Consulting

WHAT WE DO

Welcome to Neighbors Consulting. We’re glad you’re here!

Food trucks are the fasted growing niche in the hospitality field and with low start-up costs and low overhead, it’s no wonder that more and more people are getting into the game. But, running a food truck isn’t as simple as cooking great food. Where many mobile food operators fail is on the backend business management and marketing their product. That’s where we come in! Neighbors Consulting is just another tool we can offer to help you grow your business. Operated by 3 classically-trained chefs and a marketing professional, we are a team of industry professionals who are actively involved in the local food and beverage community. Between us, we own 2 restaurants, 2 catering business, 2 food trucks, an event space, concept kitchen and commissary kitchen. And we did all of this in just 2 years. We grew our businesses fast. We grew our businesses without outside funding. And all 9 of these business are thriving and profitable.

Mobile food operators are the hardest-working small business owners and that’s our bread and butter, but mobile food can easily transition to brick + mortar and typically owners who transition continue to run their mobile operations, as well. We want to share our story, our successes, and our knowledge with this awesome community that we are a part of. But most of all, we want to share our mistakes. DON’T DO WHAT WE DID! We’ve made all the mistakes, so that you don’t have to.

We have built an amazing team. Our first food truck was so successful out of the gate that we transitioned into a restaurant in less than 2 years (a whole new set of learning curves), but we thought if we could help other aspiring food truck owners or any small business owners avoid half the mistakes we’ve made why wouldn’t we!?

CONSULTING PACKAGES

THE TEAM

Neighbors Commercial Kitchen is family-owned and operated by Macready Downer, Jillian Schenzel, and Jeremiah Schenzel — Veterans of the food and beverage industry and small business owners in downtown Charleston.

MACREADY DOWNER

Macready Downer is an award-winning chef, formally trained at the Scottsdale Culinary Arts Institute. He is the co-owner and operator of Seed Food Group, LLC, which includes the restaurants Bodega Todo and Rudy Royale; food trucks, Semilla and Street Bird, Westside; and the catering company, Seed Catering. He is also a partner in Westside Neighbors, LLC, and principal in Southern Plates, LLC, where he runs BOH operations for Rudy Royale.

He has extensive experience working in high-end, formal dining establishments. Macready has trained under Kevin Binkley and Jose Andres. Kevin has been shortlisted for a James Beard Award five years running. Jose Andres is a world-renowned chef who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in 2011, while Macready was working as an Executive Chef at his restaurant, Mini Bar, in Washington, DC.

In January of 2017, after spending 6 weeks traveling and eating in Mexico, Macready opened Semilla, a Mexican street food-inspired food truck. After unprecedented success with the food truck, Downer decided to move forward with a brick and mortar concept, the same-named Semilla Restaurant in August of 2018. In the last 6 years, along with his sister and business partner, Jillian, Downer has opened 2 more restaurants, another food truck, catering business and Neighbors Commissary Kitchen.

JILLIAN SCHENZEL

Jillian Schenzel is the co-owner and operator of Seed Food Group, LLC, which includes the restaurants Bodega Todo and Rudy Royale; food trucks, Semilla and Street Bird, Westside; and the catering company, Seed Catering. She is also the founder and managing partner for Westside Neighbors, LLC, and principal in Southern Plates, LLC.

An experienced digital media professional with 12 years of experience in digital marketing, social strategy and user behavior with expertise in social marketing, user acquisition, and community development, Jill has a wide range of experience marketing across many verticals, including but not limited to CPG and Spirits brands. In 2015, Jill left her corporate job in digital marketing to help her brother, and now business partner, open their first restaurant, where she managed the planning, launch and business development for Seed Food Group, LLC. Since 2017, the two have opened 2 restaurants, 2 food trucks and a catering business.

In July 2021, Jill and her brother, partnered with established restaurant group, Southern Plates, LLC (Stars and Amen Street) to open Rudy Royale.

The mother of 5, whose husband also works in the industry (Daps Breakfast and Imbibe and Cleats), is an advocate for family-run food and beverage operations in the Lowcountry, which is how Neighbors Commissary Kitchen was born, to help support mobile food operators.

JEREMIAH SCHENZEL

Jeremiah Schenzel is a formally-trained chef turned bartender and bar manager. Extensive knowledge of culinary flavors and familiarity with an array of cuisines shape chef Schenzel’s approach to cooking and making drinks. Schenzel has trained under James Beard Nominated chef Jeremiah Bacon. As Beverage Director for Indigo Road, Schenzel oversaw 14 beverage and bar programs across 4 metropolitan areas and helped to open 5 restaurants in Charleston, Charlotte, Greenville and Nashville.

In 2018, he opened Daps Breakfast & Imbibe, a cherished community hotspot celebrated by locals and lauded by publications like Imbibe, Condé Nast Traveler, and Men's Health.

Building on this success, Jeremiah ventured into the realm of sports dining in 2024 with the launch of Cleats. A temple to #thecommunityofsport, Cleats blends culinary prowess with a passion for athletics, offering a menu of mouthwatering sandwiches and libations that bring people together.

When he's not running two restaurants, Jeremiah enjoys quality time with his family, eclectic Spotify playlists, and cheering on his favorite soccer team.

OUR BACKGROUND

Family-owned and operated by sibling-partners Jillian Schenzel and Macready Downer and Jillian’s husband, Jeremiah Schenzel.

Jillian and Macready own the award-winning Semilla and Street Bird, Westside food trucks, along with their full-service catering company, event space and concept kitchen in downtown Charleston, Seed Catering. Semilla and Street Bird, Westside is an award-winning volume food truck that operates daily in Charleston, and also travels during the festival season to music festivals, rodeos and markets across the Southeast region, attending festivals like Bonnaroo, Moonrise, High Water, Electric Forrest and many more.

Jeremiah Schenzel own Daps Breakfast and Imbibe and Cleats, also in downtown Charleston.

And all three business owners, together, run neighbors commissary kitchen, catering to food truck owners, mobile business owners, and caterers in Charleston, SC.

We turned our passion into a successful business. But, it wasn’t easy. We hustled hard, rolled the dice more times than we can count, and made a million mistakes. But, with these mistakes came knowledge and we want to share those learnings to help other aspiring small business owners succeed. And just like that, the consulting arm of our business was born. No gimmicks, no flare, just a team of motivated business owners who have been through it all. Let us help you make your dreams a reality to give you the life and freedom you desire.