Like many Americans, when the pandemic hit in 2020-21, River Falls resident Brianne “Brie” Rehak lost her job in the transportation industry. Home with her children, she needed something to get her out of the house a bit, some kind of creative outlet, but not much was open.

She had always admired Board Loon’s beautiful charcuterie boxes, so she decided to start building her own boards with a friend. Little did she know her hobby was going to grow its own legs and explode right out of the gate in May 2021.

“I knew right away that I had to get it licensed and up and running properly,” Rehak said. “I originally started the business with a friend from St. Paul.”

However, when her friend wanted to move the business to St. Paul, she sold her share and opened up her own brand, That Girl Brie.

“I was in transportation. I sold truck loads for almost 10 years,” Rehak said. “I honestly had no real kitchen experience. I’ve never been a person who had worked in a kitchen. Ask my family, I don’t cook. For me this is more of a creative space. I literally have all of this food, but it’s a palette, a big puzzle. It’s funny that I ended up in the food business.”

She also believes it’s funny how the world can come full circle. She is now friends with the owner of Board Loon, the business that inspired her to give charcuterie board building a try.

“It started as something fun to do,” Rehak said. “Based on seeing photos of what someone was doing. It cracks me up because now we’re friends.”

That Girl Brie launched with Rehak creating small, 10-inch pie boxes. She worked out of Guv’s Place’s kitchen in North Hudson, who let her use their commercial kitchen space during the day.

“Now I’m doing these huge boards and table spreads,” Rehak marveled. “No food history and I’m feeding the masses.”

She soon realized she needed more space to help her grow her business. Myron from Holy Donuts advised her to contact Sheri Marnell of the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center, which she did after working out of Guv’s Place to build her client base.

“For some reason, it felt like the next logical move, to help me grown,” Rehak said. “To feel comfortable paying for rent, equipment, it had to be the right fit. I really enjoyed being at the Innovation Center. I received guidance from Sheri and had someone holding me accountable and helping me figure out next steps. I think that was the most valuable part of being there.”

The SCVBIC is made possible by four partners: UW-River Falls provides the staffing, the City of River Falls donated land for the center, Chippewa Valley Technical College sponsors the training room, offices and lighting maintenance, while the River Falls Economic Development Corporation helps fund the building ownership. The center offers small businesses/startups services ranging from management guidance and technical assistance, networking opportunities, 15,300 square feet of leasable space including office suites, private offices, co-working rooms, industrial space and food-ready space.

Rehak said director Marnell was supportive and not pushy, and she highly recommends the opportunity.

Branding

If you visit thatgirlbrie.com, you might notice a far out vibe. That’s because the brand is based off the TV show from the 60s and 70s “That Girl.”

“The slang, the font, are 100% ideas from my mom,” the Ellsworth native said. “I think I went through a zillion names. We have a fun logo, super fun colors.”

Her husband is the graphic designer behind the logo, website and cheese pun T-shirts. Her offerings are named after slang from the 60s and 70s, such as “Good Vibrations,” “Sock it to Me,” Far Out, Man,” and “Groovy Baby.” Her boards and table spreads include a variety of cheese, charcuterie, fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, with olives, nuts, dips, spreads, local honey and sweets as trimmings.

A large grazing table’s prep, such as washing and drying the fruit, cutting up the cheeses, folding the meat, takes a couple of hours. Set up at a facility takes about an hour, Rehak said, because time is of the essence in order for everything to be fresh.

Her family has been supportive of her growing venture, even pitching in to help out.

“My kids love it because I’m available for school pickup and school dropoff,” Rehak said. “I have a huge support system from my parents and family. My mother and mother-in-law help with putting boards together. That has been very beneficial. It’s very exciting to see where the business is going and where it has been.”

What’s next?

Over the past two years, Rehak has been steadily busy with sales increasing, even though food prices have gone up. She credits a solid, recurring client base for her success. Whenever she has doubts, they’re quickly erased.

“There have been many times where every time I question the business, the business presents another opportunity, like receiving a recurring order, or a space comes to fruition. How can I not do this. I’m riding the wave to see where it ends up,” Rehak said.

Upon graduation from the SCVBIC, Rehak partnered with River City Juice Co. to rent a retail space at 123 W. Cascade Ave. in River Falls. They are trying to decide how a retail space would function, based on the ebb and flow of traffic.

“At first, we weren’t going to do retail,” Rehak said. “We were just going to have kitchen space and pop-up shops. But if we have the opportunity, why wouldn’t we go retail? I would love to have ready-made individual boxes available for up to four people. People could walk in on a Friday and there would be an option for them to purchase. I will still do a lot of pre-ordered boards and grazing tables, but I think with the people in town and having that as an option, and college and parents visiting, I think there is a lot of opportunity.”

All of her business has come from word of mouth, Rehak said. She is floored constantly by the support she has received from local business owners and the community who seek out her “pretty food.”

“The best thing I did was make it a legitimate business right away with licensing, so I could start selling and making money,” Rehak said when asked for startup business advice. “Every day I’m not sure it’s going to work. You just have to take a leap. I also think you kind of know if you should do it, even if it’s kind of scary. And it has to be fun. I get it now, you don’t work a day in your life if you love what you do.”

Rehak wants it to be easy for people to do business with her. She can be reached by email through the website, through Facebook Messenger or by text at 612-418-7611.

“I’m 100% all about convenience. I want it to be easy to do business with me,” Rehak said. “My whole goal is I would love it that if this was such a staple in the community, like Fox Den; it doesn’t matter what time of year or what season, it’s a staple in this community. River Falls is its home. If there is a way that I can figure out how to do that, that is the ultimate goal.”

Watch That Girl Brie on social media for updates on retail hours and offerings.  

“For me, I’m as curious to see where it goes as everybody,” she said.