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Success Stories

Rustic Nomads

Starting a business in 2020—during the COVID-19 pandemic—has been a journey to say the least, but the owner of Rustic Nomads, Nathan Wiersum, will have bragging rights for life.   “The support received from the SBDC is why I continue to move .”

With a loan from DreamSpring to purchase a food truck, the rest of the business has been self-funded.  Originally, the plan was to grow into a restaurant as soon as possible.  With the pandemic, goals were reevaluated.  The debate was between two options, a restaurant or more food trucks.  

Either way, there was no stopping or slowing down.  Rustic Nomads actually grew exponentially in 2020.  While not be able to report huge profits, the focus during the first year was on building relationships.  Since COVID-19 spoiled the year for many, Wiersum thought it best to survive the year as opposed to pushing profits over people.  Many favorite locations have booked Rustic Nomads, solidifying the business and helping to build a following.  Profits from 2020 were invested in the business, helping the bottom line for 2021.

The Aurora-South Metro SBDC was pivotal in helping start the business and developing the idea of growth.  From helping with the business plan to getting the funding needed to start, the SBDC helped every step of the way.  Since it is a free service, Wiersum could not pass up on the tremendous return on investment and recommends the SBDC to anyone who wants to start their own business.

With one full-time and four to five part-time employees for larger events, Wiersum works with many of the breweries in the metropolitan area.  These partnerships provide Rustic Nomads with a location to sell food and a following to build clientele. Regulars will sometimes come from across town, and this helps the breweries because it puts more people in their seats as well.  Wiersum will plant roots when the time is right as he determines his target customer, traveling around the metropolitan area and narrowing the market.

Although not veteran-owned, Rustic Nomads stems from veterans.  “Growing up as military kids and moving every few years, we have had the fortune to  live on different continents and experience cuisine that we would not have  otherwise known.”  Rustic Nomads simply means ‘freedom to make unpretentious delicious food that everyone can enjoy anywhere.’  And they  do so with genuine hospitality.

While the food scene is relatively saturated, Wiersum believes that there is room in the industry IF supplying a good product.  And that’s the key.  Rustic Nomads sources their products locally and emphasizes using sustainable products.  Delicious food has become their trademark of excellence — from pastrami to mozzarella — and experiencing sandwiches from the Route 66 burger to the Wanderlust, with delectable sides.  Visit https://rusticnomads.us/menu (The first photo above:  Nathan Wiersum (rt) with Jen Findlow who helped Rustic Nomads make their first dollar.)

Aurora AutoPros

The Aurora AutoPros mission guides owners Edgar and Reneé Leon’s daily operations:  to provide the highest quality mechanical repair solutions in a professional, honest, and transparent manner.  They keep their environment clean, educate car owners and are family-friendly.  Their customers value AutoPros’ personalized service given by ASE certified technicians.  As a TechNet Professional Repair Shop, AutoPros’ customers receive a nationwide 36-month/36,000-mile warranty on all repairs that also includes roadside assistance for all invoices of $25

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Dry Dock Brewing Company

The award-winning Dry Dock Brewing Company is Aurora’s first microbrewery. Established in October 2005, Dry Dock is co-owned and operated by Kevin DeLange and Michelle Reding. The brewery began with just two employees in a 900 square-foot space with less than 20 seats in the back of Kevin and Michelle’s homebrew supply shop, The Brew Hut. They brewed less than 500 barrels of beer in 2006. How-ever, Dry Dock has enjoyed tremendous success and growth

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Vintage Theatre Productions

Starting out 15 years ago in a basement as a touring theatre group for small audiences, Vintage Theatre has grown from that “tiny” beginning to currently reaching over 20,000 patrons each production season. “It has been amazing to see the growth,” beams Cr aig Bond, Founder. Since moving to Aurora in 2012 into an existing black box theater, Vintage immediately added a second more intimate theatre to augment the season’s offerings. Creating a greater draw

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ContractsRx

ContractsRx is on a mission to make legal contracting seamless, accessible and repeatable.  Shannon Leonard and Ramon Rhymes, co-founders, make it their aim to reduce the time, cost and risk associated with business contracting and business outcomes. The abrupt uncertainty that COVID-19 brought to ContractsRx and other small businesses resulted in an overnight shift from the known to the unknown.  While Shannon and Ramon are fortunate to be in a technology industrywith the tools in place to work at home, they

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Havana Street Tattoo and Legacy Tattoo Collective

Havana Street Tattoo opened 15 years ago in Aurora.  The tattooing industry has shown its potential for significant growth in the past 10 years and continues to do so, because the customer base and artists offering the service have evolved past an old stereotype into a market of true professional artistry and serious collectors. In mid-2019, business partners and co-owners, Larry Foussat and Gilbert Ledesma decided to open a new location in Aurora to expand the shop’s client base and

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Yumbana, LLC

To be declared a U.S.A. Taste Champion by the American Masters of Taste national judging panel, especially when the category is “Gluten Free” baked goods, is quite an accomplishment. Yumbana was selected as a winning product line in 2017 and, since its beginning in 2011, has been committed to making products that don’t require self-discipline to eat and enjoy. ‘Yum’ is in the name and comes from the owner Christopher Lehn’s first creation, a YUMmy

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