Photos by Ralph Freso
The thrill of winning a pickleball tournament at Impact Church in Scottsdale was short-lived for Troy Edwards and Rye Samson.
That elation soon gave way to the aroma and taste of birria tacos from a food truck.
“They were super good,” Edwards said. “We loved them.”
It also sparked an idea for Edwards and Samson as Grand Canyon University students embarking on their own food business.
With the IDEA Club Marketplaces serving as a testing site, Edwards and Samson’s plan has come to fruition.
Their Dipped! catering business serves three churches in the Valley and have agreements to cater at Christian weddings.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Edwards, who plans to graduate from GCU in December with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising. “We’re excited we’re getting to stay inside of that demographic, and we’re able to serve people who have poured into us.
“As GCU continues to pour into our business and allow our business to thrive, we’re excited that they’re outside ministry and outside places that want to have us come back as well. So it means everything to serve churches in the Valley.”
It also represents a remarkable adjustment for Edwards and Samson, friends since their high school days in Kingman, Arizona. Their mac and cheese business was a tremendous success at marketplace events last fall.
But plans to spread that business around the Valley fell apart when access to a catering truck was no longer available.
And their LLC application for Mac Daddy was rejected because that name already was registered.
Through all this, Edwards and Samson, who graduated last spring from GCU with a degree in business entrepreneurship, maintained their long-range vision.
“We’re two people of faith, and we’d love to give back to the church,” Edwards said. “That’s where our business model came from - looking for churches and Christian weddings.”
Edwards and Samson serve frequently at Mission Church in Gilbert and made their presence felt at the church’s Best Weekend Ever event last February.
“We smashed it,” Edwards recalled. “It was great with young adults, and now (Mission Church) has us come back for their women’s ministry and youth ministry.”
Many GCU students who attend Mission Church recommended Edwards and Samson, and they didn’t disappoint.
“We call them the Mac and Cheese Guys,” Mission Church NextGen Pastor TJ Brooks said. “They did a great job on a Friday night (at Best Weekend Ever). We had a country theme for Saturday night and already bought food. We asked them if they could prepare and serve the food. Not only did they agree, but they cooked corn dogs and tater tots that everyone loved. And they were kind and caring.
“And they’re great with budgets. They’re great serving food under a certain price per person, and they also can step it up. We’ll continue to use them.”
Edwards and Samson also serve Impact and North Phoenix Baptist churches.
“We want to tap into life groups and ministries, and we think we can serve the people of GCU as well as people at churches,” Edwards said.
Last month, Edwards served gourmet burgers for 70 people at a Canyon Angels event on the recommendation of Canyon Angels event coordinator Kyle Sanders to help promote students.
“(Edwards) did a fantastic job,” Canyon Angels Chair Tim Kelley said. “It was a brilliant idea (to promote student businesses), and I couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought of it earlier.”
Samson was a student in Robert Vera’s business execution class, and Samson teamed with Edwards on their catering company as an assignment.
“One of the Matras of the class is that GREATNESS IS DIFFERENT, which is the mindset required to develop disruptive innovation,” said Vera, director of Canyon Ventures. “While catering is not new, the mac and cheese chorizo burrito they created is.
“They continue to innovate to create and test new food combinations. Their food innovations married with fast, friendly, and effortless service are a fantastic catering service.”
Despite the overwhelming success of their mac and cheese options at marketplaces last year, Edwards and Samson have expanded their dishes to accommodate the preferences of the churches and their followers.
A recent hit has been their chocolate dipped strawberries that inspired the Dipped! name, with assistance from Edwards’ girlfriend Serena Lopez, a GCU nursing student.
“We’re leaving it up to the churches, whatever they want from us,” said Edwards, adding that serving street tacos at a young adults ministry was a big hit this summer.
As for the mac and cheese, which featured spicy but distinct seasoning …
“The recipe is locked away, but we have it ready on a whim,” Edwards said. “They’re so many different ideas of places we want to go with it, but as of right now, it’s a catering option and we’re going to try some stuff around GCU and see what we can do.”
Samson liked the idea of providing a variety of dishes for customers, rather than lock in on one specific food.
“Every catering event doesn’t have the same thing, so we want to do different things in case people want that,” Samson said while preparing tacos at a marketplace event. “I’ve been cooking for a while, even in high school. I always prepared meals to gain weight and learned to cook different things for my parents, and that’s how I got into it.
“And it’s been fun to cook and watch people eat food they enjoy.”
The ultimate goal, according to Edwards, is to create a “food umbrella catering business” with subsidiaries like the mac and cheese, tacos, burgers and desserts.
“People ask me, ‘where’s the mac and cheese?’ “Edwards said at a Lopes Fair Student Market last month. “It’s great to know the business has that kind of impact at GCU. It’s been great to be around that.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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