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Homeless Veteran Becomes Successful Business Owner

A After Lucky Recipe Mistake
simple mistake in the kitchen has uplifted the life of a caring
rookie made a lucky mistake that would change his life forever.
veteran like yeast does for bread.
It had been a little over three decades since Stefan DeArno had
used heavy cream. DeArno was afraid it would get him fired, but
been to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina—but in 2017, his Instead of adding buttermilk to a batch of cornbread, he accidentally
Feldman waved off the mistake and told him to pop the batter into the
parents’ declining health compelled him to move oven anyway. When it was finished baking, the
back to the city. cornbread was more moist, fluffy, and golden than
At 56, the US Coast Guard vet didn’t have money usual.
for an apartment, and his parents lived in a tiny
house, so he agreed to move into a homeless DeArno passed out the cornbread to the restaurant
shelter. staffers and they were all stunned to discover
that his altered version of a classic recipe was so
Luckily, a veteran social worker managed to delicious.
arrange a spot for him at One80 Place, a unique Feldman was so impressed by DeArno’s creation,
shelter that offers job training programs to its he offered to go into business him. Today, they are
residents. the co-owners of Reverend Cornbread Co.
During his stay at the shelter, DeArno enrolled in
their culinary training program. He had always loved to cook, and had As a result of the small-venture food startup, DeArno now has a steady
spent many childhood days watching his mother and grandmother in flow of income and a place of his own, but he has not forgot the place
the kitchen. that gave him hope. Even while caring for his parents, and the new
business, he returns to One80 Place to volunteer as a tutor—and he uses
To offer their program trainees some some job experience, the shelter his new food truck to hand out hot meals to the homeless.
partnered with a local food and wine festival. Besides volunteering, “Without hope you don’t have anything,” he told TODAY. “One80 place
DeArno was encouraged to try and rub elbows with some of the chefs gave me hope and an avenue, because dealing with what I had to with
at the event. my parents, to do something that I really love, which is cooking, it was
It was there that he met Roland Feldman, the owner of the Smoke BBQ a relief, ya know.
restaurant, who was drawn to DeArno’s cheerful attitude and charisma.
The chef even took to calling him “Reverend” because of his tidy black “To see people get satisfaction from something that I’ve created is one
and white outfits. of the best feelings ever … I swell with pride just to see the smile on my
mother’s face. And it was a great feeling, a great feeling.”
He offered the charming veteran a job—and one day last November, the

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