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In this inspiring episode, we talk to Gabi Angelini, a 2025 Cary Magazine Mover and Shaker, about her incredible journey as an entrepreneur. Gabi, alongside her mom and manager (momanger) Mary, overcame challenges in the job market faced by adults with special needs, especially those with Down Syndrome. They founded Gabi's Grounds in 2017 and Gabi's PALS in 2020, both ventures geared toward employing and empowering individuals with special abilities. Gabi’s organizations currently employ over 40 people and have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by Triangle Business Journal and a feature on the Kelly Clarkson Show. Join us as we delve into Gabi's story, her momager's unwavering support, the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workforce, and the exciting future that lies ahead for Gabi's companies. Don't miss an exclusive look into their upcoming Ghostly Gala and more!
00:00 Introduction to Gabi and Her Journey
01:18 Gabi's Entrepreneurial Spirit
03:00 Challenges and Triumphs in Employment
05:01 The Birth of Gabi's Grounds
08:17 Expansion to Gabi's PALS
12:35 Workforce Diversity and Inclusion
17:35 Facing Rejection and Starting a Business
18:12 Building Gabi's Grounds
19:30 Public Speaking and Advocacy
21:07 Empowering Stories of Employees
22:21 Personal Superpowers and Relationships
24:30 The Ghostly Gala Event
27:04 Future Goals and Vision
28:13 Fun Rapid-Fire Questions
https://poweredbygabis.org/
00:00 Introduction to Gabi and Her Journey
01:18 Gabi's Entrepreneurial Spirit
03:00 Challenges and Triumphs in Employment
05:01 The Birth of Gabi's Grounds
08:17 Expansion to Gabi's PALS
12:35 Workforce Diversity and Inclusion
17:35 Facing Rejection and Starting a Business
18:12 Building Gabi's Grounds
19:30 Public Speaking and Advocacy
21:07 Empowering Stories of Employees
22:21 Personal Superpowers and Relationships
24:30 The Ghostly Gala Event
27:04 Future Goals and Vision
28:13 Fun Rapid-Fire Questions
https://poweredbygabis.org/
Creators and Guests
What is What’s Up, Wake?
What’s Up, Wake covers the people, places, restaurants, and events of Wake County, North Carolina. Through conversations with local personalities from business owners to town staff and influencers to volunteers, we’ll take a closer look at what makes Wake County an outstanding place to live. Presented by Cherokee Media Group, the publishers of local lifestyle magazines Cary Magazine, Wake Living, and Main & Broad, What’s Up, Wake covers news and happenings in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Wake Forest.
27 - What's Up Wake -Gabi & Mary Angelini
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Melissa: [00:00:00] Today I have the privilege of speaking with one of our 2025 Carrie Magazine Movers and Shakers, our list of innovative entrepreneurs and visionary business leaders who embody excellence, determination, and inspiration. I can't imagine anyone who better embodies these traits than Gabby and her mom.
Mary Gabby's [00:01:00] story is unique in that her entrepreneurial spirit came as a result of frustration in the local job market. You see Gabby has Down Syndrome and people with special abilities have a very hard time finding employment. An astounding 82% of special needs adults are without a job. So Gabby set out to change that founding Gabby's grounds in 2017 and Gabby's PALS in 2020.
She empowers the special needs community by employing people with special abilities, currently employing over 40 people with a long waiting list. Since then, she's not only made our movers and shakers list. She's been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Triangle Business Journal in 2023. She is a North Carolina Women Business Owners Hall of Fame and Duckie.
That's a mouthful, 2019 Self Advocate of the Year by the North Carolina Down Syndrome Association. And she's even [00:02:00] been a guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show. I've gotta hear about that. I'm so honored. She's fit me into her busy schedule. Please welcome Gabby Angelini and her momager Mary. Yeah, thank you for having
Mary Angelini: us.
Melissa: We're excited to here. Thank you, ladies. Oh yeah. It was such a long introduction because you've done so much and not really too long of a time it sounds like. What, did you just graduate high school not long before 2017? Is that. Oh wow. Mm-hmm. 2017. Yeah. So you were a very young entrepreneur at that. Can you first explain to us.
I, I I love that you tell everybody that you call your mom your momager. Why do you call her your momager? Because my mom and my manager and my best friend. Oh, nice. I love that. The only real momager, I think momager started with a Kardashians, is that right? Could be. So, so we're gonna compare you to, to the Kardashian momager.
I think I'll like you a little bit more though. [00:03:00] Okay. Mary, can you first explain to us what Down Syndrome is and how that might even affect Gabby's day-to-day life?
Mary Angelini: It's just an extra chromosome. On the 24th chromosome, there's a, a three instead of two. It, you know, it affects your, her life a little bit slower to comprehend or shorten stature and, you know, you know, not really that much of a difference, to be honest with you.
Mm-hmm. They're, they're more alike than different. So it really doesn't affect her. You know, maybe money skills need a little help there. But, you know, she's a, a town owner. She lives on her own, so she, she's doing pretty well.
Melissa: I'd say she's doing great. And to me, I see Down Syndrome as a positive label because every person that I've ever met with Down Syndrome as hardworking, very happy, upbeat, and I would think that these qualities would make you more employable, right?
But you guys are saying, and my research is showing that [00:04:00] it's, it's the opposite. So why do you think that is?
Mary Angelini: I think people just have a misunderstanding. I don't know what they've learned going, you know, through the years that they're not high functioning, that they can't, they're not capable of working, they're not independent, which is the opposite.
So, I mean, we have individuals with many ranges of disabilities working with us. And, you know, we find our autistic people are perfectionists. So the. Yeah, that's the kind of employee you want. You want them on your quality control, that nothing gets out of our warehouse without going through their hands first to make sure it's perfect.
And it usually is. I mean, everybody is happy to have a job and focused and you know, thankful to be there. So they work very hard.
Melissa: I would think that that is quite a key to your success is the fact that the people you're employing. Know that it's very hard to find a job elsewhere. So they're extra grateful and excited to be there.
Exactly. Exactly.
Mary Angelini: They are, they're giving a thousand percent, right Gab?
Melissa: We
Gabi Angelini: always do.
Mary Angelini: You do.
Gabi Angelini: You're a hard [00:05:00] worker.
Melissa: Tell us how Gabby's grounds came to be in the first place. Either one of you.
Mary Angelini: I be my mom. You want me? Okay. So, when she graduated high school, she kept applying for different jobs right? And you'd get all dressed up, right?
Just true. And we'd practiced all the questions that the interviewer was gonna ask. And time and time again. They kept saying what? They keep saying, no, no, no, no, no. And you know, I think the last, if she was working as a bagger at a grocery store, and they would only give her three hours a week, which is not enough.
Oh. So, so we kept trying and trying. And then the last one was a, a smoothie bar in a, in a fitness center. Yeah. And they said, you'd be what? Too slow. Too slow. And I said, well, did you try her behind the smoothie bar? Yeah. And they said they never did. They said no. They say, they said. So I said, you just assumed she'd be too slow, like without even giving her a chance.
And that was just like the lightning bolt was like, no one's gonna give her a chance. And, and her friends that were same age were going through the same [00:06:00] thing. So I'm like, well, we're just gonna have to start our own company. Right. Yeah. So, she, she was, what were you saving all your money for? For a restaurant, she wanted to own her own restaurant.
Oh. And I'm like, I don't think I could do that. So I took her down to Wilmington, to Bitty and Bose. They had just opened in 2017. Coffee Shop, employing people special needs. I took her down there and I'm like, what do you think of this? And okay, let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do a coffee shop. We came back and we met with Larry, Larry from Larry's coffee.
He fell in love with her like everybody does, who wouldn't? And Larry's coffee
Melissa: is all over the place now. I, when I, when I read that your coffee is what he helps. You make the coffee and you guys package it? How does this work?
Mary Angelini: No, he, he roasts it. He made a special blend for her, what is it? One and aat. So they wrote and then they sell it.
They deliver it. We're in what grocery stores are we in here?
Gabi Angelini: Steer Weaver Street. Publix Lows. Baileys Market.
Mary Angelini: Yeah. So a lot, a lot of, you know, across North Carolina. So, he distributes it for us, and then we also sell it on our website. [00:07:00] Right.
Melissa: How did you even get in touch with Larry? Is he a local company?
Mary Angelini: He's a local company. After we came back from Bit and Bows, I, I looked up local coffee roasters in the area and I. I loved his story. I, I loved how he likes dancing and his little squiggly man, and he's a B Corp, which I love that.
What is that? That's like about you have to give back to the society. You have to be sustainable. You have to be very, I. Dedicated to recycling. And there's a, there's a, it's a lot of strict standards to get a B Corp. So I like that he had that and he was willing to meet with us. And of course, and he met with her.
He instantly fell in love with her and said, I wanna make a special blanket. Exactly. Very lovable. And then they distribute to the grocery stores for us, so we don't have to do that. So. They've been very good to us. Right. We're getting a new picture for the bag, right? Oh yeah. She's getting a new picture with her leather jacket.
Ooh, fancy.
Melissa: Yeah, it's gonna be cute. So Gabby, what do you do for Gabby's grounds? What role do you play?
Gabi Angelini: Telling I do everything, especially with my [00:08:00] mom. I.
Mary Angelini: You're, you're mostly a speaker, right? You're public speaker. Public speaker. You're on the tour Kinda. That's my favorite part. That's
Gabi Angelini: your
Mary Angelini: favorite part, right?
Gabi Angelini: Get paid. I speaking.
Melissa: Nice. And when you're a natural talker and you get paid for it, hey, it's a good thing. Absolutely. Use your talents like that. So you started out with the coffee, then you went over to Gabby's Pals, and let me see if I get this right. P is for packaging, A is for assembling, L for labeling and s for shipping.
You got it. How did you guys come up with this idea and what really is it? It
Mary Angelini: was the whole God thing always. Mm-hmm. We had all our coffee in our garage and someone came to buy something, saw the coffee. They said, you need to be in a warehouse. And I said, well, we can't afford a warehouse. And they're like, well, the loading dock, you only pay month to month.
So I'm like, okay. We went down and checked it out and I felt God saying, you need to go there. I'm like, you want me to move all our coffee outta the garage into a [00:09:00] warehouse in a locked cage and in a locked warehouse? I don't understand, but I know to do crazy when God tells me to do crazy. So I'm like, fine, just listen in the mouth.
What? That's right. Mm-hmm. You gotta listen to 'em. So we put all our stuff in the cage and we're standing in the cage, in middle the warehouse. I'm like, I look like an idiot. Like what is going on? But then. The next day we saw people, what were they doing? Murphy's Naturals. Murphy's Naturals. So they were all temp workers out there putting mosquito sticks.
Yeah. In boxes all day. Right. But what were they doing? They were on the phone. They were on their phone half the day. So we went next door and talked to Philip. I. Screaming and said, Hey, Philip, I got people that could do this. They won't be on their phone all day. He goes, okay. So then Gabby's Pals was born.
We, we hired some people. We did Murphy's. We sent it over to him, our perfectionist, autistic people. Every pal was perfect. Every label was straight, every, it was wrapped. He said, you could do all our work. Wow. Gabby's Pals was born. I'm like, oh, this is what you want me to do. So then better hours. Right? You don't have to get up early for a coffee show.
Not too early. We could hire more people. So that's what happened. So what are we, five years [00:10:00] later here, we are still going strong.
Melissa: And I said in my introduction, you guys have over 40 employees. We do. We do. How do you find your employees?
Mary Angelini: Oh, there are you kidding me? There's not many companies hiring people.
So we have people banging on the door every single day asking for a job every single day. There's no shortage of workers. They wanna work. Mm-hmm. And they're the best workforce. We talk to business owners every day because we're placing more people out in companies. Offsite and they're telling us the same story that the workers today, they don't wanna work.
They'll call in sick. Oh, my car's broken. They work for two days and they quit. It's like every business person I've talked to have told 'em the story. I'm like, well, we've got people that won't be like that. So we're getting more and more people outsourced, right? Oh yeah.
Melissa: So you go through the resumes and you go through the interview process, just like you would for any other business.
Mary Angelini: We, we bring them in and we let them see what the environment's like. I mean, we're in a warehouse and on, you know. It's not heated, it's not air conditioning. We have a giant fan to [00:11:00] see this is the kind of one of the environments you'd be working in and, and see if they like the work. It's repetitive work.
It's putting tags on shirts or it's putting dirt in boxes or it's assembling notebooks for companies. So it's like, this is what you'll be doing. Like, I mean, on paper everything looks fine, but unless they really do it and see. Can you see yourself doing this So many hours a day? It's up to them and they make their own hours.
So I mean, some people work 10 to two, some people work nine to four. I mean, some people work two days a week. It's, we let them pick their own hours, so works for them.
Melissa: And you have a waiting list of people that want to be employees. Right. So how do you handle the waiting list? Are you waiting for more jobs to come in?
I'm waiting for more jobs, so
Mary Angelini: Right. Right now I'm focusing more on outsourcing. 'Cause that seems to be where the greatest need is, are people. Companies out there that need people to go to their warehouse to work. So that's what we're working on.
Melissa: So essentially you get to work with your friends all day.
Oh yeah. I'm sure they all become your friends. They always do. [00:12:00] What do you do if, if you become overwhelmed with work like we all do, what is your solution? To being overwhelmed. Just keep calm. Keep calm.
Mary Angelini: But what
Melissa: else? You have other
Mary Angelini: tricks. What do you do
Melissa: when you're stress
Mary Angelini: ball? You're stress ball.
Gabi Angelini: Oh, okay.
Yeah. Or talk to a friend. Talk to a friend.
Melissa: Nice.
Gabi Angelini: Take a
Melissa: walk. Right. I hear you like a good dance party. It wouldn't, yeah. We're gonna get into a, a special dance party in a little bit. Yeah. That I am really excited about. Why? Why do you think. This is for Mary or Gabby. Why do you think that diversity and inclusion is so important in the workforce?
Mary Angelini: I think it's important because everybody's different and everybody deserves a chance. I mean, just give people a chance to see what I mean, our workforce, there's not really any accommodations for all the people that work there. I mean, we've got people in wheelchairs. We're, we're a accessible workplace, but other than that, there's [00:13:00] really, there's not much you have to do to have someone be employable at your place of business.
There's not much. I mean, if anything, we've been doing this for five years. I really, we don't really have anything that anybody really needs. So, you know, it's just all about inclusion. Just give someone a chance and see if it works. They'll be your best employee, I promise.
Melissa: And like you mentioned earlier, people with autism generally are very detail oriented.
Right. So are you trying to attach certain jobs to with certain personalities? Absolutely.
Mary Angelini: Yeah. And whatever they like, they like it, you know, like Justin's autistic, he likes organizing things like we put him, if, if a customer needs their cage organized, like with or not with all their shirts. Or inventory.
That's Justin. He's on that. He is over there. He is by himself. He is working. He's happy. So we want them to be happy where they work, right?
Gabi Angelini: Yeah.
Mary Angelini: Are you
Melissa: happy? I'm always happy. That's true. You seem like you're always happy. I try to. I like that. [00:14:00] And so if you, I guess you want, you want more businesses to reach out to you, so if anybody out there is looking for.
A group of people to help with packaging, assembling, labeling, or shipping? How do they reach out to you?
Mary Angelini: Oh, they can go to our website. My phone number's out there at www.poweredbygabbys.org or my phone number. It's, everything's on the website, email.
Melissa: We gotta get some more people reaching out to you so you can hire all these, all these potential employees off your wait list.
Yep. [00:15:00] What kind of qualities do you look for when you're hiring somebody? Do you have anything, Gabby, that you specifically look for in a person that you, somebody that you want to spend all day with?
Gabi Angelini: Ooh, I like someone who likes to talk and listen. Mm-hmm. And be a hard worker.
Melissa: Good. Gotta have those things because if you're sitting with 'em all day, you wanna be able to talk to 'em.
Yeah. You don't want them talking all the time. They gotta listen some too. Right. What is your favorite kind of music to dance to?
Gabi Angelini: Ooh, lady Gaga.
Melissa: Oh, good one. You can't not dance to a Lady Gaga song. True.
Gabi Angelini: It wouldn't.
Melissa: Yeah, that's very true. Or Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars. Yeah. Same with Bruno Mars. I mean, he's our modern day, Michael Jackson.
Oh yeah. Yeah. So I love those. I love both of those choices. You are a boss lady. What kind of boss do you think you are? [00:16:00] Everything. Everything. You gotta, you gotta do everything when you're owning a business, right? But what, what kind of personality do you think you show? Are you nice to your employees or are you bossy?
No, I'm not bossy.
Mary Angelini: You're not bossy? I never am. No, you're not. You're kind. It's a good thing. You're one of the employees, right? You hang out with them out, you work well outside them. You're fun and when you like
Melissa: what you're doing it, I think it shows in the end result products, right?
Mary Angelini: Yeah.
Melissa: Now, I firmly believe that behind every brave adult child is an extremely supportive mother.
First of all, I'd like to give you your flowers, Mary, because I'm sitting across from one heck of a mom.
Mary Angelini: Thank you.
Melissa: You're amazing. What emotions come to mind when you think back on Gabby's journey? Hmm. Hmm.
Mary Angelini: It just became, I mean, her confidence level, as you could tell, is very high. And you know, growing up she had, how many brothers do you have?
I have [00:17:00] five brothers. Five brothers. So five brothers? Mm-hmm.
Melissa: You're the only girl.
Mary Angelini: She's the only girl.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Mary Angelini: Wow. So, I mean, you know, she was very confident because, you know, they, you know, the younger one pulled her, him, her ride along with him, you know, skateboarding and snowboarding and basketball. So she was very well versed in athletics and, you know, get along with people.
So. We fostered that growing up, that confidence in who you are and who you, who you're gonna be, and you know, no downplaying anything. And so when we were interviewing and people just kept saying no to her, no, no, no. And she was just like. Am I doing something wrong? Mm-hmm. Is it me? Is it me? So her confidence level was going down and I was like, oh, hell no.
You are not gonna do this. Yeah. To my daughter. So rejection, rejection, rejection, rejection. So before I killed somebody Yeah, yeah. And spent jail time, we better start our own company. Better pivot. Because you can't take it. You know what I mean? Like you spend your whole life bringing somebody up and then they're a gift to you and you're [00:18:00] like throwing that gift, like they're nothing.
It's like, you're not gonna do that to my daughter or Or her friends. No. They're worthy of jobs. They're worthy of everything.
Melissa: They absolutely are. But I also, on the other hand, I don't know from personal experience because I've never started a business, but starting a business is not easy. So it, it had to have taken quite a bit of gumption for you to even think, all right, we're just gonna do it ourselves.
Mary Angelini: Yeah. You know, I mean, but like, again, the whole God thing is right there along the way. So, you know, when we came with Larry's and we're like, okay, now what? Okay, now we've got coffee and, okay. So we pulled together some parents of kids that had special needs and. Started a board and said, okay, let's start going to events and getting the name out and, and Gabby's ground's name is out there so well that they don't even know about Gabby's pals.
It's like, oh, you're Gabby from Gabby's Grounds. It's like, yeah, five years ago we pivoted, but people still remember us because we were out there so much in the community selling ice, coffee, hot [00:19:00] coffee, all over the place. Right. And public speaking. And public speaking. So we went to all the, the conferences and, you know, so it's.
It's a lot of work. It's still a lot of work. Mm-hmm. I mean, there's no, you know, you're 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM you know, working emails. There's a lot of work. Right. But you're worth it. Right? I'm always worth it. It's true and
Melissa: adorable. Absolutely. Both of those things. Yeah. Very humbled. I love it. Hey, if you're, if you're not positive, then who else is gonna buy your brand?
You know, you've gotta believe in yourself. You mentioned that you are a speaker, and I want to know how you got into speaking and what message do you like to share with your audiences? What's,
Mary Angelini: what's the, fedEx Talk. What's the title of that one?
Gabi Angelini: Secrets of Real Superpowers. Oh,
Melissa: nice. That's a great title.
Mary Angelini: So when we started back in 2017, there wasn't many like us that were doing this. There was a few, John's Crazy Socks was out there. He's got Down Syndrome. New York, [00:20:00] and I think Charlie French was doing his art, but there wasn't many. So they wanted Gabby to speak at all the Down Syndrome conferences to, you know, be a beacon of hope.
Mm-hmm. For those that were there. So we were at all of the Down Syndrome conferences all year that, you know, different places. So that was how it's her public speaking started. Right.
Melissa: Yeah. And you are a beacon of hope because you've gotta think that everyone. Has been in your shoes that you were in back in 20 16, 17 when you were looking for a job.
So to see what you have accomplished and what you've been able to do is, is quite a beacon for everybody out
Mary Angelini: there. I think that was the eye-opening thing too, was realizing that 80% of these adults are sitting home with nothing to do. Mm-hmm. Like that was, you know. I figured it was a small group, but it, it was a huge group out there.
So that was another mission. It was like, no, we need to change that.
Melissa: It's not, it's not healthy for your physical self self, [00:21:00] your mental self.
Mary Angelini: No. All
Melissa: around wellbeing. No. Mm-hmm. I mean, everybody
Mary Angelini: wants to contribute. Everybody wants to be a contributing member of society. Of course. Who doesn't? I mean, the people coming now that, that work there, you know, they're walking in there with their head up.
They're proud that they're working. And like Paul, he. He lives in Wake Forest and he doesn't know how to read or write, but he knows his numbers. So they taught him the numbers of the buses. So he takes three buses to get to us from Wake Forest. Wow. So he walks in, he's stru and he is did it all by myself.
Yeah. He is proud of himself. Proud of himself, you know, or Ethan. We caught him playing the piano out in the hallway one day and I videoed him and sent it to his mom. She had no idea he could play the piano. He taught himself how to play the piano at his grandmother's house. It was like beautiful songs.
So like there's so many stories unfolding over the people that are there and like the capabilities that they can, you show people that are just hidden in there that people don't even know about. You know, like Zion worked off site for us and we told him, he was like really smart. His [00:22:00] mom said he was doing trigonometry in grade school and then they put him on the robotics at this offsite company and.
His confidence was up that he went to night school for cybersecurity. Graduated. No way. Yeah, he graduated in December and moved to Charlotte for a cybersecurity job. So give someone the opportunity and the potential
Melissa: and the confidence, like you said. Yeah. Gabby, you, you said that the title of your talk is about superpowers, so what do you consider your superpowers to be?
Gabi Angelini: I really dunno, Tina. Yes, yes, you do. You, you know your superpower. What is it being a huggable. A huggable. She's a,
Melissa: she's
Gabi Angelini: a
Melissa: love, right?
Gabi Angelini: Always. Not everybody is hable.
Melissa: So that is definitely a superpower. Anything else? Being a lovable? Yeah, definitely. I think being likable is really underrated, especially in the business world.
I mean, you can have a great idea. But if nobody likes you, nobody's gonna wanna come work for you or buy your [00:23:00] product or do anything with you. So being likable is definitely a superpower. He is strong. Oh, and strong. Yeah, definitely strong. You mentioned that you're single, it's chef, is it he? What are you looking for in a potential partner?
Gabi Angelini: For me, I just want someone who's I could trust. With like being trustworthy. Mm-hmm. Just listen and not turn me down. Just have my back no matter what I go through or not.
Melissa: I think everybody deserves somebody like that in their lives. You're lucky that you've got your mom to cover all of those things for you as well and, and some good friends at work.
But now we'll just have to be praying for a good partner in crime. Oh yeah. Yeah. He's out there somewhere who knows who. Exactly. You never know. He might be your next employee. Who We don't know. You never
Mary Angelini: know. Yeah, never know. [00:24:00]
Melissa: I also heard that you are a homeowner, this chef. Can you tell us about that? He, can you tell us about your house or, or what you love about being a homeowner?
Your townhouse?
Gabi Angelini: Yeah. I'm a townhouse. What do you like about it? I like everything. I like just being comfortable and. I could watch TV and just feed myself around there.
Melissa: Yeah. Just relax, chill. Mm-hmm. We all need a place to chill, especially. I am really excited to hear about your ghostly gala. What is the Ghostly Gala?
When is it? Are costumes involved? I wanna know everything. And I hear you have a special guest or two, right. Oh yeah. 3, 3, 3
Mary Angelini: special
Melissa: guest
Mary Angelini: who's coming, who's our special guest.
Gabi Angelini: One of them is Mike Dempsey.
Mary Angelini: The NFL Football player. Yeah, he, Wes Harper. Wes Harper from Naked and Afraid. And is he gonna
Melissa: be clothed or He, but he is gonna
Mary Angelini: be [00:25:00] partially clothed.
Last time he came, he was, he had a loin cloth on and a big knife. Yes. Okay. So he's, and who said that he is mysterious and dangerous? Yes. Who else, who's the last one so far? Jake Allen. Jake Allen. He's an actor and producer from Nashville. Yeah, he's, he's a hottie. He's really a hottie. Yeah.
Melissa: I can't wait to Google.
Jay Gallen. Oh yeah, he's good with the y.
Gabi Angelini: And what's your costume gonna be? I'm make de Lawyer's Beetlejuice ex-wife. Oh,
Melissa: oh. Beetlejuice Iss ex-wife. That's a good one. Okay. Who's gonna be Beetlejuice?
Mary Angelini: I don't know. I, her dad was Beetlejuice last year right
Melissa: there. Oh. Oh, that's your dad? That was be Beetlejuice?
Mm-hmm. Okay. He's got good makeup. Mask. Did you do his makeup? That was a mask. Oh, it was a mask? Mm-hmm. Oh, I, okay, I'm looking at it now. Everybody needs to go look online. At the last year's Ghostly Gala. I'm thinking it's the real Beetlejuice because it was a mask just like him. Mm-hmm.
Gabi Angelini: We're have food, drinks, drinks.
A fat [00:26:00] part, the alcohol. Oh.
Mary Angelini: Live auction. Silent auction. I'm the auction too. She's on the auction too. We're gonna auction her off right of the day. Of the night. Of the night night with Gabby, right?
Melissa: Oh, a night with Gabby. Yeah. That could be where you meet your soulmate. Oh yeah. You never know. Oh, fingers crossed.
And then what
Mary Angelini: about the party truck? The fire trucks, axes and a's es and a's a party, a fire truck turn into a party bus. Oh, that sounds like fun. So you go on rides up and down Hillsborough Street and the fair will be going on at the same time. Oh yeah. Wow. There, bring your drinks on there. Oh yeah.
We go there afterwards. That's a great idea. Yeah.
Melissa: So what are you raising money for? Is it to contribute to Gabby's pals? It is so that we could hire more people and get more staff, maybe get a bigger space, and we're kind of busting outta where we're at already. And to think, when you first walked into the warehouse, you thought, what am I gonna do with all this space?
Oh yeah. Well that was the last week. This
Mary Angelini: is our second warehouse. We started at the loading dock and blew out of that one. And then now we're in. Blue Co. And we're [00:27:00] busting at the seams there. Right.
Melissa: That's unbelievable. Yep. Okay. Gabby, not many people can say that they are a hall of famer. I certainly cannot say that.
What are your dreams and goals looking into the future? What do you have next on your vision board?
Gabi Angelini: I really don't know. I wanna take to New York and Puerto Rico.
Melissa: Okay, so you wanna go on trips? Oh yeah. That's actually an upcoming question I have for you, so we'll save that. What about you, Mary? Where do you see Gabby in five years or 10 years?
Ooh, Gabby. Oh, I don't know. I think, you
Mary Angelini: know, probably speaking all over the world, you know, telling people about this population and how awesome they are. And especially The Bahamas. The Bahamas. You wanna go there again? She went there. Oh yeah, she went there for your birthday. I know. I'll go again.
Melissa: Oh boy.
You know why? You wanna go everywhere? What did you like about The Bahamas? Gambling? Gambling did [00:28:00] not expect that one, but quite honestly, everything you have said so far has been a little bit of a twist, so. Thank you for being surprising. I think that's, that makes for a cool interview. Oh yeah. It is time for our WhatsApp Roundup where I ask a lightning round series of questions Before we go, my first question is, Gabby, if you could have your face and name on one other product other than coffee, what product do you think you would choose?
Gabi Angelini: A car coaster. A car coaster. Be cool. Or a poster or a car or a race car? Not a race car. Not a race car. Oh, F1 racing. F1 race car.
Melissa: Oh, that would be pretty cool. Yeah. Big F1 movie coming out this summer as well, so. Oh yeah, that'd be pretty cool. We shipped, we shipped
Mary Angelini: the F1 racing kits for brand fuel shipped last year.
Really? Across the world. Yep. We ship them out. Hmm.
Melissa: You just have all sorts of products out there that [00:29:00] you're working with. Gabby's pals, right? Oh yeah. You get to see all the cool stuff coming through. What about you, Mary? Can you envision her brand being on another product? Hmm. That's a good question. Oh, what about ice cream?
Oh, yeah, that would be a cool
Mary Angelini: one. That's what her dad wants, right? Get her ice cream. That's a good idea. I mean, Ben
Melissa: and Jerry's has all these different brands, like the Tonight Dough and, you know,
Mary Angelini: oh, that's a good idea. Well, you do have a, a brand ice cream at two roosters. Two roosters made a ice cream.
Really? For her flavor. Yeah. What is
Melissa: the flavor? Cookies and cream. Oh, you can't go wrong with cookies and cream. My favorite. Yeah, you, I mean, you can't go wrong with that. In fact, I will. I will admit, I had a cookies and cream ice cream sandwich right before this interview, so I can, I can definitely vouch for the cookies and cream.
Gabby, what is your very, very favorite movie? Do you have one? Ooh, my favorite part. Twilight. Oh, twilight. You know, I have never seen Twilight and never read it either. It's really good. My daughter likes [00:30:00] Twilight. I guess I should try it sometime. What? Oh, speaking of ice cream, if you could have one type of dessert every single day for an entire month, what would it be?
Gabi Angelini: Plant-based bakery. Donut of cooks and cream. Oh, a cookies
Melissa: and cream donut
Gabi Angelini: from plant-based bakery.
Melissa: Where is in Wake Forest? Oh, in Wake Forest. Plant-based bakery. Okay. I have not been there.
Mary Angelini: Yeah. Gluten and dairy free. They have, yeah.
Melissa: Nice. Okay. So we just need to load you up with a bunch of Oreo cookies and put it in different product.
Mix it in with donuts, mix it in with ice cream, and you're gonna be happy. Oh, now speaking of trips, speaking of Bahamas, if you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would you bring with you? Ooh. Paris. Nice. I've never been to Paris. Can I go with you? Actually, Vegas the
Gabi Angelini: most.
Melissa: Oh, Vegas. Well, there's a Paris hotel in Vegas, so you can kind of do both.
Gabi Angelini: That's right.
Melissa: Who would you wanna go [00:31:00] with you?
Gabi Angelini: I pick one of my friends from work, so most of the name mom? No.
Melissa: Can't choose your favorites. Nope. I, my mom.
Mary Angelini: Oh, that's a good choice. I thought you were gonna say Jake Allen from the No, no.
Good boss. Yeah. You could ask him at the gala if he wants to go with to Vegas.
Melissa: Yeah. Mary, can you tell us where to find all your information? You mentioned your website. Is that also where we find the ghostly gala information as well? And what was that again down there?
Mary Angelini: Yeah, it's www.poweredbygabbys.org.
Melissa: And Gabby is spelled GABI. Yep. So powered by gabbys.org. Thank you ladies for having us, so much for being here, having congratulations on all the amazing things you have been doing, especially most recently being named a mover and shaker for Care magazine. Thank you. Thanks. Keep going.
Gabi Angelini: Oh yeah. [00:32:00]