, and I said, how many orders do you want? I said, what 12? And she said, can I get five dozen? like, oh, oh, okay, sure. I could do that. So I went home and I started making the Buckeyes and the one thing as I was making them, I was like, Buckeyes are so good. I can only have two or three because they're so rich, but they're so boring. And I said, there's nothing really to them. And I said, so I called her and I said, "Hey Tamika, do you mind if I kind of play around with the flavors a little bit?" And she said, well, what do you mean play around with them? And I said, "well, can you do me a favor and just ask your mom without telling her the surprise, what flavors does she like?" So she came back and told me oh my mom loves cookie dough. She loves coconut. She loves the Heath bars. And I was like, okay. And I said, so I started experimenting with them. And then I was—I infused like my own coconut milk into a Buckeye and I dipped it in chocolate with coconuts. And then I did a cookie dough one—I made cookies and crumbled 'em and rolled 'em around the Buckeyes. And I made six different Buckeyes. And my friend Tamika that asked for the Buckeyes as a gift, she loves coffee. So I made one with coffee infused in it. And so I gave her the regular ones and I gave her the ones that I did as an infusion, just for fun.

Reggie Green (03:42):

And she took 'em to her mother and came back and said—she walked straight up to me—she said, you have got to sell those. She said the Buckeyes were really good—but the infused ones were awesome. And after that it kind of took off. Tamika was more into my business at that time than I was, but she took my —she was, every time we worked at the restaurant, she would make me make more Buckeyes and she would give them as like little party gifts when they were done with their dinner. Like you do with a mint, but she would give one of my Buckeyes. And then they were like, where did this come from? When she gave one to Eugene Smith, that is director of athletics for Ohio State. And he had one and he put that up for trademark and licensing with Ohio State. So I was approved, but sad to say at the time, I did not believe in myself. I did not believe that I deserved that success and the recognition that I was getting and it scared me. So I kind of walked away from it. And I was like—I gave up the business. I didn't have the greatest support system at all. So I ended up walking away from it. It wasn't until 2020 that I lost my job as food and beverage manager because of COVID. And I was doing everything DoorDash, InstaCart, GrubHub, you name it—to pay my bills. And I was part of a Facebook group called Columbus jobs. And on, there was an ad from Market Wagon saying they're, looking for drivers their business is booming and it was from Lily and they said you get what called me about the ad. It said that you get paid that day. So I went. I applied, then I became a driver, and then I worked in the warehouse, and then we had the shut-in where you guys were looking for vendors. So I told Lily, Hey, I used to make Buckeyes, you know if you, if anybody during the shutdown is looking for sweets, I could at least make those. So she said, oh it, okay. So I applied, got my license. And then that's when I started as a vendor with Market Wagon. And my first week I sold nine orders. And I sat down with my fiance at the time and I said, Hey, do you mind if I open this up a little bit more be two feet in, or really take the chance in really making this business about who I am and what I do. And he was 100% behind me. And the next product I introduced was infused butters and cream cheese. And my order went from—my orders, went from nine to over 70 in one week. And then it just kept growing from there. And I went from one market to now I'm in five. So, yeah, but that's how I got started with Market Wagon.

Nick Carter (Host) (06:56):

From laid off from the food service industry to gig work, to pay the bills, to driving at this crazy little company called Market Wagon that delivers local food to making the food, to sell on Market Wagon. And now tell us where your business is today. How would you describe it?

Reggie Green (07:20):

Today? I would tell you if it was not for Market Wagon the platform that you, your company has put towards mine brings me to tears. If it was not for you exposing my passion and what I do, I don't know where I would be. And that, that is the truth. I—my passion is food. I love food. I can be in—I have been known to be in the kitchen from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I even have a TV in my kitchen. And food is what I am, is what I do. I did not, I was not brought up in a family where we would be in the kitchen and cooking together. I actually learned how to cook from being in restaurants. And I was very privileged to work with so many different chefs to where I got that background from them. They taught me to enhance my passion for cooking. But today—so I went in a year, I went from being a driver to Market Wagon to now being, I averaged 90 to a hundred orders in Cleveland alone for Thursdays. And I get so excited when I see reviews about my product. I get so excited when I post a new product and somebody buys it first. And so I cannot express the appreciation I have for your company. And I thank you every day.

Nick Carter (Host) (09:10):

I'm gonna go ahead and be completely honest, coming into a podcast like this. I should do all my research. I should know everything about my guests and have all have a really good profile in front of me. And I just looked up, you know, about your current company, what you sell, what your menu is and, and your presence on Market Wagon. Until you just told me this story I had no idea that your story began as one of our drivers. And you have been able to build this company, Reggie's Creations on the Market Wagon platform. It blows me away just to hear your story and I'm yeah, I'm speechless. Not a good position to be in when you're supposed to be a podcast host, but I'm speechless.

Reggie Green (09:57):

No, it's okay. <Laugh> but I, that is from sincere from bottom of my heart, if it was not for Market Wagon, I would not—I do not know where I would be and I thank you for letting me showcase what I'm very passionate about.

Nick Carter (Host) (10:13):

Well, I thank you for bringing that passion to Market Wagon. Our customers love to know people like you and I can't wait to share this story as far and wide as we can, because this is why people are shopping on Market Wagon. It's because they want to make a difference for Reggie, not for, you know, Jeff Bezos or something like that. They want, they wanna know where their dollars are going. And this is a clear story that when you are buying—and it's more than Buckeyes now, we'll talk about that—but when you're buying food from local artisans and chefs like you, this is just a perfect story as to why this matters. Let's talk about what you make. You mentioned the chefs that believed in you tell me a little bit, you were working at a restaurant. You've been in kitchens for a long time. You've been in the restaurant industry. What, 20 years? How, how long have you been a chef?

Reggie Green (11:09):

I've been in a restaurant since I was 16 years old. It is going to be 36 years that I've been in restaurants.

Nick Carter (Host) (11:19):

Careful. Some of, some of our listeners have the math ability to, to age you right now.

Reggie Green (11:24):

Oh, I don't mind telling my age? I actually tell people that I'm older than what I am.

Nick Carter (Host) (11:28):

<Laugh> 36 years in the restaurant industry, but you mentioned that you weren't comfortable with the success early on that people had for your Buckeyes. You, you just didn't have that confidence. What got you over the edge? What, what helped you to form this company and then go forward and put your products out there and let people try 'em?

Reggie Green (11:47):

I think what happened is that when COVID hit 2020, I worked for so many different companies, one for over a decade. And when I had lost my position as food and beverage manager, I didn't have anything, Nick, nothing. I didn't have a 401k. I didn't have paid leave. I didn't have medical/dental. I didn't even have life insurance because my company did not provide it. All they provided me with was a lot of responsibility and ability for my talents to make that company money. And when I lost my job, I got mad. It was like, you know what? I've been, I dedicated pretty much three-fourths of my life into a food industry that I love, that I have a great passion for. And when that opportunity came as a vendor and I, when I thought about it, I'm like, what are the odds that one day I'm just looking on a Facebook page that is for a job for Market Wagon, and then less than a month that I'm there, you're looking for vendors because they can't handle the volume that's coming in. And I am able to get a hold of this opportunity. So when that happened, what clicked in me is that this is my time. This is my time to showcase what I do. I'm very, I was always very good at presenting and making and creating for so many other people that I felt at the end that I wasn't appreciated, and I wasn't valued. And that's what clicked. That was what was different from 2012 to now. And I'm not gonna stop. I'm gonna keep doing what I do, because this is my time. And I know this is my time to get what I have a passion for. That I deserve it now. And I have the support unit of my husband that I did not have that before. No, I'm, I'm gonna keep going. And I'm, I'm just getting started.

Nick Carter (Host) (14:14):

You do deserve it now, and you deserved it then, but now, you know, you deserve it now. And I'm just so proud of you. It takes, don't sell yourself short because when you were in that situation unexpectedly without a job—opportunity, is there for people who are moving, right, who are doing things. And you were looking around for every job you were looking for every opportunity. That's the reason why the opportunity presented itself before you, because you were looking and you found just the ability to come and drive for us. But as soon as the call went out and you're right, there's more demand for local food than we have supply. We're always looking for more vendors. There's so much opportunity for people who do just what you do, there's so much opportunity, but what you did was you said, okay, if there's an opportunity to sell food here, I'm gonna go do it and kudos to you. I'm just, I'm blown away by this story, Reggie, and thank you so much for sharing it. And it's not just you—you were a vendor in our Columbus, Ohio market to start with. Now. Customers can find you in a lot of the other Ohio markets, but tell me about the community that existed even within that market. Because you source fresh ingredients, right? You're not only selling food that you're producing locally, but are you building partnerships with the farmers and the food producers that are a part of that local community there?

Reggie Green (15:31):

Yes, I actually, when they are in season and even off-season, I go to a farm called Lynd Farm in Pataskala [Ohio], oddly enough that I was partnered with them—when I was a food and beverage manager, the restaurant that I worked at was in Pataskala and I went and met the family. They were our local farmers there. They grew their own pears, apples, you name it, they had it. And what was very important to me is that we locally sourced from farmers in the area to say, this is locally made and produced. I believe in having a very strong relationship with farmers and local people because, you know, you get to know who they are and where the product comes from and how it's made. And I just think people have—bring their passion into it as well. I also have—the very first, maybe month that I was with Market Wagon—I am a huge person that believes in collaboration and partnership. So one person, one vendor that I got to know a little bit more about was Dirty Girl Coffee. I did not know that it was all female and woman-owned coffee growers. They grow their own beans. They have their own shop. And I reached out to them and said, Hey, listen, I tried/bought one of your coffees—is the Columbian blend. I wanna make cookies with it. And I said, is it okay if I use your picture, your coffee actually in my picture for my Down & Dirty cookies, because I told them that I wanted to think of a name that celebrated them and who they are. And so I read up on Dirty Girl Coffee and I found out that they're from Athens [Ohio] that's all females and they, their logo is getting dirty, getting your hands down and dirty. I'm like, oh man, down and dirty coffee cookies is perfect. So I came up with that. That was my first collaboration, but I also collaborate with a company from Cincinnati who makes over 200 different types of teas. I do a pound cake in a bread pudding of the month with them that is made with one of their teas. But I also am a partner with another vendor is Witt Farms. They have been providing me with bones so I can start using that to make different prepared meals like soups. I actually use one of their bones and made a broth with it to make the pork enchiladas that I just introduced. So having that partnership to me, the bigger we are as a family, the more we're going to grow, especially if I can say, Hey, this was made from somebody else you just buy from as well. So I believe in highlighting all of us highlighting each other. So me getting locally farmed produce stuff from farmers and other artisans is extremely important to me.

Nick Carter (Host) (18:44):

Well, you're, you are a leader. You're leading because of your creations and your creativity, which customers love, they love your recipes. They love what you're inventing. It brings a delight to their tables. And so they're gonna respond to that with buying more of your stuff, you could probably save a buck. You could probably go buy some cheaper ingredients, some industrial-scale agriculture foods at large wholesalers and make a little bit more profit. But what I love about the story, Reggie, what you just told me is that you take that success that has, that you've been blessed with through Market Wagon and now you're spreading it out. You're, you're taking that and you're going to other local farmers, other local producers, and making sure that it has an impact even beyond you. And thank you for your commitment to the local food community because it's much needed, and leaders like you are vital to this success of everybody. Now, so we've touched a little bit on the menu. So we started off with Buckeyes and you were bold enough to tinker with an age old recipe. I mean, I don't Buckeyes are kind of a, a tried and true—You've got your peanut butter core and chocolate outside, and you took that and expanded it, but from candy or, you know, a sugary treat to pork [enchiladas] how do you find the time to come up with new recipes and decide, you know, how to put out there more stuff into the marketplace?

Reggie Green (20:15):

Well in the beginning, Nick, it actually had to do with my license. <Laugh> when I very first got started. I was only allowed to do confections. I was only allowed to do candy, cookies, cakes. And I am not gonna sit here and even begin to try to tell you that I enjoy baking. I do not. I am not a baker. <Laugh> I am a, I am a cook. I am a cook. And only because baking is so unforgiving, it's like if you accidentally mix baking soda instead of baking powder, you have a huge mess. And with cooking, you have so much more freedom. So what I had to do is retrain myself when I only in the begin, when I can only, they said, no, no, no, Reggie, you can only do this because your license only allows you to do this.

Reggie Green (21:12):

And I'm like, okay, so I can only make this, this and this. So I'm like, okay, where, when can I go to this next step? And they said, now you have to get your home bakery license. Now you can make cheesecakes and you can do bread puddings and you do all this other stuff. And actually a funny story is that I got in trouble one time with the Department of Agriculture, because I thought making baked goods—as long as it's in a pie shell, I can do anything with it as long as it's in a pie shell. And so the first thing that I made is—I said, I wanna make something savory. So I made a Galette, which is—I make my own pie dough , but I add sauteed spinach, artichoke hearts. I caramelized my own onions and I put it into this pie shell.

Reggie Green (22:05):

Well, the Department of Agriculture saw it on Market Wagon and they came to visit me and they said, Reggie, you can't make that. And I was like, why? It's in a pie shell. They said, cause your home bakery license, won't let you do that. Fine! So what can I, what do I need in order to be able to make it? So they said you have to be in a commercial kitchen. So once I went to a commercial kitchen, now I'm in a commissary and they, I said, so what can I do? They said, you can do whatever you want. And I said, fine. So that's when I started [to] open up the flood gates. I said, so since I'm allowed to do everything, I am going to start doing everything. I am going to do what I love and that's cook and I'm gonna start introducing meals, side dishes, you name it, I'm going to really show what my what creations mean. So I started to a side and I did test the waters. Because I know in the beginning, people probably just know me as doing sweets. So the first thing I did was introduce a side dish and that was mac and cheese. And I did mac and cheese—I did truffle mac and cheese and I did mac and cheese with bacon. And then I see how those waters tested and those, those exploded. I sold so many. So then I introduced broccoli au gratin and then a real, a recipe that I created about five years ago was potatoes au Guinness. And that is when I make a scalloped potato, but it's like potatoes au gratin, but I use—I make a Guinness cheese. So I just let my imagination go as far—it was in stages. So if you saw me in the beginning, I only did sweets. That's only because my license, well only let me do that. But now that my license is like, you can do whatever you want. I'm taking that full advantage.

Nick Carter (Host) (24:10):

Believe me, I know the, the difficulties of regulation, the rules kind of constrain what you can do. It's amazing that you, you understood the restrictions, right? And the, and just work for them, the limitations to get going and off the ground. But just pressed it ahead and congrats to you. So what's the favorite thing that you make now? What, what do you, if you had a your pick ticket, which is what for our listeners, that's what tells Reggie what she needs to make, what people have ordered each week. If you look at your pick ticket, what's the most exciting thing for you to see? Oh, good. I get to go make this. What do you like?

Reggie Green (24:42):

The one thing I really do like to make is my bread pudding. I really like making that because it is so many different possibilities that you can get with that. When I, actually had where I would—I emailed all my followers and I told them let's have a little contest. I discovered a place called Church Hill Fine Teas from—through the farmer's market. I did my first farmer's market last year in May. And when I was there, the coffee shop that had asked me to be a part of it, they sold Churchill Teas. Well, I didn't know who that was. And I found out that they were out of Cincinnati. That is actually 20 minutes away from the hub. So I went to visit them and they had over 200 different teas—of teas I've never even known that you can make a flavor with that. I mean, they even have a tea called a Findlay Market, that's a bloody mary. And I was like, oh no, we're we gotta, I said, I have to take full advantage and make some bread puttings out of these. So every month I told my followers, if you come up with suggestions of, if you go on churchillsteas.com and you look to see what kind of teas they have, you suggest one that you think will make a, a really delicious, unique bread pudding. If I like that suggestion for the month, I will make the bread pudding. I'll let you name it and I'll give you a $20 discount code for—and then you don't have to buy for me—I said, you can buy from anybody and I'll give you a bread pudding, so you can try your own creation. And that is so much fun for me to make, because I get really interesting—I got one lady that suggested the white wedding and said, you should call it the rebel yell. And it was, it's so many suggestions coming in. And I think the reason why I really love making a bread, one is fun to make, to see all the different things that could come together. Like this month is carrot cake bread pudding. And I make a cream cheese caramel sauce with it, but to see somebody get to actually name it and come up with a name for it. And there I, and the reason why the bread pudding is so much is my favorite is because that's the one I feel the most connected to customers with. Because they're involved in it and they get so excited. Like, did I win? Did I win? And I'm like not this month, but next month, you know, you never know. I said, keep the suggestions coming. So hands down, that's my favorite one to make.

Nick Carter (Host) (27:39):

That's genius. I, I just I'm blown away. So I wanna talk about this for a quick minute because a lot of our customers and, and even some of the vendors on Market Wagon who are listening to this, might not be aware of what you're talking about, where you are able to connect directly with the customers on Market Wagon. They're your customers, Market Wagon is a marketplace where customers are finding you, but you're really leaning into that—you've been able to directly message and chat and engage with the customers that you have on the Market Wagon platform. They're getting back to you, their ideas for recipes. What's that mean to you to be able to have a direct connection to the folks that are eating your food around their table every week?

Reggie Green (28:20):

There is nothing—there's nothing like it. I get a few—I don't, I hate to say—I don't like calling them followers. That is, I like calling them supporters because without their support, I would not be here. I can make all the greatest food in the world, but if they're not there to support me and buy the products, I don't exist. So for me, I've had conversations with supporters that told me that I introduced—there was one lady that told me that I had made a I used to, I don't make it anymore, but it's I, I do, but only for her, I, I introduced a chocolate silk pie about eight months ago. And it was her—Deborah—It was her mother's favorite and her mother was ill. And she told me that...I'm sorry, I'm trying not to cry. But she told me that her mom, when she got it, started crying because she remembered having that. And it was her favorite pie. So even though I do not have that anymore on the website, I still send it to Debbie and I don't have her pay for that. It's like, you give it to your mother. And they mean the world to me. I appreciate it every day, what they do. You know, I had somebody say, well, what about bad reviews? I'm like, you know what? A bad review is actually a good review because I learned from it. I read to see what they say and I fix it. So, and with that, I would even have somebody—I've had so many supporters reach out to me and say, "Hey. I got this product and it was smashed, or it was broke, or it was something else like that. And if they're local, I'm getting in my car and I'm taking it to them—a new one. It's like, no, did you, what? Your stuff was damaged? I'll be there in like 15 minutes to give you your stuff. Even if it was an hour away, I'm going to take it because I can only imagine the expression on their face that they're looking forward to that tote and all the little goodies inside of it. And to open it up and see it smashed, it must have been like, oh man, that's heartbreaking. So if I can fix it by getting in my car and taking a new one, so be it. Because like I said, without you introducing Market Wagon, and without them being there to support, not just me, but all the other vendors, is—it, you can't compare that. The fact that I'm able to, I said, and Nick, I actually mentioned it to Jeremy. That I would think it would be so cool—We can't do it now because it cause of COVID—I said, but I always thought that it would be really cool if we had a "Meet The Vendor" event, to where if we had it to where it was a Columbus, you and it could be during the summer one time during the summer to where we are there, and they're able to buy the product with us face to face. And I'm able to meet my—Debbie and I'm able to meet Amber and I'm able to meet them face to face. I think that will be such a cool event to make it more of a community of Market Wagon. But I, the, the fact that I can talk to 'em and, and communicate with them one on one is—I love that. That's like one of the best parts of Market Wagon.

Nick Carter (Host) (32:20):

Well, and thank you for engaging with it because it's so important, right? The customers love to hear from you as you've already figured out. They wanna know what you're up to. So as we're running outta time here, just as we close, I wanna give you an opportunity to tell our listeners, aside from on Market Wagon.com, where they can look up Reggie's Creations, and they can find you there. And they can, I won't say follow. They can become a supporter of what you do. And I think anybody listening to this podcast is gonna be doing that if they haven't already, because your story is just amazing. And, and you have a magnetic or just an energizing personality. I've just enjoyed every bit of this conversation, but how else can somebody connect with you? Are you on social media? Are you, do you have any brick-and-mortar locations? How else can we get to know you?

Reggie Green (33:05):

I started Door Dash last Sunday, and we are gonna start a couple Sundays, but anybody that is locally in Columbus, you can find me on Door Dash. Every Sunday we start serving breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m. And it is pretty cool because there's some items on there we don't sell on Market Wagon. And we also do local deliveries on Saturday only. And that is—you can order online ReggiesCreations.com.

Nick Carter (Host) (33:39):

Awesome. Well, Reggie, this has been an absolute delight and I'm so grateful for you to take the time here, but it's also just the time that you spend to engage with customers and to make every single one of them smile. It's amazing and I'm so glad to hear the success that you're having with your kitchen.

Reggie Green (33:58):

Oh, thank you. I appreciate it, Nick. Thank you again for allowing, for letting me be a part of the podcast. I really appreciate it.

Nick Carter (Host) (34:08):

My guest today, again, has been Reggie Green, with Reggie's Creations, and you can find her amazing foods on Market Wagon.com. Thanks for listening.

Nick Carter (Host) (34:25):

Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than A Mile. Be sure to sign up for Market Wagon at MarketWagon.com or after downloading the Market Wagon app for iOS or Android. Follow us @MarketWagon on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for stories, recipes, special announcements, news, and just digital handshakes from our friendly farming community. If you enjoyed More Than A Mile, please rate the podcast and write a review on iTunes, CastBox, Pod Chaser or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Thank you for continuing to support local food.