Women Owned Small Business Person of the Year
You never know when a great idea will come along; especially a cheesy one.
Ten years ago, Simone Fancher’s daughter came to her with the idea of buying a food truck. Knowing nothing about the food truck business, Simone and her daughter found a one-year-old truck for sale, purchased it, and took a leap of faith, opening the Cheesy Chick, specializing in grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni & cheese dishes. From that first day, driving a single truck to today, with three trucks, a café and a building purchase in process, the woman-owned, family run, small business has fed thousands of people with its creative cheesy menu.
In the beginning, Simone held a full-time job, while driving the truck nights and weekends. After demand increased, she purchased a trailer, Cheesy 2, and a second truck, Cheesy 3. Before she knew it, Simone quit her full-time job and joined Cheesy Chick permanently. Finding the food truck business to be cyclical, depending on weather seasons, Simone took the opportunity to open the brick-and-mortar Cheesy Chick Café. Opening in 2019, the Williamsville café location provided steady cash flow and sales into the business and full time year-round work for employees.
Everything abruptly changed in early 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants and food trucks were some of the hardest industries hit. SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program and Restaurant Revitalization Fund pandemic funding programs helped bridge the cash flow gap to keep the Cheesy Chick in business. Simone also reacted differently than other food businesses. The Cheesy Chick opened for longer hours to serve customers working non-traditional hours. Simone creatively marketed Cheesy Chick to park in home driveways for celebrations, and outside neighborhood events. The company also partnered with local non-profits to bring Cheesy Chick food directly into the hospitals for working nurses and doctors. Instead of losing business due to COVID, Cheesy Chick used SBA pandemic financing, additional café hours and non-traditional locations for the food truck to provide revenue and increase market recognition of their name.
Looking forward to even more growth, the Cheesy Chick is considering a prospective building purchase to establish one location for their trucks, a commercial kitchen, and an indoor/outdoor café. A potential future 504 loan will help the Cheesy Chick renovate and create a new dining destination, as well as support anticipated growth in both number of employees and sales.
Simone’s cheesy success has landed her a new title “Women Owned Small Business Person of the Year” from the US Small Business Administration’s Buffalo District Office for 2023. Simone and her family received the award at the May 5th luncheon held during the 2023 National Small Business Week. In her own inspiring words, Simone says “Just do it. Take the first step. After the first day nervously driving a truck, here I am 10 years later, a successful entrepreneur. Go for your dreams.”