Kevin Leuallen’s grandfather, Floyde, and father, Charles, inspired him to become an entrepreneur. His father owned various food delivery routes, a donut store, a mini storage, a miniature golf course, and a liquor store along with A & W and Dairy Cream restaurants in Rifle, Colorado. As a young boy working for his grandfather, Kevin used to help out in his restaurants . Kevin also helped his dad deliver Holsom Bread in the Rifle, Colorado area.
Kevin later worked a Pepsi delivery route and had his, then, 2-year-old son, Brandon, sitting at his side as he made his deliveries. Kevin went to work for a public utility company for a few years before he realized his passion was to build assets and start new food-related businesses as his grandfather had done. His son Brandon followed in his footsteps and partnered with his father in what is now Leuallen Sales & Service. Kevin’s wife Tammy and Brandon’s wife Betty Jo are also a big part of their success.
In May 2014, Kevin and Brandon purchased a Blue Bunny ice cream distributorship in Grand Junction. His son Mike has joined him to expand the ice cream business. They currently run this and their other food distribution businesses out of the Business Incubator Center where they are able to access the services of the Grand Junction SBDC as they continue to grow. Sales tripled from 2014 to 2015, and the SBDC has been critical in helping them expand. Kevin and Brandon feel they can ask any question and the Grand Junction SBDC is able to find answers acting as a mastermind group of consultants to help them learn and grow.
Their advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to “keep it simple and do a really good job at whatever you do, follow that where it leads you and look for open doors.”
The SBDC has helped them have a solution mindset, not a problem mindset.
Kevin and Brandon believe that one of the keys to their success is that they genuinely care about the people that work for them and their family. They listen and find ways to actually help them. “If you know what people need,” says Brandon, “you can care for them.” Leuallen Sales & Service has successfully grown their business by this principle.