Geoff Buckert

Geoff has been working in the food service industry for 15 years. His passion and love for food derived much from his older brother, Matt. Following in his footsteps becoming Sous Chef for the Country Club of Rochester and an Executive Chef for one of the world's largest catering companies, compass group, where he oversaw culinary operations for 19 corporate dining accounts. Geoff left compass group to take a job as Director of Dining for a large senior living community where he worked until deciding to open his own food truck and catering business in May 2022. Since then, the business has grown to also having a brick and mortar restaurant in Webster, NY where he works side by side with his brother, Matt who has 33 years of fine dining restaurant experience.

Kelly Bush

My name is Kelly Bush and I have been a small business owner for over 13 years. I co-own Marshall Street Bar and Grill and the Union Tavern with my husband. I own a small business consulting company called K & B Consulting, with a focus on business startups, business growth, employee relations, writing business plans and the business behind running your business. I also co-founded a support group for women business owners, called BOSSY. We have been in operation for almost 10 years and have had over 500 members. 

I currently sit on the Board of Directors with the NYS Restaurant Association. I am an active board member of our local chapter and was President during the pandemic. I am also a member of the state’s Hill Runner Program, where I work with elected officials on issues pertaining to the restaurant industry.

Nic Grunert

Always fascinated by a good idea, Nic has the creative mind to figure out how to make those ideas come to life.  Motivated by progress Nic spends his time reading about social entrepreneurship and how business can be a catalyst of change and can solve some of the world’s biggest problems.  Business has the transformational power to do good for a community, and always keeps that in mind when building business models.

Since graduating from his undergrad, Nic has served as a business coach for many entrepreneurs both in the Rochester area as well as the North Country where he is from.  Most notably, in 2016 while at Roberts Wesleyan, he helped plan, launch and execute a café and coffee roaster in Huehuetenango Guatemala before completing his senior year.  Nic brings a lot of versatile skills and strategy to the table and continues to coach entrepreneurs in Rochester. In 2020 Nic was a finalist for the IGNITE Awards, and currently serves full time as Associate Director of Advancement at RIT.

Nic is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan University with a Bachelor’s degree in Management & Social Entrepreneurship, as well as The University of Vermont with a Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Enterprise.  Currently he is also working on his MBA at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Kelly & Aaron Metras

Kelly and Aaron Metras are co-owners of Salena’s Mexican Restaurant and Salena’s Taqueria. Kelly is also the co-founder of BOSSY. She is someone that is pessimistically optimistic, believing that it is our job as local business owners to make our communities better. 

In 2014, Kelly created BOSSY with fellow entrepreneur Kelly Bush, in response to dealing with the complexities of working in a male dominated industry. The goal of BOSSY is to support and lift women business owners in their community, helping to make sure all voices are at the table.

In 2015, Kelly founded RYCE (Rochester Youth Culinary Experience) which developed and opened a full-service restaurant with a group of 12 high school students from a culinary program in the City of Rochester. The program was discontinued for many reasons, which she will gladly talk about if you ask, but the lessons learned, and the insight gained, remain a huge part of the growth plan for her current businesses. 

In 2022, we proceeded with our 2019 plan to expand Salena’s into a quick service model and are hoping to open our second taqueria in 2024.

Ask anything, and if I have encountered it, I will share what I learned!

John Vangellow

Hey there! I'm John Vangellow, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who co-owns and operates two businesses in partnership with my father. Having graduated from Furman University in 2018, I kickstarted my career at LenelS2, where I thrived as a product/project manager. This experience paved the way for my transition into entrepreneurship.

My professional journey is fueled by a profound enthusiasm for innovation, business growth, and creative problem-solving. Through my early career, I've come to appreciate the vital importance of adaptability, strategic thinking, and effective leadership.

I'm excited to share my expertise and insights, particularly in the realms of product development, market research, branding, and more. 

Haley Mendola

Hi! My name is Haley Mendola and I am so happy to be a part of the EIR program for the Rochester Commissary.

My pastry journey started when I was in high school, when everyone was asked if they wanted to take part in a hands-on vocational program for half the day of junior and senior year. I ended up taking the culinary program because I wanted to learn more about nutrition, then one week we learned about baking. I made a recipe called “double chocolate dream cookies”, I perfected it! I felt like I had found my calling, I wanted to know everything about baking, I loved making recipes.

I went to Penn State Williamsport for Baking and pastry arts, after graduating I became an assistant pastry chef at the Rochester riverside convention center where I learned a lot about real world baking. I worked under an amazing pastry chef who taught me how to problem solve, bake, and decorate for large catered parties. From there I went on to manage a grocery store bakery in webster for a few years. We made homemade donuts at night, fresh baked bread in the morning, decorated cakes and pastries too. I also managed about 15 employees.

In college I had to do a project about restaurant planning, I made a restaurant called Halos dessert bar, where I paired desserts with cocktails and it was open at night. Through the years after college, I kept thinking about this project and decided that I should make a real business plan and follow through with it. It took me a couple years all together to come up with a business plan, find a location and get funding but in 2018 I opened up Caramel Bakery and Bar on park avenue. My now husband joined me in co-owning and took over the bar managing while I managed the kitchen. It has been a wild ride but in August 2022 we doubled our space and moved next door, we will be open for 5 years in October of 2023. I am very passionate about what I do and would love to talk to other passionate people about their dreams and questions.