New business blossoms despite pandemic

SOUTHERN OREGON, —A Talent resident is taking her love for cheese, and turning it into a successful business. Dawn Aquino, a vegan herself, missed eating cheese so much that she decided to create an alternative.

That’s when the dairy-free nacho cheese sauce she calls “Gimme More Gabby’s” was created. It’s made up of vegetables, spices, cashews, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

Aquino and her partner were worried about starting a business, after seeing the pandemic’s impact on other businesses. But she says it’s been well received from the community.

“Sherms Food For Less gave us a chance, and the Shop ‘n Kart in Ashland those were our only two stores, we had two cases that went out that week, and here we are not even a full month later, we are up to 6 stores and 10 to 15 cases a week going out,” said Aquino.

You can find the dairy-free nacho cheese at stores like Sherms Food For Less, Shop ‘n Kart, and the Medford Food Co-op. Aquino says she hopes to continue growing the business and spread awareness of the product.

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.
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