After previously landing a deal on “Shark Tank,” Tyla-Simone Crayton has officially launched her first brick-and-mortar restaurant.
According to the Houston Chronicle, 19-year-old Crayton had an entrepreneurial spirit before she even hit the double digits. At the age of 8, after one of her favorite restaurants closed shop, Crayton developed her own sauce recipe.
And as they say, the rest is history.
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That same concoction, which ultimately became a line of condiments dubbed Sienna Sauce, landed her an appearance on “Shark Tank” which led to her walking away with an agreement from Kendra Scott that the Shark would invest $100,000 for part-ownership of the business in 2021.
Humble Beginnings
Before that, however, there was Sienna Wings — an operation led by Crayton and her mother, Monique, straight from their home.
Their neighborhood — a “bedroom community” in Missouri City, TX, just about 20 miles from Houston — is also the inspiration for the name of the company, according to the outlet.
Every Friday, the mother-daughter duo would open up shop from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. using six deep fryers in their kitchen. They’d line chairs in their dining room as a waiting area along with a dry-erase board featuring a menu that included a dozen wings priced at $11.95 and 20 wings at $20.95.
According to Crayton, in just a year and a half, they drew in $40,000 in sales.
“I’d go to school and my clothes and hair would smell like chicken,” she recalled to the outlet. “I was the manager, cashier, cook, [and] dishwasher.”
Her Latest Business Endeavor
Today, Crayton is the owner of Missouri City’s Sienna Wings, a restaurant that she opened alongside her mother after their home wing spot was such a huge success.
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“It’s a great experience when people taste our wings for the first time and fall in love with them; I want to share that with as many people as possible,” Crayton said in an interview with BlackBusiness.com.
Housed in the same area that first supported her signature sauce, the teen notes how significant this moment was for her.
“Harvest Market was one of the first stores to carry Sienna Sauce, and the neighborhood has supported us from the beginning,” she shared with BlackBusiness.com. “So, it’s a full-circle moment for me and it’s important that we remember our roots and start with the first location right here in our community.”
Big Plans On The Horizon
As someone who is always looking to grow and expand to greater heights, Crayton tells the Houston Chronicle that next on her radar is to have the same international success as the Wingstop franchise. She says that friendly competition is necessary as a business owner.
The sky is the limit when it comes to this entrepreneur. Crayton has already soared to great heights all before the age of 20.
