Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle “Shake” and Shan Colbert.
Hi Arielle and Shan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I Arielle “Shake” Colbert was born at COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL, and I was born and raised on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. I did not always have a passion for cooking; I was too busy being a tomboy, climbing gates, playing childhood games with my cousins. I had watched my grandmother, my mother and her sisters cook and create new ideas for meals daily. I was the one licking the bowls and spoons after they made their desserts. As I grew older, I became more interested in my family’s traditions; it was a certain taste and feeling that I know I could only get from home. Therefore, instead of going house to house for the holidays, I then decided to start making calls and getting family recipes. I first started cooking my junior year in high school in my home economics that then woke up a passion inside of me that I did not even know I had. As time went on, I became more and more interested, mixing and matching different foods and ingredients to come up with my very own mix.
At the age of 19, I had my first child but I also had my very own restaurant that my child’s father and I shared. During this time of channeling my inner passion for cooking, I had a lot of learning to do and made many mistakes along the way. Two years later, we closed the restaurant because of those mistakes that were made. I had given up cooking because I felt like I lost everything and had to start over. By the age of 21, I had two children and became a single mother right after my son was born. My brother Derron had stepped in when everyone else stepped out. I started to struggle more and more but my brother pushed me even harder to remain focused. I was raised around drugs, violence, finesse, and hustling of many different kinds. I then became one of those individuals. I hustled from sun up to sun down because it was quick money to take care of my children. I knew it was a dangerous route but the fast money was hard to walk away from when I generated a large amount daily.
My brother became very fearful but prayed each day for protection over me every time I left the house. I had then met someone who was involved in the “HUSTLE” deeper than I was. I then had another little boy, while generating much more money than I was before I became addicted to fast money. I lost my brother and primary supporter on December 12th, 2015. He always told me that he prays that I leave the streets alone and find a better means of income that did not put my life, my children’s life, nor family life in jeopardy. I had found myself alone and needed to find my inner peace again. I applied and was hired on at Amazon but still found myself hustling the streets. In between my spare time, I found that inner peace that I had missed after losing my brother by cooking each day and creating new dishes. I had started a small business selling hair extensions, which became a step towards letting the streets go.
In 2018, I became more focused on cooking and working for Amazon, which landed me a promotion and an opportunity to relocate away from the streets. I accepted the promotion and relocated to Lawrenceville, GA. I drove 12 hours alone to settle into our new place, leaving my children in Chicago with my mother for one week after moving. I drove back to Chicago to get my children, and we drove another 12 hours back to our new home. Settling into the new environment made me homesick. I began to miss the food from Chicago and my family, but I was determined to stay in Georgia to get a clean, fresh start. A year later, after deciding that I wanted to go back home to Chicago, I then met Shan. Right from the start, it was as if I had met my best friend. I told her that I was going back to Chicago, but she insisted I stay and it was a reason why I came to Georgia. Shan was big on eating out daily due to her fast-paced career, and I was not because I could not find that “home” taste so I cooked a lot.
I then showed Shan how food tastes in Chicago making eggrolls, buffalo chicken sliders, homemade chicken soup, and much more. Before the pandemic at the end of 2019, after leaving Amazon after six months, I had been employed with the United States Post Office for about two years. It became frustrating working long demanding hours, without time to adequately take care of my household; therefore, I decided to launch another hair and cosmetics line called HER Everything LLC. This venture would afford me the time to spend with my children in a new state, which became a successful investment. Still working at the post office in early 2020 during the pandemic, schools closed, causing me to resign to be home with my children. As a result, income began to slow down. The sudden halt to my finances resulted in stress and thoughts of “What Now?” I pitched my idea to Shan regarding sharing my recipes and seasoned foods, and hair growth serum to the world, and we started to plan. We then drove to Chicago to get all of the Chicago snacks and much more.
After a nearly 1500 trip, we returned home to Georgia and started SHAKE & SHAN’S SNACK SHACK. I Shan Colbert was born at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta and raised in Decatur, Georgia. I have always had a passion for cooking, but my love for Medicine was far greater. Shan grew up the oldest sibling of six brothers and one sister. At the age of 18, I moved out of my mom’s house and faced some challenges by putting my friends and the streets before my goals. I became involved with the wrong crowd and experienced some things that could have gotten me into a lot of legal trouble. Through it all, I maintained a job working in fast food. After the death of my grandmother in 1999, I wanted to be an asset to medicine, as it relates to finding a cure for cancer and other morbidities. I returned to school in 2001, becoming a Registered Medical Assistant. This is where my life began turning around for the better. With the change in careers came a change in friendships and relationships with others. I maintained a job in the food industry just to cook after my first two years in the medical field. I felt that I had to choose a passion, which I let my food job go and focused solely on the medical field.
As of December 2020, I have obtained my BS in Biological Science from Georgia State University, Master of Public Health (MPH) from The University of New England-Portland, and a second Master of Science degree in Biotechnology from Morehouse School of Medicine. My daytime job is a Scientist and Clinical Research Accounts Supervisor. Now I work full-time as a Clinical Research Accounts Supervisor and supporting Arielle’s Dream with Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack. We both walked two different paths and had different careers, but felt that we connected at first sight with a common goal for entrepreneurship. We are a great match as Shake’s Street knowledge along with Shan’s book knowledge, has created something great and long-term. The shake was new to Atlanta and always talked about how much she missed Chicago’s food. Because of Shake’s craving for her hometown foodies, she always preferred to cook at home versus going out to eat. This is when I first tasted Shake’s Buffalo Chicken, Steak, and Cheese eggrolls. She also introduced me to the best-seasoned chicken with Lemon Pepper seasoning that I ever tasted. Shake also showed her scientist side by creating a Hair Growth Serum that she has used for years on her family’s hair.
Fast-forward March 2020, Covid-19 hit, and this pandemic forced us to have a discussion regarding a backup financial plan. It was at this point when it was decided that Shake should share her recipes and hair growth serum with the world, in addition to providing top quality products that she invests in already such as hair extensions and other cosmetic products. What started out to be a temporary income to make ends meet progressed into something much more amazing. We started out working pop-up shops to introduce others to our Chicago snacks and food. Pop-up shop appearances turned into Catering Events and Parties. We are happy to announce that Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack is available for pick up starting Mid-January at 5000 Snapfinger Woods Drive, Suite 101-A, Decatur, Georgia 30035.
Alright, 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?
Despite the possibilities of growth, there were more concerns about survival and sustaining the demands of running a restaurant. Covid-19 and having the overhead to start up the businesses presented challenges. We were able to take whatever extra money available to begin purchasing items for the businesses. HER Everything requires products to be available on-demand, which can be challenging if the finances are not there. Luckily, we have been blessed to have a local vendor and provide our products to our customers within 24-48 hours if we do not have it on hand. A challenge with the Snack Shack was having a permanent location to conduct business. We at one point almost ceased all operations because of the pandemic and limitations to conducting business. There was a time in November 2020 when we wanted to close down and throw in the towel, because of the stress of needing a permanent location and steady income.
In addition, Shan was in school full-time obtaining her second master’s and working 40 hours a week on her day job. We’ve been able to overcome the challenges of maintaining a household of six, Shan having a full-time job, finishing school, and Shan starting up a Biotechnology Company that will provide real-world answers for Cancer, in addition to working at Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack. With God and Faith, we accepted our challenges with open arms. In return, God did this thing where he sent his believers to reassure us that patience and faith will carry us through these challenging times. It was right after Bishop-Elect Sonya Williams prayed over and performed an anointing over our business, including prayer and affirmations from Rochelle R. Johnson of 612 Magazine and Kiss Cosmetics, and Elder and 1st Lady Brown that the doors for Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack quickly opened up overnight literally.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Arielle “Shake” Colbert is the owner of Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack, HER Everything by Arielle Cole, and co-owner of Monarch World Clothing along with Shan Colbert.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The only dislike we have is not having enough hours in a day, nor enough days in a week to give each of our brands 200 percent, although we give 11o percent to each. The
Pricing:
- Chicago Style Foodies $1.50 – $16.00
- HER Everything prices varies from $8.00 – $100.00
Contact Info:
- Email: shakenshanslilsnacks.llc@gmail.com and her.everything.llc@gmail.com
- Website: https://her-everything.com/, Shake & Shan’s Snack Shack website is Pending
- Instagram: @snack_shack2u and @her_everything.llc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snackshack2u, https://www.facebook.com/Her.Everything.LLC
Image Credits:
BG Promotions, Inc. Ty C Photography
