ATLANTA, Oct. 20 – Growing up as the son of a strudel salesman, Andy Wessels always knew that he wanted to have a fast paced career in the food service industry. Recalls Andy, “My father would go door to door selling his strudel from a cart; Forty cents for a small, eighty cents for a large with nuts. I will never forget the look on a child’s face when they’d bite into one of my dad’s strudels…It was like watching a butterly emerge from its cocoon. Looking back on my childhood, I realize that it wasn’t just strudels that my dad was selling from that cart – It was hope.”

After graduating from college, Andy founded Randy’s Nachos, a small nacho cafe located in Atlanta, GA. Although his nacho business was turning a nice profit, Andy realized that his true passion was not in nachos, but instead in the high-profile world of Whynattes. Shortly thereafter, Andy sold his chain of nacho cafes, and took his talent to what was at the time a small, start-up Whynatte manufacturer, Whynatte International.

Three years later, and Andy is now the Executive Vice President of the world’s largest Whynatte producer. From his perch atop the Whynatte industry, Andy speaks candidly about an industry that has both matured considerably, and provided for him and his family a life of unquestioned leisure. He acknowledes that competition is heating up in the Whynatte industry, but remains confident in Whynatte International’s ability to hold onto its top spot in the market.

While Andy’s lost count of how many lattes he’s made over the years, he’s never forgotten about his father’s strudel cart. “When I make a Whynatte for someone, and I watch them drink it for the first time, it’s like I’m taking a trip back in time to my childhood, and watching someone enjoy a strudel for the first time. I can sum up the spirit of Whynatte in one word: personal connection.”

Getting back to basics: Andy shows that just because he’s at the top of the Whynatte game, he hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to work the espresso machine.

For Andy, this is what Whynatte is all about: Sharing the gift of Whynatte with friends.