Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Caulfield.
Kelli, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
So this entire thing started because I didn’t want to practice law and because I really wanted a sno-ball one summer. My name is Kelli E. Caulfield and I’m the Vice-President, Caulfield Investment Holdings, which owns and operates several food service businesses that include Broad St Peaux Boys – a food truck that specializes in authentic peaux boys (and some of the best catfish you’ll ever have in your life); NOLA Ice: Original New Orleans Sno-balls – a mobile concession company specializing in New Orleans style sno-balls. The Basement Café at City Hall – a small cafe located in the basement of Birmingham, Alabama’s City Hall that serves breakfast and lunch; and 636 Catering & Events.
After returning to Birmingham in the summer of 2007 to finish law school, I spent that year just working and trying to figure things out. I knew that I wanted to work for myself but didn’t exactly know the area I wanted to be in. In 2008 I purchased a Quiznos Sub in Hoover, Alabama and then another in Fultondale, Alabama, with a dear friend. It was during my time as the owner of Quiznos that I started NOLA Ice: Original New Orleans Sno-balls. That particular summer was crazy, and I didn’t have time to go to New Orleans like I usually do and I missed the little things, such as a sno-bal, and of course, my friends and family. So that fall I decided to order a machine. But once my friends got wind of it, I was “pressured” into figuring out how to bring this New Orleans to treat to the masses in Birmingham. With their help and insistence, NOLA Ice was born. That was the first company I built from the ground up. But honestly, NOLA Ice would not be where it is today if it were not for my friends. Over the years, my main company – Caulfield Investment Holdings, grew. From Quiznos Sub to NOLA Ice to Broad St Peaux Boys to The Basement Café at City Hall with a few more things in the works for 2021 and beyond.
Currently, we are looking towards the future. I’ve been working with a few entrepreneurs to help them develop their ideas into actual physical companies. One thing that has been learned during COVID is that within our communities, although we may have businesses, we don’t have actual “businesses.” Therefore, we missed out on a lot of the opportunities that were presented in terms of aid when this pandemic hit.
We are currently in the beginning stages of developing our capital investment company which I hope will be off the ground towards the beginning of 2022. We’ve made small monetary investments in minority-owned companies but are still developing and learning. The main focus for the rest of this year and beyond is to lead with intention. That means all decisions regarding how each individual company is run, how we deal with clients and customers, providing more mentorship to those trying to enter our arena, and helping our employees reach their personal and professional goals is our true focus right now – in addition to franchising our NOLA Ice concept.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha! I think it was Roosevelt who once said – Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…”. Trust me when I say this is true. From professional struggles to personal ones. Somehow, someway, I my team and I, always come out on the other side if not ok better than ok. I think it’s about work ethic. I always give myself an allotted amount of time to be down. But once the time is up – the time is up. Then it’s time to go to work. There’s just no point in dwelling in what happened yesterday. God woke us up for a reason. Each day is another day to fix the mistakes that may have occurred in the past and do better each and every day. I’ve faced some real ordeals, but it’s all in how you handle it in the end. My goal is to, as my Mother tells me often – “Make good decisions.” Hopefully, I am.
Please tell us about Caulfield Investment Holdings.
Food. So I was born in New Orleans and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama (product of a divorced union). So many summers were spent in Jackson, MS with my maternal grandparents at a young age, and also with my Dad in New Orleans. Some of my earliest memories in Jackson revolved around being in the kitchen with my grandmother while she cooked and soaking it all in. In MY New Orleans, everything revolved around food and Broad St – 636 North Broad, to be exact.
For instance, the infamous Dooky Chase was around the corner. My uncle’s law firm was right down the street. My favorite spot to go grab “Peppas” was located inside a gas station blocks down the road. We lived just 5 minutes away from the building 636 North Broad. 636 North Broad is where I grew up. Many summers in my teenage life were spent upstairs in my dad’s law office. I’ve always said that New Orleans birthed me, Jackson, MS educated me, and Birmingham raised me. But New Orleans? New Orleans is the city that taught me love, hustle, family and friendship.
Many of my companies are a dedication to my late grandmother and late father. Broad St Peaux Boys is not only a dedication to the city that I love but also created in memory of my dear father. I’ve noticed that lawyers always want to be entrepreneurs and not vice versa. Instead of actually practicing law, I jumped into the small business arena. My dad always spoke of owning a restaurant – in fact, his goal was to initially turn the bottom of 636 (which was originally a boat showroom), into a restaurant. He didn’t live long enough to fulfill that dream. So here we are…
Everything I do and work for is a dedication to my parents and grandparents. A love letter of sorts, and a thank you to them, and the cities of Jackson, New Orleans and Birmingham – the cities that taught me so much about the culture, friendship, and family because Caulfield Investment Holdings would not exist if it were not for them.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Birmingham is a small big city. If that makes sense, filled with history, that may not be the best parts that make up this nation or the South as a whole, but those were the moments that got us to where we are not. Before COVID, we were on the brink of something great thanks to our amazing leadership. And even during, and I know after, we will continue to evolve, develop and grow.
Birmingham is one of the best secrets in the south. One of the best food scenes in the state. Filled with some of the best people. When the small riots happened in early June, it was wonderful to see how people from across the community came together to help small businesses pick up the pieces.
I always feel like Birmingham, and its leaders pick and choose who they choose to promote and outwardly support. In doing so they let others die slowly, especially with Black-owned companies and professionals. They elevate certain ones and are closed-mouthed with it comes to others. We elevate men, while viable women who are better educated, with stronger resumes, have to sit on the sideline and watch or are pitted against each other to get the attention they deserve. Needless to say, Birmingham is like many cities in this country, if not the nation as a whole.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.CaulfieldHoldings.com
- Phone: 205-332-7991
- Email: Kelli@CaulfieldHoldings.com
- Instagram: @KECaulfield @broadstpeauxboys @nolaice @thebasementcafe_
- Facebook: @broadstpeauxboys @nolaicebham @thebasementcafeatcityhall
- Other: broadstpeauxboys.com nola-ice.com thebasementatcityhall.com
Image Credit:
@aaronfrankphoto
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