When Tyla-Simone Crayton was eight years old, she created a sauce recipe she sold at her mom’s home restaurant on weekends and to classmates. Her mom often hosted “wing and wine Wednesdays” for family and friends.

That was a few years before she landed on the hit show “Shark Tank” and struck a $100,000 deal with jewelry designer Kendra Scott, who committed $100,000 for a 20 per cent stake in Sienna Sauce.

Recently, Crayton took a significant step forward, opening her first restaurant, Sienna Wings, in Missouri City, Texas. “I just felt deep inside that we were on to something,” Crayton told the Houston Chronicle.

The mother-daughter combo operated Sienna Wings out of their Sienna, Texas home on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. from 2017 to 2018. Sienna Wings was named after their bedroom community in Missouri City.

They lined seats in their dining room as a waiting area while six deep fryers were sizzling away in the kitchen. Twelve wings cost $11.95 each, and 20 cost $20.95, according to the menu. The pickup-only restaurant also offered mac and cheese and chips. Additionally, they provided wings for school lunches and sold goods worth around $40,000 throughout that period.

Then, in 2021, Crayton appeared on “Shark Tank”. However, a report from AfroTech alleges the Sienna Wings owner has not yet received the investment from Scott two years after appearing on the show. Taking matters into her own hands, Crayton and Sienna Sauce are raising capital and have gathered over $100,000.

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Sienna Sauce is sold at H-E-B, Target, Wegman’s and other U.S. national stores, but Crayton said the opening represents a full-circle moment. The Craytons relocated to Houston for a fresh start in 2013, claiming to have been momentarily homeless in New York City, according to the Chronicle.

Sienna Sauce will be offered on the menu in four flavours for the wings. And while Crayton completes her final two years at the University of California, Berkeley, her mother will manage the eatery. She says she’ll help handle operations remotely.

“I honestly want to show the world that anything is possible, even at a young age,” Crayton told the Chronicle. “It took us a while to get here, but I’m really humbled to show the world what we’re doing.”