Meet Mary Chupp and Janel Wingo of The Blend in Buena Vista

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Chupp and Janel Wingo.

Mary and Janel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Mary and I became friends years ago. Mary has four children and I have six. Our kids overlap in ages and we have had a great friendship together. I (Janel) started working at a restaurant on Main Street several years ago and watched our town begin to grow tremendously. I realized that our community really needed a breakfast, smoothie, bagel shop to offer as that was being requested by tourists and locals. I knew Mary well enough to know that she’d be a dynamic and smart business partner and so one day, we were walking down Main Street and I pitched the idea to her.

It perked her interest and we started walking through the possibilities and saw the next step provided every bit of the way. We both wanted to create an inviting and friendly space for our locals and tourists to come in and stay and enjoy yummy food or to also come to grab something quick to fuel their adventure for the day. We have on our windows, “Really Good Food. Served by Really Nice People.” And that’s definitely what we’ve developed. Four of Mary’s kids and three of mine work at the Blend, along with many of their friends. We’ve definitely become that place where our students come looking for their first job. Our business was voted best new business in 2019 by the community, which was such an honor to us!

Great, 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?
It was very smooth in developing the business and Mary and I work really well together. Often times, when a decision needs to be made, one of us will defer to the other, depending on the type of decision it is. For example, if it has to do with design or menu development, I typically have Mary choose. Whereas a question about scheduling or personnel would be one that I would make. We are great about checking in with each other before a big decision is made. The biggest struggle for us has been in recent weeks, having to make adjustments with the COVID 19 challenges. We’ve made many adjustments and have managed to keep our doors open, which has been such a victory! Mary and I both feel stretched and a little weary from all of this but have been steadfast and committed to making this work and so far, we’ve managed to keep things going. We’ve maintained most of our employees and have been able to keep paying all the bills, fortunately.

The Blend – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a smoothie, breakfast, lunch, coffee shop. We are known for our fast and friendly service and also for offering an inviting space for friends to come and sit and enjoy the environment we offer. I think what sets us apart from others is the fact that we know our customers by name and that we care well for our staff who in turn take really good care of our customers.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Earning the Best New Business Award for 2019.

Contact Info:

• Address: 301 East Main St Suite 100
  Buena Vista CO 81211
• Website: theblendbv.com
• Phone: 719-398-1492
• Email: theblendbv@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Lexie Davidson

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