A young entrepreneur from Harlingen has joined the business world doing what she has always wanted.
A familiar face in the Texas International Fishing Tournament that celebrated its 86th anniversary this past weekend, Mary Eloise Charvat was seen walking with a tray of Greek olives in the exhibit area of the South Padre Island Convention Center.
The center was the site of the tournament awards ceremony held Aug. 2.
The olives Charvat was offering Greek products she sells through a business she opened, Scratch That Kitchen. Other products include oils, stuffed cheese, lemon and jalapenos, herbs and species and balsamic vinegar.
“I opened this business last November,” she said. “It’s an online one.”
She is attending Texas State University in San Marcos where she is majoring in marketing and public relations. Charvat said she learned about the product while attending a trade show last year in Las Vegas. Her mother caught the attention of a booth offering the items to the attendants and they engaged into talks on how to bring them to the Rio Grande Valley.
Today, she advertises her business using pops and everything else she does is online. As the creator of Scratch That Kitchen, Charvat said her love for cooking started when “Mimi” passed the skillet and became her turn to run the kitchen at home
“From there,” she said in her post, “I learned being in it. Experimenting, adjusting, and figuring it out one dish at a time.”
She said the food one makes has its own personality and that food brings people together.
Her father, Cary, said they have been supporting her since the day she being running her business and will continue to do so. Charvat said she has volunteered her time during the Texas International Fishing Tournament doing the things they are required and has been one of the recipients of the scholarships TIFT gives out every year.
“I have always been an entrepreneur,” she said. “I have sold cookies, art works and other things.”
Mary Eloise Charvat, owner of Scratch That Kitchen, talks about her products during the recent Texas International Fishing Tournament awards presentation .(Photo: Antonio Vindell/RGG)
