Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Chen.
Hi Julie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi everyone, my name is Julie Chen and I’m one of the co-founders of Waffle Bar. We specialize in dessert waffles. We first opened our doors on May 2018 in Uptown Minneapolis. After introducing a fun concept that exceeded our expectations, we later opened our 2nd location in Lakeville, Mn in 2019. Thereafter, in 2020, we decided to bring joy to the cities of Mn by opening a Waffle Bar Food Truck during Covid time!
When people ask me, “How did it all started?” Well, I must say my family love to eat. We travel for food. I grew up in Rhode Island and my parents would drive us to Boston Chinatown almost every weekend. There was a cart vendor that sold egg custard bubble waffles. That was where we got our first introduction to bubble waffles. But in New York, they took it to the next level by wrapping the bubble waffles with ice cream.
That’s when we were determined MN needs something like that here! We put our spin and created the menu with different combinations of flavors that I liked and my partners liked.
The journey of creating the brand was not easy. Going through the construction, passing inspection and getting our license and permits was a challenging process. However, what’s more challenging is working with different personalities, learning the operations and understanding what the customers wants and needs. With every challenge, there’s a reward. We just need to persevere and work through it without giving up.
So many people helped us along the way and supported our dream. Having an awesome group of supporters made us realize our journey can be achieved. With a lot of motivation and passion anything is possible. Today, I am able to share to you my story and like many other people, I’m sure they have great stories too but because they aren’t necessarily famous, the story is often untold. I thank you all for reading my story.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Our plan is to franchise Waffle Bar nationwide. We would love to give the opportunity to anyone that loves our concept and is willing to grow the brand with us.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: WaffleBarmn.com
- Instagram: @wafflebarmn
- Facebook: @wafflebarmn
- Twitter: @wafflebarmn
