By Debbie Adams
In 2022, 153 entrepreneurs signed up for the Gauntlet Business Program and Competition. After 10 weeks of classes, 66 of those businesses were selected to compete for $400,000 in cash, grants, and in-kind prizes. One of those is Jasmine Bray, owner of Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering, LLC.
Bray was a Bronze Level Award winner with $2345 worth of advertising, legal services, a 24-hour free rental of the Vinton War Memorial kitchen, marketing classes with The Advancement Foundation (TAF) which sponsors the Gauntlet, membership in the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce, and more.
The Gauntlet is Virginia’s largest business program and competition, developed by Annette Patterson, founder and president of TAF. It is a proven business development system which connects entrepreneurs to the training, mentorship, and resources needed for success. The ten weeks of classes cover every possible aspect of opening a new business or expanding an existing one.
Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering is based in Roanoke. Bray cooks “soul food” which she defines as “comfort food.” She discovered there weren’t many restaurants offering her specialties in the Roanoke area and “that’s my lane. It’s food that’s good for your soul, makes you feel good; the kind of food you eat and take a nap afterwards.”
She caters events both large and small from dinners for two (or even just one), to meals for families, to weddings, conferences, luncheons, special events, and festivals. She likes to focus on large events for up to 200 people but hopes to build her clientele for smaller family meals as well. She caters locally but will travel throughout the region.
Her menu is extensive and astounding. While most Gauntlet participants showed up at the final competition with poster board displays describing their businesses, Bray came with food. A line formed and the food vanished.
Her signature dishes are chopped BBQ (pulled pork or chicken) and the homemade sauce that goes with it, ribs, chicken, stew beef, seafood lasagna, baked macaroni and cheese, and corn bread muffins. But the list also includes a wide variety of meats—“Fried Wing Flings,” pork chops, fried whiting, kielbasa and Italian sausages, creamy butter chicken, and baked chicken. There are sandwiches: Italian, steak and cheese, chicken parmesan, pork rolls, empanadas, cheeseburgers, and veggie burgers.
The variety of pasta dishes she offers include baked ziti and spaghetti, shrimp scampi, stuffed shells, manicotti, and chicken alfredo.
Then there are the salads: garden, macaroni, potato, coleslaw, buffalo chicken, seafood, and Chicken Caesar. And the sides: collard greens, seasoned green beans, loaded potatoes, red beans and rice, stuffed peppers, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, broccoli, and asparagus.
She also accepts special orders.
Bray leaves the desserts to her daughter Alaysia Williams (Lays strawberry, blueberry, mixed berry, and chocolate muffins are a specialty) and looks for advice from her mother, Karen “Nia” Compton.
She does her preparation and cooking at the commercial LEAP kitchen on Patterson Avenue in Roanoke.
This is her first business venture. Bray says she has loved cooking since she was 13 years old, starting out with donut balls made of flour and sugar, and “improving” from there. She says her mother was an excellent cook and “cooked a lot.”
Bray’s full-time job is as a Certified Nursing Assistant and medical aide. She is not originally from Roanoke. She moved here in 2013 from New Jersey. Other members of her family have joined her, including her mother and sister.
Bray found out about the Gauntlet Business Program and the competition when she contacted the TAP organization for information on the process of buying her own home. That led her to Kelly Turner, Director of Regional Revitalization and Resources at The Advancement Foundation in Vinton, and their VIDA program which assists individuals in purchasing homes or starting up a new business through a grant program.
Turner asked her if she had ever thought of opening her own business, and that’s how Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering got its start.
“Kelly has been a wonderful mentor,” Bray said. “She guided me, helped me write a business plan and license my business both before and during the Gauntlet program.”
“Jasmine Bray is an extremely hardworking, motivated, and talented young woman,” Turner said. “Jasmine came into the VIDA Program (a $4,000 grant and individual development program facilitated by The Advancement Foundation and the State of Virginia that can be used towards creating a business or first-time homeownership) with the hopes of purchasing her first home, and in turn, graduated as a successful business owner.”
“When the real estate market shifted, so did Jasmine, and she pivoted into a business startup to create an additional stream of income that she will use in the near future to purchase her first home!” Turner said. “Jasmine is a scholarly example of how truly beneficial the VIDA Program can be as she completed all the required financial literacy and asset training courses with great enthusiasm, and she has used every resource and additional training that The Advancement Foundation offers to her great advantage.”
“She created an amazing downhome catering company, Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering, and you would not believe how delicious her food is!” Turner added. “I highly recommend booking Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering for your next event or meal! It has been a privilege to have been part of Jasmine’s growth and success.”
Bray says she never really considered becoming an entrepreneur before meeting Turner at TAF. Nursing is a well-paying career, but “times change” and she thought, “why not try something new.”
Her dreams are expanding with thoughts of eventually opening her own restaurant—family-oriented, with games for children, and “Date Night” specials, preferably downtown. She is also interested in producing her own prepared meals for sale in stores—the meal kit type product, pre-prepped and ready to cook or possibly frozen meals.
Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering is building a clientele; Bray already has regular customers and welcomes new ones. She offers discounts for referrals.
Bray says she gained a great deal from the Gauntlet program, the first competition of any type she had been through in her life.
“I learned so much and met so many incredible people,” Bray said. “I gained a broader perspective on life through networking and my mentors. I learned about all of the amazing resources out there to help set up a business. There were lots of speakers with lots of knowledge who opened my eyes.”
The Gauntlet Business Program has expanded over eight years from about 15 participants in its first year to those 163 in 2022. Until the pandemic, classes were held on Tuesday nights at the Vinton War Memorial and also broadcast to fledgling entrepreneurs in the Alleghany Highlands. In the first COVID year, TAF pivoted (a business strategy they emphasize), and the Gauntlet went virtual permanently in order to reach the most participants.
The program has grown exponentially and now includes entrepreneurs in Vinton, Roanoke City and County, Botetourt, Bedford, the Alleghany Highlands, Buena Vista, Rockbridge, Martinsville, and more.
Bray says the online classes were really helpful to her, and convenient for others—“all situations are different.” She could sign on and participate in the classes through an earpiece even when she was at work.
Bray is also grateful to her mentors at TAP—Sierra Sallah and Robert Humphreys—who guided her through the financial aspects of home-owning and connected her with TAF and the Gauntlet, and subsequently her catering business.
Jazzy’s Soulfull Catering, LLC, has no regular hours—all of Bray’s work is on demand—“whenever someone calls, I am open.” She can be reached at 540-331-0302.
