Making the Entrepreneurial Dream Happen

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of our economy, and here at GoCreate we not only want to help those with the entrepreneurial spirit, but celebrate them as well. 

The owners of Fuzzy’s Tacos franchise in Wichita have used GoCreate for the past year to produce an astounding amount of décor that blends the Fuzzy’s style with a Wichita State University aesthetic.

Clint Reitz, one of the owners and the man behind the taco shop’s décor, said that with the assistance of GoCreate’s mentors, its sign making capabilities and equipment they can have “custom designs on the interior that no one else is going to have.”

Reitz has been a member of GoCreate since June 2019, fist joining through membership assistance provided by the John and Mary Koch Foundation.

It was when the Braeburn Square location for Fuzzy’s was being constructed that Reitz said he first heard about GoCreate from John Tomblin, WSU’s Vice President of Technology Transfer.

“He went over everything that was available at GoCreate and what it had to offer,” the fast food proprietor said.

“That’s what got us initially looking at GoCreate, and after figuring out the availability of tools and equipment there that the standard person doesn’t have access to, is what really made us want to use it.”

Equipment like the vinyl printer, the CNC plasma table and laser engraver were essential for Reitz when working on Fuzzy’s décor. However, he was unfamiliar with their operation, but that’s where the mentors came in he said.

“The people that work there definitely helped me through learning all the basic equipment.”

Now, Reitz is a pro at using the equipment, deftly switching between the adjacent computers that have the vinyl printer software and laser cutting software, printing out large banners needed for promoting the most recent deal while at the same time engraving the Fuzzy’s logo on a plank of walnut.

The WSU Fuzzy’s taco shop is decked out in all the accoutrement expected of a restaurant on a university campus like a large shark version of WSU's gluten-filled mascot WU.

However, it’s not just the WSU-themed decorations made at GoCreate.

The ovens at Fuzzy’s have a plastic insert in their stainless-steel handles that overtime begin to melt “and the only way you can replace that is to buy a whole new handle,” Reitz said.

“I 3D printed [the inserts] at GoCreate for Fuzzy’s, then popped them in and put [the handle] back on the oven, and it was pretty fantastic.”

GoCreate provides a great place for entrepreneurs, craftsman and hobbyists to realize some of the projects that they may not have been able to do on their own.

Reitz sees GoCreate as a great resource for entrepreneurs.

“You get access to a million dollars’ worth of facility and equipment [at GoCreate] that an entrepreneur starting out doesn’t have access to, and may never have access to,” he said. “But it gives you the ability to come in and make and do and try things.”