“From Kitchen to Storefront – Help A Berry Nice Day Grow!”

Hello, I’m Chandis J. Cagle. I started A Berry Nice Day in 2019 in Georgia with just a bowl, a spoon, chocolate, a strawberry, and my favorite snack cookies. I decided to make my snacks for Mother’s Day, and something about that moment stuck. It wasn’t about money — it was about joy. That little idea grew into a full-blown business rooted in love, creativity, and survival.

I’m originally from Connecticut, but I moved to Georgia at 15. After high school, I graduated from Chattahoochee Technical College, then studied computer science at Kennesaw State University. But between school and surviving, something had to give I had to leave school. I was working three jobs — CNA shifts, Foot Locker, and bouncing between six different Steak ‘n Shake locations in Georgia from 2014 to 2018.

I worked every position at Steak ‘n Shake — server, cook, dishwasher, and trainer. I quit six times due to the toxic work environment, unfair pay, and corrupt management. I was placed on the non-rehire list because I quit, and because of my work ethic, I was still welcomed back every time. I started at $2.13 an hour plus tips and ended at $10/hour, working side-by-side with wanted managers to unpaid inmates. It was draining, but I kept showing up. I just knew I was meant for more, so I quit again.

In 2020, I moved to Hollywood, Florida to expand A Berry Nice Day. I partnered with a chef, thinking we could build together. But she told me my business wasn’t profitable like her personal chef bookings — then started using my strawberries without giving credit. I had to dissolve my Florida LLC, throw away flyers I had printed, and take the loss on a $300 custom-wrapped dessert cart that got trashed before I could even use it. My car broke down in the process while I was still trying to fulfill orders alone by hand for 600+ strawberries with a returning customer base. I made over $2000 in two months without social media presence and only word of mouth.

After the breakdown, I took a job at Panda Express just to stay afloat. I walked 2 miles to work every day for 8 months, rain or shine. Never missed a shift. I worked doubles every weekend and cried in the bathroom just to make it through. On my first day, I wasn’t even given a proper uniform; a coworker had to give me theirs because management wasn’t concerned. And I was trained in Spanish by an undocumented worker who discriminated against me, which the manager was fully okay with as well. That’s how things ran.

Eventually, I got injured plating hundreds of meals with my dominant hand and doing back-of-the-house work as a front-of-the-house worker, lifting heavy items when the proper employees for the duty were present. When I got injured, instead of care, my manager told me to walk to the gas station for Tylenol. I ended up seeking a doctor. When I returned with a sling and a doctor’s note that said do not return to work, they still denied me leave. I got a lawyer. I stood up for myself. And I won.

Soon after, I got a new vehicle, and with my settlement, I had just enough to pay rent that was behind, and all the medical bills that were due during my injury. My landlord put my condo up for sale, so I left my home, got a storage unit, and I started driving Lyft and Uber daily to make ends meet. I discovered a beauty business suite on Facebook Marketplace for rent for $200 a week. I bathed at planet fitness daily and slept there after my nights of driving for ride-share apps. Maintenance reported me for sleeping there because it was non-residential. So I had to figure out what to do next as far as finding a place to sleep, so I researched an app called PadSplit and got approved the same day. I found a business card in my purse and took a job offer from a customer who had passed it to me in the drive-thru at Panda Express because of my customer service. The gentleman said I’d be the perfect candidate for the job. I moved to Orlando, leaving all my belongings in my storage in Hollywood, Florida because I couldn’t carry everything to my new arrangement of living through renting a room on the PadSplit app. I became an operation area specialist/assistant property manager working overnight shifts, managing seven properties, fixing broken offices, and rebuilding databases with 3,000+ resident entries, working alone in leasing offices without the necessary license of a property manager. During my time at First Service Residential, a hurricane had passed and my storage in Hollywood, FL flooded completely. After receiving a devastating call from the storage unit I rented with insurance, I found out all my belongings were damaged and couldn’t be replaced. Moreover, I was overworked, underpaid, and putting major miles on my new car. I was nominated for best front desk and couldn’t make it to the ceremony under the circumstances of wanting to give up my role. When they scheduled me for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s — without time and a half, I quit. On Christmas Eve.

In 2025, Jan 1st, I drove to Houston by myself from Orlando after quitting my job. With my saved earnings, I relaunched A Berry Nice Day in Harris County — solo, legit, and better than ever. Nobody taught me how to run a business. I had to learn it all: how to build a website, get licensed, stay compliant, and grow a brand. And I did it — every step on my own.

In the last 30 days, I’ve made $1200 in sales, and my social media is going crazy:

• 40,000+ views on Instagram

• 200,000+ views on Snapchat

• 21,000+ views in just 5 days on TikTok

Currently, I’m running my business solo full-time with the hours of 10am-10pm. I’ve expanded my menu with frappes, cake cups, and stacked berry cups. I’m live on DoorDash Self Delivery and trying to reach more customers every day on a basic plan. My business is hidden currently because I’m still growing and the radius is very close, so I can only serve nearby customers.

My Next Moves:

• Launch my children’s book, cartoon, mascot, and toys.

• Upgrade my branding and packaging

• Hire staff

• Promotion campaigns

• Launch my official e-commerce website

• Open a dessert truck

• Certified commercial kitchen with curbside pick-up

A Berry Nice Day is more than a dessert brand. It’s everything I’ve lived through — the pain, the pressure, the lessons, and the grind. I’ve worked jobs that didn’t see me, cried behind counters, been trained in languages I barely spoke just to keep up — and still, I kept showing up. I flipped every struggle into a step forward.

With your support, I’ll keep building — not just a business, but a legacy. From my kitchen, to my community, to the country.