Two sisters cook up a recipe for success

Inspiration can strike at any moment. Just ask Eva Stafne, a 3 sport athlete and high-achieving student who is a senior at Stillwater Area High School (SAHS). While browsing through Facebook Marketplace last spring, she came across a vintage 1960s Winnebago camper for sale - and in that moment the vision for Roxy’s Waffles food truck was born.

“My sister is always baking and has dreamed of opening a bakery or restaurant,” Eva said. “I just knew it would be the perfect food truck.”

Eva and her sister Miranda, who is a freshman at SAHS, got the okay from their parents to buy the Winnebago. Together they pooled their savings from summer jobs and babysitting to fund the renovation from vintage camper to industrial food truck. They developed a 5-year business plan and found investors (their mom and step-dad), who matched their initial investment.

Over the summer Miranda, whose middle name Roxanne influenced the company’s name, perfected the waffle recipe and designed the menu while Eva did all of the demo and renovation of the trailer. Eva researched the health and safety requirements for food trucks and scoured the internet for deals on equipment. She gutted the trailer, selling anything of value to help fund the renovations. Her grandfather helped her with the electrical work and she watched YouTube videos to learn how to do all the required plumbing. 

When they weren’t working on the trailer, they were researching food trucks. As a family, they visited every food truck they could find to sample menus, talk to owners, peek into kitchens and absorb knowledge to guide their own business plan.

“I really enjoy the business aspect - from financing to strategy,” said Eva, who has plans to study business and engineering but is still deciding between colleges. “It’s exciting to see what we can do and how we can grow.”

In mid-September the pair passed their health inspection with Washington County and Roxy’s Waffles was officially licensed to operate. 

“We passed the inspection - basically aced it!” Eva said proudly. “That was a gratifying day. I immediately laminated the license, hung it on the wall and we just stood back and stared at it.”

But the pair didn’t have long to sit back and celebrate their accomplishments. They appeared at their first public event just two weeks after receiving their license and already have events booked for the remainder of the fall and into the summer. They were even one of the featured food trucks at the high school’s Pony Homecoming Carnival.

“No one believed me when I told them we were starting a food truck,” Miranda said. “They were all like, ‘Sure, good luck with that.’ I think people will be shocked to see us out in the community.”

The pair have an ambitious plan to pay off their investment in the food truck, and hopefully turn a profit, over the next five years. But making money is only part of the strategy. The food truck is also providing them with real-world experiences and most importantly, it’s giving them quality time together.

“Knowing this is my last year before I go off to college, this gives us some great sister time,” Eva said. “It’s something we can build together. It really helps us enjoy every moment.”