MELISSA KHOURY

owner-operator of SAUCISSON

CLEVELAND, OH

I'm the owner-operator of Saucisson, a small artisan meat company. I was born and raised in Cleveland. When I graduated high school, Cleveland just hadn't caught up to the rest of the country so, the first chance I got I was out of here. Then, family things brought me back. The thing about the Midwest is, we're just real people. We're meat and potatoes kind of people and we're getting to a point where people are open to elevated meat and potatoes. I want Cleveland to keep that small-town feel, but still be evolving and growing, creating spaces that are inclusive for everyone.

Starting a business is scary. But to me, the excitement of every day is knowing I make the decisions that impact me and my staff. And then the connections I have with small farmers and our customers. 

The pandemic took some of that away. It's a crazy time to be alive. But it's an equalizer, right? We're all going through it. I made it safe for us and for our customers to shop. Switching to online ordering, offering curbside pickup, and continuing that until maybe forever. The pandemic gave people the opportunity to remove the blinders, see the person standing next to them, and help lift each other up. It’s cool for me to be part of that and to reach out to neighbors connecting them with resources I know exist in the neighborhood.

One of the big lessons of the pandemic was to slow down a little bit. I want to maintain a balance and I want my staff to maintain a balance so that we can enjoy life. 

What I think is just absolute BS, is telling other people what to do. If I'm not hurting you and you're not hurting me, what does it matter who I love, where I go, what I do, the color of my skin. As a person of mixed ethnic background, in 2021, this should not still be a thing. 

My advice to anybody who has or wants to start a small business, stick to it. Lean into the people you have surrounding you. Make sure you have good people behind you. Just keep on pushing forward.

“We're in this digital age where it's really easy to distract yourself and look at a phone instead of looking at the person next to you whether you're standing in line at the grocery store, or you're buying a cup of coffee, or you're on the bus. I mean, you could meet some really neat people that way. And I think it's important that we take the time to do that.”