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Tag: Christy DeCelle

  • Meet this homegrown Citrus Heights entrepreneur

    Christina DeCelle, center, is an owner of Legado and multiple other businesses. // Image courtesy, C. DeCelle

    By Nadezhda Chayka Otterstad–
    Born and raised in Citrus Heights, 41-year-old Christina DeCelle has plenty of experience as an entrepreneur, owning or co-owning more than a few businesses in the region.

    Some of her endeavors include being co-owner of Ben’s Barketplace, owning three locations of Beach Hut Deli, and running the Chronic Tacos Truck in Citrus Heights along with its brick and mortar location in Auburn. She’s also one of four women who own Legado, a Sacramento whiskey brand.

    Additionally, DeCelle has served on the Planning Commission and stays active in the Kiwanis Club, the Sunrise MarketPlace board and other local groups. She also has a five-year-old daughter.

    “I love the city; I’ve been here my entire life, so I wanted to help see it grow,” Decelle told The Sentinel in an interview last week, referring to why she previously joined the Planning Commission, although she left due to family matters.

    DeCelle attended Arlington Heights Elementary, Sylvan Middle School, and Mesa Verde High School.

    “Going to Mesa Verde, it was a small school it was a tight knit community,” she said. “I like that it’s a small community.“

    She said her biggest entrepreneurial inspiration was her mother: “I’ve watched her. She’s a hardworking lady and so I’ve just learned a lot of my work ethic from her. I would honestly say I am where I am because of her.”

    Other family members were also entrepreneurs, which helped her get involved. DeCelle first entered the entrepreneurial world after her uncle approached her about an opportunity with Beach Hut Deli.

    “Beach Hut was just kind of random. We were actually looking at buying a bar, but that deal didn’t go through,” she recalled. “I signed for Beach Hut several years later.”

    She soon expanded that to seven locations, but has since sold four of them.

    Also on The Sentinel: Former Citrus Heights Benihana demolished amid renovation of 15-acre center

    As advice for those starting out in the entrepreneurial realm, she says the first step is to take the leap: “Have faith in yourself to actually take that leap. Give it your all.”

    As a window into the world of being a business owner, she also said she’s on call 24/7: “If my phone rings at 2 a.m. in the morning, I’m jumping on it. If I’m at dinner with my family and my store needs me, I unfortunately have to leave my dinner.”

    “Business comes first over anything. You gotta make sure you take care of it. It’s your ‘bebeh’ (baby).”

    With a tight schedule, DeCelle says her secret to staying on top of a wide range of responsibilities is a hand-written task list. She called it an “old school” system compared to modern tech tools available, but said she finds fulfillment crossing off each item on her list as she accomplishes them.

    Her words to live by are summed up as work hard, play hard: “I enjoy my life, but I also work my butt off. So that’s kind of my motto that I live by.”

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  • New health food store for dogs, cats opens in Citrus Heights

    Christy DeCelle,
    Owners Steve Burk and Christy DeCelle, are two of four partners who opened Ben’s Barketplace in Citrus Heights this month. // CH Sentinel

    Sentinel staff report–
    Those looking for some healthier food options for their pets can now find a wide selection of raw and specialty foods offered at a new store in Citrus Heights.

    Ben’s Barketplace opened on Nov. 16 at 7935 Greenback Ln., next to Sprouts and BevMo in the Citrus Town Center, and carries both frozen and shelf-stable foods from brands like Stella & Chewy’s, Small Batch and Instinct. Owners can also receive free in-store consultations to create customized nutritional plans for pets.

    “It’s kind of like going to your Whole Foods, or your Trader Joe’s or Sprouts, versus the other options,” said owner Christy DeCelle, a local entrepreneur and investor who grew up in Citrus Heights and also owns the nearby Beach Hut Deli on Sunrise Boulevard. “We really focus on dogs with allergies or itching — we can cure their problems by nutrition versus taking your dog to the vet, so we’re all about nutrition.”

    The store focuses on diet and nutritional approaches to addressing allergies among pets. The products offered generally feature less carbohydrates for a more natural “species appropriate diet,” and none of the foods have corn or wheat ingredients. DeCelle said her own dog had been cured of allergy problems through diet and nutritional changes, an experience also shared by Ben’s Barketplace founders Brad and Sally Romero.

    The new pet food store in Citrus Heights is the first franchise location of Ben’s, which first opened in 2005 in Lincoln and later opened another store in Roseville. The location features a clean, modern interior with a 4,000-square-foot floor plan, formerly occupied by Carter’s baby store. A self-serve dog wash station is also located in the rear, with free washes offered through the end of the year as a grand opening special.

    DeCelle, 39, is one of four partners who own the new franchise. She said the group has plans to expand to several more locations in the Sacramento region in the near future.

    “In Citrus Heights there’s nothing else like this,” she told The Sentinel in an interview at the store on Wednesday. “This is a huge exploding industry right now and I want to be part of it.”

    Hours of operation are currently 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m .to 7 p.m. on weekends. Free delivery within a five-mile radius of the store is also offered on orders over $50.