Wagner, Ron, \u2793

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Furman University

Furman Magazine Volume 63 Issue 1 Spring 2020 Article 24 4-1-2020 The Running Back & The Rugelach Ron Wagner '93 Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazine Recommended Citation Wagner, Ron '93 (2020) "The Running Back & The Rugelach," Furman Magazine: Vol. 63 : Iss. 1 , Article 24. Available at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazine/vol63/iss1/24 This Regular Feature is made available online by Journals, part of the Furman University Scholar Exchange (FUSE). It has been accepted for inclusion in Furman Magazine by an authorized FUSE administrator. For terms of use, please refer to the FUSE Institutional Repository Guidelines. For more information, please contact scholarexchange@furman.edu. THE RUNNING BACK <§? THE RUGELACHOLD EUROPE DESSERTSBy Ron Wagner’93T he first time Bobby Daugherty ’90 decided to make a go of it in Greenville, he left with a national championship. Success will be defined a little differently this time around, but the football- star-turned-entrepreneur expects it nonetheless with Old Europe Desserts, a European coffee and pastry shop he opened downtown in the summer of 2019.“Being able to determine your own destiny is something that has always resonated with me. I was in financial sales, so if you did well you did very well. And if you didn't do well, you sometimes had to eat peanut butter for three or four days in a row,” Daugherty says with a laugh. “So, I didn't mind betting on myself.”An outstanding running back at Owen High School, east of Asheville, North Carolina, Daugherty hadn’t heard of Furman when then-coach Dick Sheridan offered him a scholarship, but his mother had and in­sisted he become a Paladin. Turned out, she knew best.Though a pair of major knee injuries cost Daugherty part of one year and all of another, he still rushed for 1,348 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. The highlight was a team-leading 655 yards on 130 carries in 1988 - a season that culminated with thePaladins beating Georgia Southern 17-12 to capture the national football title. “I should have scored that game, by the way,” Daugherty says.Off the field, Daugherty went from an indifferent student to a motivated one aided in no small part by professors like David Roe, who mentored him and encouraged him to major in economics. That degree served as a springboard to a career with Smith Barney before Daugherty moved back to the Asheville area to take over his grandfather’s garbage-collection business, which netted a nice profit when he sold it. The experience also whetted his appetite to be a business owner.Old Europe Desserts features an array of European-inspired treats, which have about half the sugar of their American counterparts, in addition to often being gluten-free. Daugherty himself isn’t big on sweets but saw a business opportunity in Old Europe Desserts.“It’s an incredible challenge to run a business, and one that I really, truly cherish,” he says. “Furman was the best experience I could have had. Made me grow up, made me be accountable.”o ld europedesser ts.com44  F U R M A N  | S P R I N G  2 0 2 0Clockwise from left: Ruth Stoltzfus, head pastry chef at Old Europe Desserts, prepares chocolate espresso roulade. An almond croissant from Old Europe Desserts. Owner Bobby Daugherty ’90 from behind the dessert counter. An espresso maker and tiramisu.F U R M A N  | S P R I N G  2 0 2 0 45

The Running Back & The Rugelach

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The Running Back & The Rugelach

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