Hi! I’m Yabba. Yes, I’m a real person. My given name is Kristi, but Yabba is an endearing nickname that has stuck to me since I was in Middle School. It derives from my last name and was given to me by a coach of mine. It has transcended throughout my many athletic and personal endeavors. To know me is to know me by “Yabba”.

Now that you know I exist, let’s talk a little about my existence. I was born and raised in Gulf Shores, AL and entrepreneurship runs in my blood. My Grandmother came to Gulf Shores in the 1970s and opened her first business on Gulf Shores Parkway called Beach Bazaar. She expanded down the Parkway to open Souvenir Outlet. My Mom was always involved, and by the early 2000s, had worked her way into primary owner of both locations. She turned Souvenir Outlet into the iconic tourist destination you may know today as “The Purple Octopus”.

With a legacy like that, it may seem that my fate had been written in the sand, but that wasn’t the case. Once I realized professional athlete was off the board, I pondered like everyone else, what to do with my life. Surprisingly, I felt life needed to be approached seriously and analytically. So naturally I pursued a degree in Actuarial Mathematics. I got the Degree and explored some positions, but I couldn’t shake the gravitational pull of the beach and my entrepreneurial spirit.

My Mom had an open spot available in The Purple Octopus and a convincing and exciting proposition: “Let’s build a brand together!” It may have been 2011, but I still remember that conversation like it was yesterday. That conversation was the birth of Yabba’s Wacky Snack Shack.

Since that conversation, I could have never imagined how much of me would be embodied in Yabba’s today. It is a testament not only to my pride and gratitude to the legacy before me, but also my need and desire to pave my own way. It is my creative outlet while also allowing me to stay true to my analytical roots. And, most importantly, it has given me the space and confidence to be myself and express it in a colorful, humorous, and definitely not so serious way.

As the brand has expanded and grown so have my roles within it. I now have 2 daughters of my own who have enthusiastically embraced their roles as avid taste testers and heads of the ever so critical quality control department. There are few things as humbling as an elementary school kid telling you your new experimental creation is “Yucky!” I’m excited to give them the opportunity to cultivate their own entrepreneurial spirit if they so choose. I am also excited to bring this story completely full circle as we rebuild the original Yabba ‘s where it all started, the Beach Bazaar building.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and more importantly, thank you, for being a part of it. When you visit Yabba’s, I truly hope you enjoy a candy store experience fueled by happiness and humor with a bit of lighthearted rebellion!