Asian-style noodle bar concept wins $2,500 in financial backing
Having turned 50 and parted ways with a hotel job, Japan-born, New York City-bred Cecilia Wessinger didn’t know what was around the next turn.
So a year ago she took to the road, bent on clearing her head and checking off the last four states she never had visited — both Dakotas, Montana and Oregon.
“Driving 6,500 miles by yourself really gives you a chance to think,” said Wessinger, who’s lived in Tulsa about the past 20 years. “You think about a lot of things. And being at a milestone, you reassess your life.”
The sightseeing yielded a vision, which was to create a restaurant that accentuated her Asian roots and customer-forward focus. So far, so good. Spring Noodles, an Asian-style noodle bar providing a healthy alternative to quick-service restaurants, won the food/retail leg of the Tulsa StartUp Series on Wednesday night.
Wessinger’s pitch beat out five other competitors, earned $2,500 toward the startup, weekly mentoring for three months, a spot in the i2E venture assessment program and a three-month membership to business incubator 36° North. She will be among five pitch series winners who get automatic bid to compete later this year at Demo Day, where the winner receives $15,000, a yearlong membership to 36 Degrees North and a dedicated mentor.
The Tulsa StartUp Series, powered by Tulsa Community College and the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, focuses on delivering resources and mentoring opportunities to entrepreneurs.
“Companies like Spring Noodles are exactly why the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation felt so strongly about funding programs like Kitchen 66 and Tulsa StartUp Series,” Elizabeth Frame Ellison, Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation board member, said in a statement. “These food entrepreneurs have very creative, viable businesses. By doubling our efforts and funding multiple programs that support Tulsa’s entrepreneurs, we’re able to help these worthy startups take that passion to the next level through added exposure and capital.”
Wessinger spent years in the travel and hospitality industry, but food always has been her love, she said. Several members of her family have owned restaurants in the New York area.
“Looking at what Subway did for sandwiches, what Chipotle did for Mexican food,” she said. “We thought noodles. Noodles are a centuries-old staple. They are very versatile. We wanted to be able to introduce it in a new way.”
Customers at Spring Noodles will be able to handpick the kind of noodles and base of broth they desire, the garnish and whether they want to upgrade the bowl with a protein. Incorporated in the line will be a chance to vote for a charity the company would give to every quarter.
She has surrounded herself with about a dozen professionals she calls her “tribe,” volunteers to her mission with expertise in such areas as marketing, cuisine, nutrition and interior design. Wessinger also is an organizer in the Kauffman Foundation-sponsored 1 Million Cups, a free national program designed to educate, engage and connect entrepreneurs.
The name “Spring Noodles” is a nod to musician Bruce Springsteen. Wessinger wants to use the $2,500 earned last week to go toward establishing a flagship restaurant.