Raechel Van Buskirk was managing a small Omaha bar when she tried something new for Sunday brunch — deviled eggs, but with a twist. Instead of the usual filling, she mixed in taco seasoning and topped them with crunchy garnishes. She set them out, not expecting much, but within minutes, the plate was empty. Customers kept asking for more. Week after week, the taco-style eggs became the star of brunch, and Raechel couldn’t ignore it.
She had been in the restaurant business since she was 14, working her way from bartending to management. Creating new dishes came naturally to her, but this was different. The eggs had a way of catching people off guard. They weren’t fancy, just fun — a familiar food made interesting. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to build something bigger around them.
In 2017, she decided to make it official and started Deviled Egg Co. It began as a small catering business, with Raechel preparing batches of eggs in her home kitchen. Orders grew faster than she expected. That first Thanksgiving, she made around 2,500 eggs, and by Christmas, the number doubled. Word spread, and Raechel knew she needed help to keep up.
That’s when she teamed up with Alexi Wellman, a local entrepreneur with experience in scaling small businesses. Alexi loved the idea — it was quirky and memorable, just like Raechel’s approach to cooking. They started brainstorming how to take the concept from catering to something more permanent. A food truck seemed like the perfect next step, allowing them to test flavors and build a following without the commitment of a full restaurant.
They hit the road with a simple but creative menu. There was the Walking Taco deviled egg, seasoned with taco spices and topped with crunchy bits, the Sriracha Bacon egg with a spicy kick, and the Crab Rangoon egg that combined creamy filling with a sweet drizzle. People lined up at street fairs and local events to try them. By the end of the year, they knew they were onto something.
The first brick-and-mortar location opened in Omaha in 2021. It wasn’t just a place to eat; it was a spot where people could gather and share something unexpected. Raechel kept the atmosphere casual and the menu flexible, introducing seasonal flavors and keeping customer favorites on rotation. Families came in on weekends to try new combinations, and Raechel loved watching people’s reactions to flavors like Cheeseburger or Buffalo Chicken Ranch.
As the business grew, Raechel knew she wanted to take it beyond Omaha. In 2023, they opened a second location in Denison, Texas, where Raechel’s family lived. A few months later, they added a carry-out shop in McKinney, testing a smaller, faster model that could work as a franchise. Raechel saw it as a way to keep things manageable while still expanding.
Today, Deviled Egg Co. continues to evolve, but the heart of the business remains the same — taking something simple and making it a little surprising. For Raechel, it’s still about making people smile, whether it’s with a classic deviled egg or one that tastes like a taco. It’s a small idea that grew because people loved the unexpected, and Raechel never stopped experimenting.
