Truss’D – The “hidden gem” of Front Royal

On November 6, the Warren County High School DECA Chapter conducted a “Job Shadowing Day” with local businesses in Front Royal. Twenty-six students shadowed owners, managers, and employees in twelve locally owned businesses. During this week, “Global Entrepreneurship Week”, we will be spotlighting some of our successful local business entrepreneurs.

Businesses participating in this job shadowing activity included:

• Blake & Co.
• C & C Frozen Treats
• Down Home Comfort Bakery
• Jack Evans Chevrolet
• Main Street Daily Grind
• National Media Services
• Ramsey Hardware
• Royal Auto Works
• Royal Comfort Shoe Center
• Truss’D
• United Bank
• White Pickett Fence

Meet Katie Teague and Alan Brown, co-owners of Truss’D Restaurant at 117 Main Street in Front Royal. Photo by Levi Catalani, WCHS Marketing student

The owners of the local restaurant Truss’d, on Main Street, started up their business in January of 2019. Being a fairly new business in town, Allan Brown and Katie Teague have made an impact with their food. It started in 2014, when Allan decided to go to culinary school. Alan claims he didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he knew he had an interest in food and business, and that’s what his motivation was for going to school and starting a business.

Alan and Katie run the restaurant by themselves, cooking and serving all of the food.

It’s a lot of hard work, but they work like a dream team to get it all done. They serve brunch items that they say have “a creative American twist.” With five stars on Yelp, Truss’d is considered the “hidden gem” in Front Royal. All of their food is served fresh and prepared to order. Their motto, “food as it should be”, could not be any more appropriate.

Being very energetic and open minded towards each other and their customers, Alan and Katie began their business within a two to three week “launch” window. An initial hurdle that they had to overcome was when their cooking stove broke down within three weeks of their business opening. Since then, they’ve been serving up brunch every Wednesday – Sunday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. They advised entrepreneurs to be very ready for anything and everything, and to remember that customer satisfaction comes first.

They attribute the success of their business towards providing excellent customer service and having their business’s existence help build a “Main Street Community”. Before opening Truss’D, Alan was a mechanic for six years. He stated that “before opening a business, be prepared for anything because something can change just like that”. Some additional advice he gave us was to make sure you are willing to invest your time and money into helping the business succeed.

Levi Catalani, WCHS Marketing student also contributed to this story