Meet Rachael and Joe Nalevanko | Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachael and Joe Nalevanko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachael and Joe, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Both of us really wanted to start a business to get out of the usual grind of working for other people. It took some time to figure out what we wanted to do, but eventually we decided that helping people discover the benefits of Hemp/Cannabis products and educating them was what we really wanted to do. We wanted to do something that would leave a lasting impact on people, and help them while also working to break the stigma around Cannabis.

What should our readers know about your business?
Vanko CBD started out as a way to get our foot in the door in the cannabis industry. It’s very difficult to get involved in this space without a lot of money backing you, and beyond that we have noticed that many people are getting into it for the wrong reasons. We aren’t in this to make money, we’re in this to educate people and help them find quality products that will help them with their every day needs. Walking into a CBD store can be very intimidating, and if the people working there aren’t knowledgable and understanding it can lead to a bad experience (which we’ve personally had). We make it our priority to educate and serve each customer in a personal and compassionate matter to ensure they always feel valued and satisfied. We also wanted to make sure that every product we carry has high levels of traceability, and we support as many local hemp farms as we can. We do our best to visit the farms, and make connections with the people creating the products to give our customers one more layer of safety. We’re most proud of the relationships we’ve built with our customers. They trust us and keep coming back to us because they know that we truly care about their wellbeing.

We started out as a pop up business, attending community events and festivals. Within a year we were able to move into our store front which also afforded us the opportunity to open a secondary business, “Newtown Glass”. We highlight local glassblowers, and American Blown glass, smoking accessories, as well as antique glass. Our area was known for the famous “Westmoreland Glass Company” and we help people to identify and sell any antique glass they are trying to part with. We’re very big on history, and our name has a fun historical side to it. The street we are located on was originally known as Newtown before our town was officially made the seat of the county.

We’ve faced a lot of challenges along the way regarding including banking, insurance, and advertising. It’s hard to work in this space when people don’t understand that the products we sell are federally legal and are not ‘unsafe substances’ as we are often told by most of the institutions involved in banking and advertisement.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Our area is full of fun and exciting things to do!

We’d take our friend on a little shopping trip to visit some of the coolest stores in the area. Mz. Jones Curio, The Green Beacon, Rock Bottom Jewelry & Engraving, Sissy’s Bella Luna Moirai, and Imperfect Creations Holistic are just a few that come to mind.

As far as eating, thats one of our favorite things to do and we have lots of places we would want to take them! Morelands at Waterworks, Henrys Hoagies, Sittay’s Mediterranean Kitchen, and we’d also track down Ian Sayre and his food truck Tin Shack BBQ!

We’d take them for some drinks and pizza at our neighbors, Yellow Bridge Brewing.

Coffee and caffeine are always important. DV8 Espresso bar & gallery is a must, and the Kentlee is also a favorite!

Depending on the time of year we’d also try to take them to some of our festivals. Fort Ligonier Days, The Arts and Heritage Festival at Twin Lakes are two amazing events.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our families have always been there to support us and help us achieve our vision and goals. Without their encouragement, wisdom, and support we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. They have always had our backs, and we are so incredibly thankful for them.

Website: www.vankocbd.com

Instagram: VankoCBD

Facebook: www.facebook.com/VankoCBD