Today we’d like to introduce you to Rose Anne Meagher.
Hi Rose Anne, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Rose Anne Meagher, but most people call me “Roe.” Cooking has always been a part of my life, thanks to my father’s influence. I can vividly recall standing on a stool at the age of five, watching him prepare dinner. His rule was simple: I couldn’t play until I’d observed him cook. Little did I know, those moments would shape my future in ways I couldn’t imagine.
Initially, I enrolled in culinary courses to please my dad, but my academic journey took a detour when I decided to pursue a degree in Mass Communication. Despite this shift, my love for cooking never waned. After graduating, I embarked on a career in the healthcare industry, spending 27 years as a Regional IT Training Director in Massachusetts. It was a demanding role, requiring me to manage operations across ten states in the Southeast region.
Despite the demands of my corporate job, I always found time to indulge my passion for cooking. Catering for friends and family became a welcome escape from the rigors of corporate life. With each event, my love for cooking grew, and I began to realize that my true calling lay in the culinary world.
In 2017, a significant move to South Carolina provided the perfect opportunity to pursue my culinary dreams. Armed with determination, I obtained my business license and officially launched my catering venture. What began as a side gig soon evolved into a full-fledged business, offering meal prep services to busy individuals and families.
However, I yearned for something more, something that would challenge me in new ways. That’s when the idea of starting a food truck business took root. It was a daunting prospect, but I was determined to take the plunge. The excitement of hitting the road, serving up delicious meals to eager customers, was irresistible.
Launching my catering and food truck business has been one of the most exhilarating, rewarding, and challenging experiences of my life. From navigating regulatory hurdles to managing the logistics of a mobile kitchen, every day brought a new challenge. Through it all, I discovered a sense of fulfillment and purpose that inspired me to take the next step.
That journey eventually led me to venture into restaurant ownership in Bonneau, South Carolina. Roe Roe’s opened its doors in September, allowing us to grow beyond catering and the food truck and create a place of our own. Our menu reflects who we are—offering traditional dishes, Asian-Filipino fusion, Southern influences, and everything in between.
Owning and operating a catering business, food truck, and restaurant continues to bring new challenges, but it has also been incredibly rewarding. Seeing people come together to enjoy our food and watching Roe Roe’s become part of the community has made every step of the journey worthwhile. What began as a passion for cooking has grown into an opportunity to share our food, culture, creativity, and love of bringing people together.
Despite the challenges, I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything. Cooking has always been my passion, and now, it’s my livelihood. As I continue to grow and evolve as a chef and entrepreneur, I’m grateful for the lessons learned and the experiences gained along the way.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning and operating a catering business, food truck, and restaurant continues to bring new challenges. The biggest challenge has been staffing—finding and keeping dependable people while making sure each part of the business has the help it needs. Along with staffing, balancing schedules, inventory, equipment, food costs, and expenses while maintaining the same quality across all three operations can be difficult. Sometimes it feels like trying to be in three places at once.
But seeing people come together to enjoy our food and watching Roe Roe’s become part of the community has made the struggles worthwhile.
What started as a small catering business has grown into something much bigger—an opportunity to share our food, culture, creativity, and love of cooking with the community, while proving that even through the setbacks and challenges, hard work and perseverance can turn a dream into something real.
As you know, we’re big fans of Roe Roe’s. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Roe Roe’s is a family-owned restaurant, food truck, and catering business built around sharing great food, culture, and hospitality. Our food is influenced by Filipino traditions, Southern comfort food, and Asian fusion, but we have never wanted to limit ourselves to one category. Our menu ranges from traditional Filipino dishes to creative fusion items, familiar comfort foods, and rotating specials that allow us to keep trying new things.
What sets Roe Roe’s apart is that we are not afraid to blend cultures, flavors, and ideas. We can serve a traditional Filipino dish alongside something completely unexpected, and somehow it still feels like Roe Roe’s. We want our food to be approachable for someone trying Filipino cuisine for the first time while still offering flavors that feel familiar and authentic to those who grew up with it.
We are especially known for our lumpia, Filipino-inspired dishes, fusion creations, and the variety we offer between the restaurant, food truck, and catering side of the business. Each part of the business allows us to serve people in a different way, whether they are visiting our restaurant in Bonneau, finding us at an event, or trusting us to cater an important occasion.
Brand-wise, I am most proud that Roe Roe’s has developed its own identity. We are not trying to be a traditional Filipino restaurant, a Southern restaurant, or simply a food truck. We have created something that reflects who we are—Filipino Soul in the Southern Sun. Our brand is about good food, creativity, family, community, and making people feel welcome.
What I want people to know most is that there is a lot of heart behind Roe Roe’s. We are a small business that has grown through hard work, perseverance, and the support of our customers and community. Whether someone comes in for a favorite dish, tries something completely new, books us for catering, or visits the food truck, we want them to leave feeling like they experienced something they could not get just anywhere else.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that may surprise people is that Roe Roe’s was never built from a carefully mapped-out business plan. It grew from a love of cooking, family, culture, and simply sharing food with people. What started with catering and a food truck eventually grew into a restaurant, often by taking one opportunity and one challenge at a time.
Many people see the finished plates, the food truck, or the restaurant, but they do not always see the long hours, sacrifices, mistakes, problem-solving, and constant learning that happen behind the scenes. I have had to learn nearly every side of the business along the way.
I think what surprises people most is how much of Roe Roe’s is personal. The food, the name, the culture, and the way we treat our customers all come from family and life experiences. It is more than a business to me—it is something that has grown into a reflection of who I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://roeroesllc.com
- Instagram: roe.roes.catering
- Facebook: roe roe’s
