The NAACP Culpeper Branch #7058 is proud to present our Black Business Spotlight, a new initiative celebrating the Black entrepreneurs and business owners providing services right here in our communities.
For our inaugural feature, we’re honored to introduce Muff’s Sweet Treats & More, the beloved food trailer owned and operated by Laura Brent and her son Nicholas. Known for signature desserts, savory subs and wraps, weekly specials, and Nicholas’ homemade pizza and stromboli, this family business serves up more than just great food —they offer genuine connection with each customer and meals made with heart.
We invite you to get to know the journey from home kitchen to local favorite through this series of questions answered by owner Laura Brent.
Q. What’s the story behind your business and how it all began?
In 2021, Muff’s Sweet Treats started right in my home—with a thought that turned into a prayer, a conversation with my husband, and start-up funds that were lovingly gifted by my husband, John Brent. Although I have a career in Human Services and more than 20 years in the behavioral health field, I have always wanted to own a business. I didn’t know what it would be, and that’s where the prayer came in. I asked God, “What do you want me to do?”
I’ve always loved cooking, especially soul food, but I honestly didn’t think baking was in my future. After I shared my vision with my husband, he encouraged me to go for it and helped me get started by providing money for supplies and materials. From there, I began working on recipes—testing flavors until everything had the right balance and combination.
The first three desserts I created were banana pudding, strawberry lemon, and blueberry lemon cups. I took samples to potential customers and asked for honest feedback on taste, portion size, and pricing. About a month later, I launched Muff’s Sweet Treats with a Facebook video (my older children helped me make it), and in that first week, I received 75 orders for dessert cups. That moment confirmed for me that this business was bigger than baking—it was a purpose.
In 2024, Muff’s Sweet Treats expanded to Muff’s Sweet Treats and More. My son, Nicholas, and I opened a food trailer that combines my signature dessert recipes with his menu of subs, wraps, and sandwiches. Nicholas has more than five years of experience in the food and restaurant industry, and partnering with him has been a blessing. It has allowed us to grow as a family business while offering customers more variety—sweet treats and savory options all in one place.
Q. What does it mean to you personally to be a minority-owned business?
Being a minority-owned business is personal for me because it’s about representation, excellence, and making an impact. I’ve been fortunate to have business ownership modeled in my family through my older brother and my father, and I’m proud to add to that legacy by serving my community in my own way. It also motivates me to keep showing up consistently, professionally, and with quality—because I want my brand to reflect excellence in every way.
Q. How has being part of the Culpeper/Madison/Rappahannock community shaped your business?
As a native of the surrounding counties, I value this community. Being local has especially shaped Muff’s Sweet Treats by allowing me to build genuine relationships—not just with customers. People here support small businesses, they value homegrown talent, and they want to be part of something personal.
The community has also helped me grow through word-of-mouth, repeat customers, and opportunities to collaborate with other local businesses. Those connections have helped create memories and moments that make this business feel like family.
Q. In what ways do you hope your business contributes to or uplifts the community?
I want Muff’s Sweet Treats to be a positive, feel-good part of the community—something that brings people together. I also want to give our customers a safe space to share, confide, cry, and laugh. We want our customers to leave our food trailer feeling better than when they came.
We use our trailer as a ministry to bring you delicious food, prayer, love, and laughter. Many customers have shared that our food is comforting, and that means a lot to me because it confirms we are doing more than serving food—we are serving people.
Q. What are your most popular or signature products/services? (Or more specific to Muff’s Sweet Treats, what is YOUR perfect order?)
My signature items are my dessert cups, especially banana pudding, strawberry lemon, and blueberry lemon. Those flavors helped launch Muff’s Sweet Treats, and they’re still customer favorites.
My perfect order would be a Brent’s Classic Sub because it’s incredibly hearty, loaded with bacon, ham, turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, mayo, and Italian dressing, then lightly toasted. For dessert, I’m choosing a Biscoff cookie butter dessert every time because it tastes amazing and is one of my personal favorites.
Q. What’s been one of your biggest challenges, and one of your biggest successes?
One of my biggest challenges has been balancing everything—family, my career, and running a growing business—while maintaining quality. When you’re building something from the ground up, you learn quickly that growth requires structure, time, and discipline.
I’ve had several significant successes. The first was my launch week, receiving 75 orders right away was a blessing and an important milestone. The second was graduating from an entrepreneurship class in 2024, which helped me grow personally and professionally as a business owner. However, the most significant success was the grand opening of our food trailer on August 3, 2024. That day was truly a blessing, and we held a whole dedication ceremony that made the moment even more meaningful for our family and our business.
Q. What do you hope every customer walks away knowing, feeling, or experiencing when they interact with your business?
I want every customer to have a great experience when they visit our food trailer. I want them to feel loved, cared for, and truly valued—not rushed or treated like “just another order.” I also want them to experience quality, consistency, and flavor that feels homemade and comforting, so they leave satisfied and excited to come back.
