Today we’d like to introduce you to Luann And Robert Howell.
Hi Luann and Robert, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started about 45 years ago. I was lucky to get the opportunity to work with a group of ladies at Pt Wentworth First Baptist church. Back in the days when it was time for wedding receptions, showers, etc this would be the group that you would call for help with food and decorations. It was an honor to be amongst the very talented ladies they taught me so much.
In 1982 Robert and I got married. His mom Alice was one of those very talented ladies too. Robert has her talent for making cakes. The BEST Baptist Pound Cake you will ever put in your mouth. The top of the cake is like eating candy and toast it in a frying pan with butter for breakfast doesn’t get any better.
I became a stay at home mom in 1983 and for a side hustle started catering weddings and parties. When my youngest started kindergarten I went back to work but we continued catering special events.
When we would have a function at work I was always asked to bring those famous cheese straws that we make and that got us thinking about our retirement. Our cheese straws and wedding cookies where always a must at all the event we did so we decided that would make a great hobby for when we retired.
Robert doesn’t meet a stranger so festivals and Farmers Markets have became a big part of the business. We finally retired in 2022 from our full time jobs and it has been cheesestraws and shortbread nonstop. Robert loves to make new flavors so we currently have 10 cheese straws flavors and 14 shortbreads.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not always been an easy road. When we first started, we were still heavily into catering. We also both worked full-time jobs, raising three teenagers, and trying to start a business from the ground up. Turning a two-car garage into an industrial kitchen is not as exciting as it may sound to some. We also decided to get dual licensed by adding Ag license so that we could wholesale and that in itself was a challenge.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We don’t have a big machine that spits out our straws . Our cheese straws and shortbread straws are all hand made in small batch recipes by the two us. I refer to Robert as my main squeeze because he literally squeezes all of the cookies, all cut by hand so they aren’t all the same size and shapes. From the baking, labeling, and packaging it is all done by the two of us. During our busy season we call in our kids and a dear friend of ours to assist.
We are proud of our product and how well that it has done. Our first wholesale location was Horton’s General Store in Rincon and The Salt Table was the first chain store and they still carry our products now. From there we began doing festivals and our products have spoken for itself and word of mouth travels pretty far. We now have products all over the state of Georgia and ship out of state to travelers who have met us a festivals or markets and have since become very loyal customers.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
That we don’t have to mass produce to be successful. That in itself is what makes us special and unique.
Pricing:
- 4oz $7.00
- 7oz $12.00
- 16 oz$25.00
- 8oz sampler box $15.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lusfamouscheesestraws.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lusfamouscheesestraws
