Pastry business is sweet for mother, son

That applies when a parent and child are trying to run a business together, Palmer said.

The pair agreed that parent and child sometimes need to take a step back and know where they need to relinquish control.

What are your favorite foods (recipes)?

“Mom pays me in food,” Palmer said. “I am not the best in the kitchen.”

“She’s one of the best dessert makers around,” Palmer added, noting that her favorites include her mom’s banana cream pie, banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.

“My favorite go-to is always ice cream,” Waltemire said, particularly mint chocolate chip and orange Creamsicle flavors.

What are your favorite vacation spots?

Palmer loves riding motorcycles with her husband, and they travel a lot on two motorized wheels in the fall, her favorite season.

The Palmers enjoy going to New Mexico, North and South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park.

Waltemire is a fan of the mountains, beaches and anything in between.

“I’ve traveled recently to Austria, Scotland and Ireland – beautiful destinations for sure,” Waltemire said. “I enjoy traveling anywhere to engage with and hear the stories of the local residents.”

What are your favorite festivals?

Palmer and her husband attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, a unique experience, but a “one and done,” she said.

They are fans of DelFest in Cumberland, Md.

“Anything that supports local agriculture gets my vote,” Waltemire said.

While it’s not necessarily billed as a festival, Waltemire listed the Ag Expo in Washington County as a personal favorite because it showcases the best of agriculture and involves kids. She also enjoys the Peach Festival organized by the Leitersburg Ruritan Club in Hagerstown.

Contact information:

Kite & Anchor: passionpeoplepurpose.co

One Step Closer: onestepclosercoaching.com

Dyana Zubia and Rocco Zubia, owners, Sweet Rollers. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Written by MEG H. PARTINGTON Roque “Rocco” Zubia Dyana Zubia

Sweet Rollers, Chambersburg, PA

Family business:

Sweet Rollers opened in June 2019 as a fundraising business to help nonprofits and sports teams sell products to drum up money for programs. Rocco and his mother, Dyana, opened a retail shop in downtown Chambersburg in 2020, selling cinnamon rolls, cookies and coffee by the cup or bag. They moved to a production facility that provided almost four times the space of their original site, then added four food trucks to the mix.

They have since closed the retail shop and cut their fleet of food trucks in half. After some trial and error, the Zubias created a wellrounded menu for the food truck, which includes flavored iced coffees using their cold brew; flavored lemonade; ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches; cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, red velvet cookies and pretzel bites.

“The food truck and event revenue is what allows us to generate funds,” said Rocco, 44.

The mobile bakeries also help keep Sweet Rollers’ budget on track through the summer, when there are fewer fundraisers and when the heat seems to zap people’s cravings for baked goods. The trucks do particularly well at fulfillment centers, festivals and carnivals.

How did your working relationship start?

Dyana said her son started talking to her about working with him for a year before he opened his business. His persistence paid off, leading her to move from Battleground, Wash., to the Chambersburg area to help him turn an idea into a business. She retired from the corporate world in May 2020 to focus on Sweet Rollers.

How long have you worked together? Since Sweet Rollers opened in 2019.

What are your roles in the business?

Rocco is CEO and founder, plus the creative side of the equation. He develops recipes and finds and trains the staff. Dyana, “Nana,” 65, is the operations coordinator, organizing fundraisers and other events.

However, they both do every job involved in Sweet Rollers’ operation when they are short-staffed.

“We’re always in search of good help,” Dyana said.

Mother and son worked in the entertainment and restaurant realms, so are used to high turnover in staff, Dyana said.

Rocco’s middle child, 10-year-old Sebastian, already shows potential to follow in his family’s footsteps, keeping the lines of the food trucks’ customers moving smoothly while his dad mingles, his proud grandmother said. Sebastian has told her on numerous occasions that she already works for him, Dyana said with a laugh.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being in business together?

“You really find out how good of a leader you are,” Rocco said. “You really feel the magnitude of your mistakes when you’re leading your mother. Your mom will tell you exactly how it is.”

For Dyana, it’s a privilege to help her son succeed.

“Knowing that I’m helping one of them build their future” is a joy, Dyana said of Rocco, who is one of her four children. She also has seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

What is most difficult about working with your parent/child?

Rocco said for most people, work is a place where they can get some space from those who know them very well. But when your business partner is your parent, there’s a familiarity that can be daunting.

“You can see the expression on their face” and think you know what they’re thinking, even if it’s not accurate, he said. “You question yourself a lot more.”

Dyana said having Rocco eschew ideas she and his wife suggest can be frustrating, though they know he will come around to their way of thinking.

“He comes up with spur-of-the-moment ideas, but they’re not always practical,” Dyana said.

Mother and son are both very driven, too, which can be a gift and a curse.

Share a favorite story about your time as business partners.

Rocco did not have a story, but a recurring pattern to describe.

“Nana will say, ‘we should try this,’ and I immediately shoot it down,” Rocco said. He goes in a different direction to follow his more creative concepts, then, “we circle back, and do it the way Nana said it originally. It’s the simplest, most effective way to do it.”

He was quick to say that she’s not one to utter, “I told you so.”

Dyana recalled a moment this summer after she and her son realized they had just experienced their best single day of sales. It was July 4, and they had a food truck at the Summer Jubilee in Waynesboro, Pa., then at the festivities at Memorial Park in Chambersburg.

As it struck them that the sales tally was a record breaker, fireworks lit the sky.

“It was kind of like a celebration” at the end of an exhausting day, she said.

What advice do you have for those considering going into business with their parent/child?

“Patience is everything,” Rocco said.

Give yourselves time to fail and learn the dance of working together, he added.

“You will end up fighting a lot, and that is normal,” but always respect each other, Rocco said.

“Nothing is a true emergency,” Rocco said. “You just have to chill out. The business isn’t over (more important than) the family.”

“The leader has to have had a lot of fails,” from which he or she needs to

One of these sweet, doughy creations from Sweet Rollers in Chambersburg, Pa., can be purchased for $3 as a fundraiser and brings in a $1 profit for the organization selling it. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mexican Corn on the Cob (Elote)

8 ears corn on the cob Butter, melted, to taste Lime, cut into 8 wedges 8 ounces sour cream or Mexican cream Cotija cheese Chili powder Cilantro

Directions:

1. Cook corn on a stove, grill or in an Instant Pot. 2. If cooking on a stove, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add corn and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. 3. If corn was cooked on a stovetop or in an Instant Pot, rub lime wedges all over the ears and spread melted butter over them. Grill until slightly charred on all sides. 4. Spread a thin layer of sour cream or Mexican cream over the cooked corn cobs. 5. Sprinkle generously with cotija cheese and desired amount of chili powder. Serve garnished with cilantro and lime wedges on the side, squeezing on top. Source: From Roque “Rocco” Zubia, founder and CEO of Sweet Rollers in Chambersburg, Pa. emerge with the ability to see warning signs and prevent problems from escalating, he added.

What are your favorite foods (recipes)?

Rocco loves tacos made with homemade corn tortillas, which he said takes them to “a whole other level.”

Dyana said the family loves Mexican food, and one of her favorites is pozole, a soup made with hominy and pork or chicken.

In addition to baked goods and coffee, Sweet Rollers in Chambersburg, Pa., has hats, T-shirts and coffee mugs.

BY COLLEEN MCGRATH

What are your favorite vacation spots?

Rocco loves to go anywhere near water, particularly Myrtle Beach, S.C., which is also a favorite spot for Dyana.

She also likes to travel to New Hampshire and Las Vegas to visit friends.

What are your favorite festivals?

Rocco enjoys the York (Pa.) State Fair. He hopes someday to whisk his wife away to New Orleans, where she dreams of experiencing Mardi Gras, the gold standard of festivals.

Dyana enjoys the big events in Chambersburg.

“I love most of them,” she said, particularly ones that feature food trucks.

Contact information:

Go to thesweetrollers.com; email sweetrollers.pa@gmail.com; or call 717-552-9703.

Pozole

2- to 3-pound whole chicken or 2- to 3-pound pork roast 2 boxes chicken stock 1/4 cup chili powder (or more to taste) 1 tablespoon cumin (or more to taste) Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or more to taste) 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste) 1 tablespoon oregano (optional) 2 large cans hominy Toppings (optional): Chopped onion Cilantro Oregano Tortilla strips Lemon or lime slices

Directions:

1. If using chicken: boil in water in a large stock pot until done. Remove chicken from liquid and let it cool slightly, then shred. Add chicken stock to the broth in the pot if needed for a larger amount of soup. 2. If using pork: roast in oven until done. Let the meat cool, then shred it or cut it into small pieces. Add drippings from the pan into a stock pot with water. 3. Add chili powder, and at least 1 tablespoon cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and oregano, if using, to stock pot. Return shredded chicken or pork to pot and add hominy. Depending on how much broth you have, you can add just one can of hominy with juice. It is a brothy soup, but if you want more hominy, add the second can. (Dyana loves hominy, so she uses a lot of it). 4. Serve pozole with toppings. Source: From Tammie Fields, sister of Dyana Zubia, operations coordinator at Sweet Rollers in Chambersburg, Pa.