An illustration displays CCHS Class of 2007 alumna and Street Treats co-owner Faneshea Bronwer. Street Treats evolved from Browner’s breakfast sandwiches made for her husband into a commercial kitchen serving the Athens community. “It’s still surreal when we go out and people are hollering our slogan, and even our kids are like,‘Everybody knows us,’” Browner said. Illustration by Sylvia Robinson
CCHS class of 2007 alumna Faneshea Browner, co-founder of Street Treats, builds intentional and personal relationships with all her customers.
At 8 a.m. on a Friday, shoppers can expect a steady line outside of Street Treats in Piggly Wiggly on 484 North Ave. An outsider may think they’re waiting for the food, but for some, it’s more than that.
Street Treats didn’t start as a commercial kitchen, but as the act of making bacon, egg and cheese croissants for her husband to take to work every morning. Faneshea Browner’s food didn’t need any advertising – word of mouth from the Athens community is what got the business to where it is today. In the heart of the grocery store, you can find Browner cooking up a storm for her customers.
Except these folks aren’t just customers to Browner, because most business owners don’t greet their customers by name, or joke around with them while taking orders. While serving wings and grits and her bacon, egg and cheese croissant that started it all, she also chats with each person, making them feel seen and heard.
“I didn’t quite grow up in the house with a lot of home cooking, and so for me to be able to make people feel like home is very special to me,” Browner said.
“I didn’t quite grow up in the house with a lot of home cooking, and so for me to be able to make people feel like home is very special to me.”
— Faneshea Browner,
Street Treats co-founder
What makes Street Treats different from other small businesses is the owner’s care. The construction worker, the nurse, the businessman, the CCHS administrator, she knows them all. By asking questions and noticing the little things, Browner gets to know each of their stories and makes known she is someone people can confide in. Browner puts just as much effort into building relationships and getting to know her customers as she does her food, and it pays off.
“I think the community would still come where we (go), because (it’s) not just the food. They like us. They feel like (we’re) good people,” Browner said.
With what started as a sandwich for her husband is now a line out the door.
