Battle Creek couple season for success at Stewie’s Cajun Foods

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a series supported by Southwest Michigan First that focuses on new ventures, founder support, and the resources powering entrepreneurship across seven counties in Southwest Michigan. All photos for this story were taken by John Grap.

BATTLE CREEK, MI — Success tastes like authentic Cajun seasoning for Aubrey and Candyce Stewart, co-owners of Stewie’s Cajun Foods at the Lakeview Square Mall.

The couple officially opened for business on December 16. This was the culmination of a four-year journey to refine their seasoning and their business plan.

Less than one month in, they already have repeat customers.

“A gentleman from Coldwater came in on a Wednesday to buy seasoning for chicken he was marinating. He came back on Saturday to tell us how awesome the seasoning is,” Aubrey says. “Feedback from customers is extremely important to us.”

But, before the seasoning, there were the Hog Cracklin’s, a much-loved and popular snack that Aubrey grew up eating in Louisiana.

“They are so popular down South. When I was growing up, these hog cracklin’s were all over the place,” he says.

After they both worked for a communications company in Kalamazoo, the couple discussed starting a business, and Aubrey decided to test out the potential popularity of the cracklins locally, cooking them inside a rented space at the Sprout Incubator Kitchen.

“We became licensed in 2021, but we didn’t do anything with it at the time,” Aubrey says.

Two years later, he began cooking up the cracklins and selling them at local farmers’ markets.

“I bought three big cast iron pots and got the Michigan Small Business Development Center’s Southwest Region office to help me with a business plan,” Aubrey says.

But, knowing what real Cajun seasoning should taste like, he says he wasn’t happy with the seasonings he was using for the cracklins’ which was “too salty and hot.” He began experimenting using Candyce as the taste tester.

“Aubrey had been testing out the seasonings he made for a while. When he created this mild seasoning, and he put it on a plate of French fries, which I was eating in front of the TV, I literally jumped up and said, ‘We’re selling this.”

“I went back home and did what my mom and everyone else did and made my own seasoning,” Aubrey says. “I started using that on my cracklins. Most people think Cajun seasoning is hot when it’s actually a flavor .”

This is likely not what the French Canadians who emigrated to Louisiana had in mind when they mixed their old French cooking style with local ingredients like crawfish, shrimp, and okra. This is the origin of Cajun food.  Aubrey cites this while crediting the Hispanic influence in Louisiana with the origins of Creole cooking.

“A gentleman from Coldwater came in on a Wednesday to buy seasoning for chicken he was marinating. He came back on Saturday to tell us how awesome the seasoning is. Feedback from customers is extremely important to us.” — Aubrey Stewart

He has never forgotten his Southern roots or the lessons his mother taught him, his three brothers, and two sisters. What he learned can be directly tied to the availability of Stewie’s Cajun Seasoning at stores in Southwest Michigan and locally, like Horrocks, Harding’s stores, and Uproot Market & Eatery. The Stewarts are currently in discussions with other grocery store chains interested in stocking their savory seasoning.

The perfect blend

The Stewart’s brick and mortar location, named for their son who was called Stewie by teammates on his hockey team, is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. and sells the seasoning and hog cracklings. In addition to selling these items, it also features food available for take-out Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

“We will have original Cajun foods like shrimp, fish, gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish etouffee using our seasoning. We also will have greens, sweet potatoes, red beans, and rice,” Aubrey says.

The food will be prepared in an on-site kitchen by two chefs, one of whom is Aubrey’s godson. He catered for the Governor of Tennessee, and his counterpart has been doing on-site catering at movie sites throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“God is doing this. He inspired them to come back to Battle Creek,” Aubrey says,

Alongside Stewie’s chefs, he will oversee the food end of the business while his wife manages day-to-day operations and maintains a part-time job with the Bronson Cancer Center — Battle Creek. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from Texas Southern University and Spring Arbor University, respectively.

“It seemed like the next thing for me was to use my entrepreneurial and professional business skills in a business,” Candyce says.

Aubrey says the opening of the business never would have happened without his wife’s insistence on starting it.

“I felt comfortable that we would be successful based on my wife’s education,” he says.

This division of duties has kept the Stewart’s challenges as business owners minimal.

“Doors have opened and the opportunities are there,” Aubrey says. “There’s an abundance of opportunities could get excited about and then there could be missteps. We’re not doing that. When we get to a four-way stop sign we look in all directions. We’re not looking to create problems, we’re looking to avoid them.”

His wife and business partner’s advice to those looking to start a business — “I would tell them to make sure that if they’re working full-time, they should keep that job until they get their business up and going, and be prepared. You’ve got to be willing to work 18 hours a day, and it must be their passion, otherwise it’s not going to work.”

“Research and see what sells and what’s not selling. It’s all based on facts and figures for me.”

A self-described lifelong learner, Candyce says balancing new and existing responsibilities has been her real challenge. She enrolled in cybersecurity classes three years ago at Kellogg Community College, not knowing that this would add to her expertise in her role with Stewie’s.

The couple sought out and took advantage of a knowledge base that included organizations in the business of business. They say none of what they’ve accomplished would have happened without the guidance of organizations, including the SBDC  and the City of Battle Creek’s Small Business Development Office.

They were alerted and encouraged to seriously consider the mall space by John Hart, Small Business Development Director for Battle Creek.

“Being in Battle Creek and not really knowing about who we could use as vendors for our products, making connections with marketing and website developers, and all around resources to tap into, these organizations were invaluable,” Candyce says. “Their job is to help small businesses get up and running and minimize errors.”

She gives a shoutout to Wendy Spreenberg, Senior Business Consultant with the Michigan SBDC Southwest Region office, for teaching her how to manage the business’s financials and balance sheets.

“The SBDC connected us to other people to help us figure out what co-packers to use. They provide a lot of resources to tap into to help us develop our business.”

From the outset, the couple wanted to ensure they were operating their business professionally.

Organizations like Sprout, Battle Creek Food Re-Imagined, Michigan State University’s Food Processing and Innovation Center (FPIC), and JPG Resources cohort helped them to do that.

“These organizations helped us to get that done and open the door to opportunities,” Aubrey says.

Steeped in culture and southern roots

After Aubrey’s father passed away when he was a child, his mother took on the role of a single parent. She instilled values in him, his brother, and his sister that have remained with them.

“We lived in bayou country, and it was nothing to walk out the door and see an alligator in the yard,” Aubrey says. “There were three things that my mom required from us before she’d give us the thumbs up to go out on our own. We had to learn how to clean the house, clean and iron our clothes, and learn how to cook. Somebody was always mixing seasoning or cutting up vegetables we grew in our yard. We were a family in the kitchen together. My mom would do her taste test of what we prepared.”

Twenty-one oft he 94 acres the family owned was dedicated to farming and raising cattle.The reminder was woods and a garden where ingredients for seasonings were grown.

“We had an outdoor storage shed, and she would teach us how to blend the seasonings,” he says.

This foundation was the springboard for the opening in Louisiana of a vintage clothing businesses that Aubrey ran until it was no longer financially feasible.

At the urging of his brothers, James and Joe, he moved to Battle Creek, where they were both living, working for businesses including Heritage Chevrolet.

“Most people, when they get ready to retir,e want to go fishing, watch sporting events, and they become more sedentary. I come from Louisiana, and I come from a time when my mom and dad could never sit down. Starting this business comes from my history. It was just a God-given opportunity that transformed into something more than cooking.”