This month, we have an exciting announcement—Hula’s food and beverage program is evolving, and we couldn’t be more excited about our new in-house restaurant partner: Preppi Eatery, founded by Clarina Cravins.
Let’s give it up for this longtime member, entrepreneur, perks partner, devoted community builder, mom extraordinaire, and chef. This marks a major milestone for both Preppi and Hula. Clarina is a true example of what happens at Hula—proof of what entrepreneurs can achieve in the right environment with the right support from their community.
People like Clarina are what shape this community, and we're so grateful to bear witness. We hope you're as excited to learn more about Clarina & Preppi's story as we are.
Hula: What has surprised you most about being an entrepreneur?
Clarina: If I'm being totally honest, it's just how hard it is. Although I have a whole team of people who help me and who truly make Preppi everything it is, I still go through most of the biggest wins and losses on my own. That can feel triumphant- to get to sit back and look at what you've made... But it can be lonely, it can be gruelling at times and sometimes I just wish I had a business partner that wanted to talk shop with that was as invested in this adventure as I was.
Hula: What role has mentorship played in your growth? Have there been any key mentors along the way—people you admire, spend time with, or who have influenced your journey?
Clarina: One of my best friends, Dakota Brizendine, has been my rock since I was 15 years old. We both had our first babies at 19 and have been through all of it together. When her kids were toddlers she took a job in finance having no college education, no formal training, nothing and since then she has fully acquired the Vermont branch of Commonwealth Financial Group. I spent years barely hearing from her, not totally understanding why she was so focused on work and then I blinked and she was this 30 year old woman owning a financial firm with an office downtown and a ton of employees. She's my biggest inspiration and the ONLY person I call when I need to vent about business but don't want to be coddled. She approaches everything with a focus, drive and integrity and I don't know how I would have made it through the early days without her sound advice and constant support.
She has also always been really inspired by me so having someone I respect so much pull inspiration from me has driven me to do more than I ever imagined. My other bestie, Shaneall, who owns Thingz From Yaad is my go to for all things food related. We both built businesses from the ground up in the last two years, built our own market, bankrolled our own businesses and did it all while raising kids. Shaneall inspires me every single day but also is my first point of contact for anything food related. We help each other with events, show up for each other when we are short staffed and most of all, we share so much business related info openly, to both better each others businesses and to grow together. I think Shaneall and I get things done 2x faster than a lot of business owners because we are both always totally willing to share anything we know with one another. Whatever the opposite of gatekeeping information is- that's what we do for eachother.
Hula: With Preppi’s background in catering and fresh meal prep, did you always envision it evolving into a café/restaurant? If not, what was your original vision for the business?
Clarina: Preppi's main goal has always been to connect as many people as possible with fresh made meals that are easy to access and consume. In many ways I feel that we are yet to acknowledge just how busy people feel these days and just how much that affects us. We have hit a point in society where getting yourself a healthy lunch is often considered a "treat". It feels like wherever we pivot in health food, there are still so many examples of "greenwashing"... Companies claiming to have healthy food but then still having tons of added sugars, low quality oils, etc and I just really feel like people are deserving of having "home cooked" food each day whether they have time or not.
When we entered the game we were committed to meal prep only- I wanted to stay laser focused on this because I was building a new concept and I needed to get my market to understand what we offered. Last summer I started fantasizing about having a lunch cafe someday. Melissa (the manager at Preppi and my GIRL!) and I would find ourselves dreaming of what it would feel like to get to put our style and branding in a place where people could come see it. When the Hula team booked a meeting with me to talk about us possibly teaming up I knew by the time I walked out the front door that it was a huge "YES". I've never felt so sure about anything in my life. I built my business at Hula and I truly love it here. Moving in will be a homecoming for me.
Hula: Tell us two things you’re most excited about—one in your professional life and one in your personal life.
Clarina: Professionally- I'm so excited to meet all of you! I loooove people and have missed seeing my customers face to face so I am just so excited to see you all, all the time. If you smell something yummy, please ALWAYS come say hi to us. We are a super friendly bunch and are so excited to be inheriting this whole group of people to be part of our community. Come say hi all the time.
Personally- Honestly, I'm just so excited for our family vacation this summer! My husband is a crazy skilled mountain biker and we went to Nice, FR and Finale Ligure, Italy last fall and it was such a perfect location for a foodie and a MTB feind. We are going back this summer but bringing our best family friends and our kids. The guys will get to mountain bike every day and us moms are going to go hard on some seafood towers on the beach with our babies. I feel so grateful to have friends we love so much that we can do such fun things with. Having my first two kids so young, these are opportunities I never had as a young mom and I'm so grateful that life has so many chapters.
