Naked Pasta serves up fresh, homemade pasta, sauces, and more.
Pasta had been on Julie Jenkins’ mind for years. And just a few months after launching into making pasta professionally at Naked Pasta – first at the Saturday Market and recently in a Pendleton Street storefront – business is boiling.
What inspired you to open Naked Pasta?
There’s a shop in Charlotte, N.C., Pasta and Provisions, and I modeled our business after it. It has been there since the 1990s and has become a staple in the community. Greenville didn’t have an outlet for fresh pasta and I can see Greenville getting excited about this. In places like Argentina, there are fresh pasta shops around every corner. In the food business, the profit margin is there for pasta because it’s just flour, egg and water.
At what point did you decide to move ahead?
I was working as a human resources generalist – creating online tools, working in talent development and employee engagement. I had been thinking about pasta for many years and became serious about it in 2012 after a near-fatal accident. While I recovered, I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do. Before then, I was comfortable with a little to moderate amount of risk; after that I was ready for a lot of risk. I had also been working from home for the last 10 years and was ready to get out from behind the computer.
Tell us about developing your business plan.
In January 2013, I was scheduled to have surgery and knew that I would have about eight weeks recovery time, so that’s when I started really planning. We (with husband Ed Creighton) were literally taking care of business in the hospital.
What was the process to develop the recipes?
At first I used my home kitchen as the test kitchen and taste-tested the recipes with neighbors and some farm partners. Ed and I are foodies, and the feedback we got was encouraging. We use the best ingredients like high-end cheeses and shiitake mushrooms and want to buy as much from local farmers as possible. Already at the Saturday Market we’ve done trades with other vendors for ingredients.
How did you settle into the Village Arts District in West Greenville?
I wanted to “pilot” the concept, but after getting into the Saturday Market and seeing how much we were selling, I realized it had to be a sizable investment. We purchased industrial equipment, and through my husband’s investment company we found Pendleton Street and loved it. All of our Pendleton Street neighbors are so friendly and refer their customers to us.
What is your favorite part of making and selling pasta?
I have done pottery for years and working with the dough is much like that. After making ravioli I also love to see all those baby pillows laid out. I also enjoy advising the customers on the best pairings of pasta and sauce. I love the interaction.
What have you learned along the way?
I think I’ve learned everything the hard way. I’ve learned there are a ton of permits you have to get from the city and that every restaurant is really well inspected by DHEC before it opens. I’ve also learned that pasta is fickle. We used to not be able to make ravioli on a rainy day because of the humidity. Now we have learned to adjust the water and egg ratio to get it right.
What about plans for the future?
We’ve been successful in our initial offerings and will expand significantly over time. The gluten-free pasta is a tough one to crack, but we are working on it. Ed had once wanted to open a sausage shop and we want to look into selling sausage, adding an olive bar and deli counter along with offering take-away pizza kits.
