The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Boss Experience pop-up shop returning
Last year’s “Just Bosses” pop-up, hosted by Tryntje Larkins and Jeff “Jefe” Seats, was a hit in downtown Elyria, the duo said.
After such a strong community response, the mother and son team knew they had to bring the pop-up back.
The duo’s next event titled “Boss Experience” is set for April 12 at the South Park Thomas O. Shores South Recreation Center, 101 S Park Drive in Elyria.
It will feature an expanded roster of about 25 different vendors, Seats said.
“We’re doing it in April because we have other events lined up after that,” Larkins said. “It was amazing, and the community asked for it again.
“So, we’re giving it back to them.”
Larkins, owner of the women empowerment brand Beautiful Bosses, said the community response for the pop-up in 2023 was astounding.
“(Seats) has his own catering business here in Lorain County,” Larkins said. “It expands outside of Lorain County.
“I have Beautiful Bosses, which is an empowerment (brand) for women. Last year, this event that we had was big.
“The community came out and it was all love. It was food, it was shopping and it just brought the community together.”
This year’s event will include a wider variety of all kinds of food, including vegan, Seats said.
As the owner of The Tasting Experience catering, he said he wanted to help provide the community with as many food options as possible.
“They asked for different food (vendors) to be showcased, so we’re trying to bring that to them,” Seats said. “We’ve had multiple DMs and comments on not only the post that we posted last year, but we set up a poll this year to see what people wanted.”
The event will feature a live DJ, as well as free haircuts and inflatables for children.
Larkins said that above anything else, she wanted to bring the Elyria community together and strengthen the residents’ bonds with each other.
“For me, it’s about bringing people under one roof so we can (have) fellowship, see each other, laugh, talk, eat, shop,” Larkins said. “(We can) spend some time together as a community, something that we don’t do a lot in Lorain County.”
The Boss Experience pop-up will run from 4-8 p.m., Larkins said.