Christian Smith has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so when he came up with the idea for a savory stuffed doughnut, he did the research and the work to bring his idea to life. He describes his creation as a cross between a beignet and an empanada. He calls it a stuffed bun, and his pop-up and catering business is called Bunshine.
His idea came to life in December 2021. While he has neither a brick and mortar store nor a food truck, his tent can frequently be found at community events where his tasty stuffed buns are a popular treat, like at a recent event at Lifepoint Church in Smyrna.
“Our stuffed buns are light, fluffy pockets of fried dough stuffed with fresh and tasty fillings,” said Smith. “Our three most popular flavors are Philly Cheesesteak, Buffalo Chicken and Spinach and Feta Cheese.”
Additional savory flavors offered are sausage, egg and cheese; and cheesy potato. He has also experimented with taco flavored stuffed buns. He provides two sweet versions, apple and cinnamon. Each order of three buns is served with one of six sauces: Bunshine Sauce, Herb Ranch, Kickback Sauce, Avocado-Lime Crema, Maple Butter or Vanilla Crème Glaze.
“Our mission is to put a little ‘Bunshine’ into the world by providing a quality product every time you experience our food,” said Smith.
For those who want the convenience of catering, Smith offers BUNdles. His Sunbeam BUNdles start with a minimum of 20 pieces, which includes 20 buns and one sauce. This will serve 10 people with each person receiving two stuffed buns. The Sunburst BUNdle provides three stuffed buns per person and one sauce. And the Sunburst BUNdlePlus provides three buns per person and two sauce choices. All orders are rounded to the closest increment of 10. Orders are placed by the number of people, so for example, a Sunburst BUNdle Plus for 12 people will provide 40 stuffed buns and two sauces.
Smith got his start through Corner to Corner Academy. When he learned about the Nashville academy’s ten-week program that helps historically underestimated entrepreneurs plan, start, and grow their own businesses, he knew he had to get into it. Once in, he learned about how to grow a business and make it thrive through networking and a specific set of knowledge and marketing tools. The Academy has helped more than 800 Black entrepreneurs achieve business growth.
“I originally got the idea for stuffed buns while watching a cooking show where the host made a similar item,” Smith explained to justeatstn.org. “I tried following the show’s recipe, but it did not turn out well. I thought with a few tweaks it could be really good, so I kept working at it until I eventually got it right. It started as a fun project, then became something I thought was really special and wanted to share with others.”
“It is not a full-time business yet,” said Smith, “but I hope it will become one soon. I want to leave a legacy, and provide a tasty treat for my customers. Response has been overwhelmingly good. The next step in our plan is having a food truck, and eventually a brick and mortar location. We are taking it one step at a time and making sure we can continue to build on our success.”
To learn more about Bunshine, check out their website, Facebook page, and Instagram.
