Ron and Valerie Patton of Vortex Doughnuts after winning the Big Tasty. (Photo courtesy of Blue Ridge Food Ventures)
The other day, some of the staff was gathered in the break room for lunch, talking about how excited we were that Ron & Valerie Patton of Vortex Doughnuts won The Big Tasty competition back in March.
Why are we so thrilled?
Well, first of all: donuts. Who doesn’t love donuts? As any office worker knows, nothing creates a buzz like a box of donuts plopped on the break room table. Initially they will be cursed (“Oh, great, just what my waistline needed…”). And then they will disappear.
But locally made donuts with locally inspired themes? Get outta here! As Ron and Valerie search for a storefront, we’ve got our fingers crossed that it’ll be located within walking distance of our office…
The second reason we’re so tickled is that last fall, while Valerie was working on perfecting her donut recipe, Ron was taking our Foundations business planning class. It’s so exciting for us when our classes help entrepreneurs turn a fuzzy business idea into a well-formed business plan with actionable steps.
Vortex Doughnuts can be added to the substantial list of Mountain BizWorks client businesses that create sweet delights and devilish desserts.
A few examples of clients who took one of our business planning classes and/or used business coaching and/or received a small business loan:
- Cakes by Jane – Read our Mountain Xpress article about this business.
- French Broad Chocolate Lounge
- Short Street Cakes
- Rachel’s Delectables
- Pies in Disguise
- Dolce Regina / Italian Cookie Lady
- Ultimate Ice Cream Company
Let’s hear it for locally made sweet treats!