-Next on "Start Up," we head to Savannah, Georgia, to meet up with Kay Heritage, the owner of Big Bon Bodega, a pizza and bagel shop on a mission to teach team members business and life skills through a variety of different experiences.

All of this and more is next on "Start Up."

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♪♪ ♪♪ -My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country focuses on recovery, small-business owners everywhere are still fighting to keep their dream alive.

So we set out to talk to a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they've learned to adapt, innovate, and even completely reinvent themselves in this ever-changing world.

♪♪ This is "Start Up."

♪♪ The ancestor of the pizza, the bianca, originated in Naples in the 16th century and was a simple pancake cooked in a wood-fired oven.

It was born out of necessity as it was intended to feed all the people.

Its white mixture coated in lard and cooked in a wood-fired oven made it an essential food in Italy that's still eaten quite often today.

It was not until two centuries later that the rosa, the red pizza covered in tomato sauce, made its appearance.

In the 20th century, the pizza followed the Italian immigrants across the Atlantic.

First American pizzeria equipped with a pizza oven opened in the Little Italy district of Manhattan.

Today I'm heading to Savannah, Georgia, to meet up with Kay Heritage, a.k.a.

Big Bon, the owner of Big Bon Bodega, a pizza and bagel shop that's on a mission to provide valuable business and life skills to team members.

Of course, while making delicious pizza and bagels.

I'm really excited to meet Big Bon and learn more about her business.

♪♪ ♪♪ Mission statement -- what is Big Bon Bodega?

-Our purpose -- purpose is to raise up more entrepreneurs.

That's our purpose.

And we use bagels and pizza to do it.

[ Laughs ] -We're going to reverse engineer that here for a minute.

-Okay, let's do that.

Let's break it apart.

-It's a purpose-driven, mission-based sort of business.

-Yeah.

-And the vehicle to get there is bagels and pizza.

Explain.

-2016, my daughter, who was not quite 20 at the time, we thought it would be just a fun idea to have with fire pizza on the back of a food truck.

Hey, sounds good, right?

[ Chuckles ] I quickly realized that I was working with a lot of 20-, 21-, as young as 16-year-olds, and it turned out to be not just us making pizzas, but just how do I instill this life and business skills so they can be better humans?

And so that's how it evolved to the great idea of wood-fire pizza food truck into, "Hey, let's use this means, let's use this vehicle literally, to teach them life and business skills."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Let's talk about these incredible food trucks.

-Yeah.

-Okay, so the one that's behind us right now, when did you get this?

I mean, obviously with a pizza oven, that's not very lightweight.

-It is not.

4,200 pounds.

[ Chuckles ] -Oh, my gosh.

That's insanity.

-Thankfully, I'm married to an aerospace engineer, so it's one thing to have a concept, but it takes engineers to make it happen.

-Yes, okay.

-I wanted to put this beautiful Marra Forni wood-fired oven, pizza oven, on the back of a trailer, and I said, "I want that to be done, honey."

-"Do it.

Do the math.

Do the math."

Was this the first truck that you started off with?

-Yeah, 2016, that was our first time.

♪♪ -The original idea for wood-fired pizza, which I love, wood-fired pizza.

Who doesn't, right?

Was it just a random idea, or were you guys all in love with wood-fired pizza?

-You know, wood-fired pizza was nothing new in Savannah.

It was just not known.

What we did well is we brought that into the street where people are.

And we didn't call it Neapolitan, because that would be really weird.

You know, like Neapolitan, what does that mean?

-They would think ice cream.

-Yeah.

[ Chuckles ] We just had Big Bon Pizza.

It's wood-fired.

It's eaten on the street.

So it became -- This Neapolitan pizza became a street food.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -What we're gonna want to do is push the air out of the center, so we start forming a crust by working your fingers in.

-Okay.

-And then this is the -- the fun part right here.

So you're going to take it and you're going to throw it like this.

-[ Humming ] -So this is how you stretch it out.

Oh, wow, I'm awful at this.

-So you get a nice... No, that's actually pretty good.

-Is it really?

-Yeah.

I mean... -All things considered?

-So we're going to put it right here and now we're going to sauce it.

-Okay.

-So what you want to do is you want to get almost a 3/4 spoon.

-Okay.

-And they're just going to put it in the middle and then gently put it on top, and then work out like that.

-Okay.

I don't know, but the sauce looks delicious, though.

Everything handmade?

Homemade here?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

We do the -- crush the tomatoes and salt it.

-Okay, I'm a little bit heavier sauce, guy.

-Yeah.

-It's who I am.

Okay.

Next.

-Now we're going to take a bit of cheese.

♪♪ -Okay, so how important is the timing on a pizza like this?

-It's pretty important.

It cooks pretty fast.

It cooks in about two minutes, so the timing -- -Two minutes?

So have you ever, I'm sure, in six years gotten distracted and just butchered a pizza?

-I've burned many, many pizzas.

-So do you have a timer?

-No, I don't.

I just do it by look.

I'll look at the crust and see the color and how much it's risen.

And then I'm going to turn it and then I'm going to take it out.

♪♪ -Alright.

The moment of truth.

That seemed like a really fast process, you know, for something that looks so incredibly delicious, You going to have a bite?

-I am.

-Good.

♪♪ -Oh, wow.

Tastes so good.

It's all about the ingredients, man.

-Yes, sir.

♪♪ -Food trucks are not cheap.

How did you get the money for it?

Did you raise capital?

You put your own money in?

How did you fund this?

-Two ways.

SBA was very kind to us.

We got about $63,000 borrowed from -- got a loan from them.

We did a Kickstarter and got maybe $15,000.

-When did the truck actually open?

What year?

-2016, July 30th.

It was hot as anything, but we didn't know any better.

You know, we were new, we were ambitious.

We're like, "Yes, hot.

No problem."

You know, "800-degree oven?

No problem."

You know, we're drenched in sweat out in the sun.

Didn't know.

The dough was like proofing like crazy within 10 minutes.

-Oh, it was cooking in the sun?

-Yes.

I got to tell you, the very first event we did, we just didn't know how to, you know, have the process down.

-Yeah.

-So it was a hot mess.

I don't know how we even did it.

We just made it happen.

-Talk about the landscape in Savannah for food trucks.

Has it always been part of the culture?

-Not at all.

Before 2016, Savannah did not have food truck ordinance, so you really couldn't have a food truck.

So we were one of the seven or eight food trucks that actually got the permit -- city permit.

It was hard.

It's always been a challenge to have, I think, a commercial kitchen for all the food truckers because you have to have a base of operation.

-You need to have an actual like commissary or commercial kitchen space.

-You do.

-Why -And sadly, Savannah -- Well, that's what they require.

So it's -- In Savannah, we don't have commercial kitchens for rent.

It's very hard.

So my first beginning was at a butcher shop.

They had a tiny -- It was 120 square feet.

-Oh, wow.

I mean, I can't even fit dough trays in there, nevertheless a mixer.

But it was really challenging, and that's what we had to do to start.

You got to start somewhere.

-How did people respond in the beginning?

-We were very intentional about collaborating with local businesses.

We were at a pet store, you know, when they did the grand opening.

Word on the street was if you want the crowds to come to your place, get Big Bon Pizza.

So that was really great.

We had just such a great following, loyal followers that just would come to every event, and it was just like, "Hey, I'll meet you.

I'll meet you tonight at Big Bon Pizza event."

So it was just like a gathering place for them.

Yeah.

-Do you do your own social media, too?

-I don't.

I'm thankful that we have someone who handles all of that.

Charlotte is her name.

We actually call her our Big Bon Bulldog because she is so protective of our brand... -Yeah.

-...and how we present ourselves on Instagram or Facebook.

And... oh, she's awesome.

-There's a lot of business owners out there that maybe can't afford to hire a social media person or a marketing person, but also are intimidated by a lot of the social media platforms, Instagram in particular, Twitter.

What can you say to them?

How could they at least dip their toe in the water to get something going?

-I think with messaging, you want to have that transparency always present, but also have a tone of voice that's authentic to your brand and your person.

-Sure.

-Don't be afraid to ask questions to the people who are in your community or who have done this before.

I have gone like out of my way to message people on Instagram who I have looked up to as businesses, and I'm like, "Hey, I really like how you did this.

Like, you know, could I borrow your time or pay you for your time, you know, to help for an hour just to answer some questions?"

And I think -- -Nice.

-A lot of times, people are like, "Don't worry about it.

Like, business to business, I'll be more than happy to help you."

And I think that having the chutzpah to ask the question goes a long way, and I think more people now want to help each other.

So I would always just suggest just asking questions -- that goes a long way.

♪♪ -Let's move into bagels.

-We felt like we need a home base for -- because, you know, pizza food truck, you know, team usually come to the event, we execute, and then we're gone.

We don't really just work together long term.

So we felt like we needed a home base.

So we carried that theme of wood-fired carbs [laughs] into wood-fired bagels.

And a lot of people say, "Well, why didn't you continue with our pizza?"

It's like, I don't know, we don't have wood-fired bagels in Savannah.

So it was just an idea.

And so that's kind of like our take -- our own take on a southern bagel.

-It's a really good bagel.

It's really good.

-It took a long time to really tweak the recipe and the process.

-Yeah, bagels are hard.

-It is hard.

I didn't realize how hard it was and you have to get up really early in the morning, you know?

-Really, really early.

-Initially, when we first started open, I would be here at 3:30.

-In the morning?

-In the morning.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Tell me your name and what you do here at Big Bon.

-I'm Gianluca Calcano, and I'm the baker at Big Bon Bodega.

-Now, have you been a baker for a long time?

-No, this was my first job.

I started here, and Kay taught me how -- she taught me how to bake here.

-How many ways can you screw up a bagel?

-Oh, so many ways.

-Do you have a favorite food to make or a favorite bagel to make?

-I like the poppy one.

It's like...

It doesn't matter the fire or anything.

It's always going to be okay.

[ Laughter ] -The easy ones.

-That's it.

Yeah, I'm always just watching.

Just the little ones.

They're gonna be okay.

-What do you think about the business owner?

Nice people?

-Yeah, they are amazing.

First time I was like, "Oh, this is so amazing to be true."

And now I'm like, "Yeah, it's amazing."

I'm glad to be here and be part of this family too.

♪♪ -How did you find this place, and what did it take to get in here and get it outfitted for the store?

-This was under complete construction, you know, renovation.

And my friends kept texting me the artist's rendition of the building and they would say, "You need to go in that.

I think you should.

You should go to this building."

And I'm like, "What?

I can't afford that.

I can't.

I can't do it."

But I got to meet the owner.

He fell in love with our brand and our concept because he was very entrepreneurial as well.

And he said, "I would love -- whatever it takes for you to be here, I would love for you to be here."

-Was the building a white box completely and how much was here?

No refrigerators?

Nothing?

-Nothing.

Nothing.

-Nothing?

[ Gasps ] That had to be a big investment.

-It was a lot.

It was more than I could ever imagine it would be.

-A loan?

-Yeah, loan.

And I do have an investor.

-Okay.

-He's just hands-off.

He just loves Big Bon so much.

He's like, "Here's some money.

You can use it."

And I'm like, "Okay."

-It feels like you guys are loved.

-We are loved beyond -- I mean, during pandemic, I had so many people buy one bagel online and leave $100 tip.

We had like four or five people doing that.

We would just have people just come like, "We just had to come and just support you and buy dozens of bagels to share."

It's just been an incredible -- Savannah is just a very special city.

♪♪ -This I notice on the property, this beautiful, shiny new food truck right here.

-It's brand-new.

We actually launched this during pandemic, so this is Big Bon ghost kitchen.

This was intended for -- to be an Airbnb of food trucks.

-That is incredible.

I had a short stint with a food truck once, and I got to tell you getting it licensed with the health department, all the inspections and the fire suppression unit and all the different things that were necessary made it so frustrating.

By the time it was done, I didn't want to do anything with it.

Right?

-Right, right.

-This is ready to go?

-It's ready to go.

-What do you what do people need?

Just a concept?

-Have a great food concept that Savannah doesn't have.

So it really just breeds creativity.

We take a percentage of your sales, your net sales.

-Okay.

-No tax, gratuity you keep.

-Yeah.

That's it?

-That's it.

-Wait a minute.

So no rental fee?

-Well, that's part of the percentage.

And then we also help you promote with our platforms because it's not about at the end of the day money.

It's really just kind of perpetuating creativity and collaboration and building community.

♪♪ -It's great because for you, it doesn't seem like it's about the money, but 30% -- I mean, how do you even cover your overhead with that?

-Well, thankfully it's debt-free.

There's no loan on that.

-Paid off.

-We are almost debt-free even with this business.

So we have that flexibility.

We wanted this to be an opportunity.

Like again, I say it again, a launch pad for young creatives to just try it out.

And then we try out a couple of times and said, "This is not for me."

That's okay.

You know, there's no -- really hardly a risk, you know?

So food cost is really important.

They have to really watch their food costs in order for them to have a little profit.

-And that's a lesson that anyone considering opening a restaurant or food truck should know.

-Absolutely.

-Food costs are everything.

-But, you know, I'm embarrassed, but I didn't know all that.

You know, just the idea strikes you and you go, "I want to do that," and you're the optimist who is going to conquer the world with a pizza or a bagel, and you don't even think about the numbers.

-It's romantic.

-It's so romantic, I know.

And then you wake up and go, "Whoa."

After each event, I give them all the break down, what the food percentage is, what the labor percentage for them, so they can see on the spreadsheet, "Wow, okay, well, next time I want to make sure that, you know, the food costs is a little bit low so I can do better."

♪♪ ♪♪ -My name is Natasha Gaskill.

I'm a pastry chef here in Savannah.

Kay started this ghost kitchen, which is like the most brilliant idea.

-It's killer.

-It's such a great idea.

-Yeah.

-So I was the second pop up she did in here.

And I mean, we sold like 500 donuts.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

It was wild.

It's a wild day.

-To one customer?

-Just to -- Just to you, right?

[ Laughter ] -I had about 600.

And you're just giving a cut.

-Yeah.

That's it.

So I just, yeah, how it worked was basically Kay handled ordering for me.

-What?

-And I can just kind of literally pop into it and... -Yeah.

Make your donuts and clean up and leave.

-Yeah, that's it.

And I think it gives people an opportunity to sort of flesh out what their idea is, you know, before having to commit to anything.

Or even if, like, for me, for instance, you know, I'm a pastry chef, but I like doing regular food too.

It'd be super fun to come through here and do something completely unexpected.

-Yeah, just experiment because what's the risk?

-There's none.

There's really -- There's no risk involved with that.

♪♪ -Do you have any thoughts or ideas about expanding the Big Bon ghost kitchen to other cities?

-You know, this is -- we're still new at this.

-Beta phase?

-Yeah, it is.

And we're trying to build a system, making sure we have all the equipment they need.

-So fast forward.

All that's done.

-Yeah.

[ Chuckles ] -Then are you considering maybe?

-I mean, it's an idea that anyone can really start, right?

-And you're not trying to keep it to yourself?

-If anyone else want to start somewhere else, I'm like, sure, I'll tell you what not to do.

-There's a lot that you've learned the hard way.

-The hard way.

Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So, you know, with our team, I -- we share P&L.

We share the marketing strategy with our team through Slack, we just -- I try to share anything I learn along the way.

-Yeah.

-And say, "don't do that, but do this," you know?

-Do you want this to go to your kids or one of your kids?

-Actually, no.

I want to -- I want it to go to whoever is truly interested in carrying this on.

So I have no intention of holding onto any of this.

I would love the spirit of Big Bon to carry on, of collaboration, community-based.

I want this to be a launchpad for these young people who are with me right now.

I want -- I want them to use Big Bon to do something even greater.

-That's incredible.

-I would love that.

That's what drives me.

It's not the operation of the shop.

It's not the pizza truck.

It's not even the product, because I think products can be trendy.

Food is trendy, right?

-It is.

-You can love this for about two years or three years, and it could be something else.

But I will love the heart of Big Bon to just, you know, be carried out through the young people who are working with us.

-Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs out there that have a dream, a vision, a goal?

-No matter what you do as a service or product, it's about people.

Starting with yourself, get to know yourself, know your strengths and weaknesses, and then surround yourself with people that you can share your dream with and then serve the community.

People, people, people -Meeting Big Bon and her team was such an honor, and she's truly one of the most unique and genuine people I've ever met.

What you see is what you get, and what you get is a person that cares deeply for the people around her.

She doesn't take any nonsense and has vowed to keep Big Bon's a conflict- and drama-free zone.

And it shows.

Maybe it's the way that Kay welcomes you with her contagious positive energy from the moment you walk in the place.

It just seems like both customers and team members have this light air about them, like this is more than just a place to grab a bagel or a slice.

It's a place to visit, and if even for a moment, find solace.

And don't get me wrong, the food is exceptional.

But there's something so much bigger that's going on here.

And don't even get me started on the ghost kitchen, offering chefs the opportunity to prove their concept without really spending any money.

It's just unheard of.

She doesn't see them as competition.

She sees them as community.

I'm truly convinced that Kay's selfless approach is the key to her overwhelming success in business, and I hope that her incredible energy translated through this episode, giving people all over the country the opportunity to learn from what she's done, both in business and as a member of her community.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for the Big Bon family.

Next time on "Start Up," we meet up with Hope Zvara, the creator of Mother Trucker Yoga, a company that provides fitness guidance to truck drivers.

Be sure to join us next time on "Start Up."

Would you like to learn more about the show, or maybe nominate a business?

Visit our website, at startup-usa.com, and connect with us on social media.

♪♪ -♪ We got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ A long road ahead of us ♪ Got a long road ahead of us ♪ Before we pay our dues ♪ We've got a long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ A long road ahead of us ♪ A long road ahead of us ♪ ♪ Before we pay our dues ♪♪ ♪♪ -Spectrum Business partners with small businesses across the country to help them achieve their goals.

With high-speed Internet, phone, TV, and mobile services, Spectrum Business provides the tools to keep you connected with your customers.

Spectrum Business.

No nonsense, just business.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Vistaprint, a proud sponsor of "Start Up" and small businesses everywhere.