Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Avery Robinson, Managing Partner of Black Rooster Food, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We sell 100% rye sourdough bread handmade using a traditional Latvian recipe and technique. Our bread incorporates two different sourdough starters (a traditional one and a rye scald) and requires over three days to make it.
People love our bread for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day, they keep eating it because it is delicious. Some of our customers grew up on dense rye breads. Others are drawn to us for nutritional reasons (i.e., rye is great for gut health, is anti-carcinogenic, has a lower glycemic index, etc.). We have a number of friends who buy our bread because they want to support more sustainable agricultural systems and mitigate climate change. And then others eat bread sparingly but want to have a loaf around that will stay good without artificial preservatives for weeks (or months in the refrigerator).
Tell us about yourself
Our business was founded by Janis (John) Melngailis, who came to the United States as a refugee from Latvia after World War II. He grew up on this bread—his mom realized that if the neighborhood dogs wouldn’t even eat Wonder Bread, then clearly it was not fit for her family—and wanted to share this nutritious, delicious loaf with others.
I became involved in 2021. I am a culinary historian with a background in sustainable food systems and as a baker. I recently co-founded Rye Revival, a nonprofit promoting rye as a climate change mitigation strategy, where I strengthen connections between bakeries, breweries, and distillers with farmers. Black Rooster Food was a natural fit—I get to learn from and help Janis bring these loaves to a wider audience.
I am eager to get good, honest bread to people who hunger for it. My passion for this sustainable grain and its many delicious permutations, especially our Baltic Rye bread, motivates me to get out there every day to sell more bread. Neither John nor I have taken a salary from Black Rooster Food because we want this bread to be accessible to everyone (not that we’re against it if we ever reach scale, but the priority is to get bread on a shelf that anyone can afford and everyone will enjoy).
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Finding small businesses that are as passionate about our product as we are, where the whole staff independently comes to love our bread and sing its praises to customers. I was recently doing a demo at Horseradish Market, a new small neighborhood grocery in Brooklyn, NY, and on multiple occasions, I had customers come up to me and, unprompted, extol the virtues of this bread. Witnessing how people love this quotidian, simple bread makes it all worth it.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Marketing. It’s one thing to make a great product and another to sell an individual person, but marketing to an audience is a wholly different thing.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Believe in your product. If you don’t believe in it, why should anyone buy it?
- Know your weaknesses: if you are not great at something (see marketing above), then find someone who can help you.
- Spreadsheets are your friend. Keeping good, well-organized records is very important and takes relatively little effort.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
My rye bread is designed to last through a Baltic winter and a summer of white nights! Black Rooster Food’s bread has a natural shelf life of 4 weeks on the counter (unless you live in the humid South and it is summer) and is comfortable in a refrigerator for at least four months before it begins to dry out. This is possible because rye is so dense (slice it with a sharp straight-edged knife), and we use rye malt powder—a natural sweetener and preservative—and salt.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://blackroosterfood.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackroosterfood/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackroosterfood/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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