“What’s Wrap Happening?”: How Wrap is Building a healthier Community one Smile at a time

When I first featured Wrap Happy on Instagram in 2023, it had already earned a loyal following in Brunswick. During my years working downtown where the original location used to be, it was one of my favorite lunch spots. It was a place where that I could grab something quick and fresh, and knowing it was Black-owned made supporting it feel even more meaningful.

Not long after that feature, the restaurant entered a new chapter when Davon Hill became its owner.

Since then, I’ve had the chance to watch him grow into more than the face behind the counter. Whether he’s welcoming customers with an easy smile, sponsoring youth programs, partnering with fellow entrepreneurs, or showing up for community events, he’s become someone whose presence extends well beyond the walls of the restaurant. If you know Davon, you know that smile. It’s genuine, it’s constant, and somehow it has a way of making people feel like they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be.

I already knew pieces of his story before we sat down together. We both grew up in McIntosh County. He was raised in Carnegan, while I grew up on Sapelo Island. Our families even shared the same school bus after I stepped off the ferry each morning. We both understood what it meant to grow up in communities where getting groceries wasn’t always convenient and where neighbors all know one another by name. I suspected those shared experiences had shaped the way he viewed community, but I didn’t yet know how deeply they had influenced the vision he now carries for Wrap Happy.

As our conversation unfolded, we talked about much more than restaurant ownership. We talked about growing up in rural Coastal Georgia, learning entrepreneurship from family, navigating corporate America, taking risks that didn’t always work out, and finding purpose in unexpected places. By the end of our interview, it was clear that Wrap Happy isn’t simply the business Davon owns. It’s the latest chapter in a journey that began long before he ever stepped through its doors.

From McIntosh County to Entrepreneurship

Davon grew up in McIntosh County, a place he remembers fondly but also honestly. “One thing that sucked is if you didn’t go to the grocery store before you got out to the country… then you would be at home hungry. Because there’s no food and you definitely didn’t have no options.”

As someone who grew up on Sapelo Island, I knew exactly what he meant. If you forgot something, getting food wasn’t always simple.

Those experiences now fuel his vision for Wrap Happy. “My mission with Wrap Happy is to eliminate the food deserts, and not with just fast processed food, with good quality food that people can trust, that doctors can trust.”

He wants families to have access to healthier options regardless of where they live.

“Whether it’s high blood pressure, whether it’s diabetes or whatever it is, we want to make sure that you and the family and doctors can trust us to take care of you and your dietary needs.” That purpose sits at the center of everything he does.

Entrepreneurship Runs in the Family

While Davon never imagined himself owning a restaurant, entrepreneurship was woven into his story long before Wrap Happy. “I come from a long lineage of entrepreneurs.” His father owns Low Country Kitchen and became the first and still only Black contractor at Sea Island Resort for in-home catering services.

His grandmother still operates a catering business at 65 years old. “She’s 65, and she is still grinding.” The family history stretches back even further. Davon recently learned more about an ancestor who became the first Black man to own a bar in Manhattan. “We take it way back.”

Watching generations of family members build businesses planted a seed. “I went from passing out rolls when I was 8 at weddings for my grandma.”

Years later, while attending Augusta University, he asked his father for a chance to run the business for a summer. “I said, ‘Dad, I really want to learn how to do business. Let me take it over for the summer.’” The first event didn’t go perfectly. “The first one I showed up too late and I was missing half of my stuff.”But he kept learning, kept improving, and by the end of the summer the business had grown. “Ever since then the business bug bit me.”

Learning to Get Ready

After graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic, Davon launched into a series of corporate leadership roles.

Within months, he became one of the youngest managers in company history at a multi-billion-dollar corporation. When he expressed doubt about whether he was ready, a talent manager gave him advice he still carries today. “Sometimes you just got to get ready.”

Those words stayed with him through multiple leadership positions, business ventures, and entrepreneurial experiments.

He managed luxury resort properties. He opened a branch of his father’s business in Augusta. He worked in sales. He even started a garlic farm in Florida with his cousin.

Then came one of the biggest setbacks of his life. The brutal heat of 2023 devastated their harvest. “We lost 73% of our harvest that year.” He had already quit his job and was preparing to farm full-time.

“I was like, well dang, what am I gonna do?” The answer would arrive in an unexpected way.

The Wrap Happy Opportunity

Davon’s father told him about a restaurant in Brunswick whose owners were looking to sell. That restaurant was Wrap Happy.

At the time, Davon barely knew the business. “I graduated high school in 2016 and they opened in 2017. So I missed it.” But after learning more about the brand and its mission, he saw the vision. “I think we can really do something with this brand.” A deal eventually came together after months of conversations and negotiations.

Two years later, Davon has helped guide Wrap Happy into a new chapter while preserving much of what customers already loved. “We kept a lot of the amazing recipes. Most of them. It’s basically the same recipes.” The difference has been in the systems, the vision, and the future. “We just kind of improved our systems and gave it more of a franchisable look.”

Teaming Up to Win

When asked about his proudest moments as owner, Davon didn’t talk first about sales or revenue. He talked about partnerships. “One thing I’m all about is teaming up to win.”

One of his favorite collaborations has been with Maddie’s Lemonade Stand. “Working with a kid entrepreneur that really knows her stuff.” He lights up talking about helping young people succeed.

“To be a young Black man in business is one thing. But to be a young Black man in business that can help other young Black kids, that’s where the winning really is.” That mindset shows up throughout Wrap Happy’s community involvement.

The business donated lunches for students through Chosen Generation Academy. They support Coastal Outreach Soccer. They have partnered with organizations throughout the region.

And perhaps most importantly, Davon genuinely enjoys the people he serves. “I love the Wrap Happiers.” As he said it, he smiled. Then he smiled even bigger.

The Power of a Smile

Anyone who has met Davon already knows this about him. His energy is contagious. “I try to leave you with a big smile.”

Whether someone walks through the doors having a good day or a bad one, he wants them to leave feeling better than when they arrived. “I’ll make you smile. I’m that guy.” It’s not a marketing strategy. It’s just who he is.

And in a world where so many businesses feel simply transactional, that approach stands out. You can taste the quality. You can feel the kindness when you walk in the door.

Thinking Bigger Than Brunswick

Davon isn’t shy about dreaming big. Very big.

“When I first got Wrap Happy, my goal was I wanted to be the first restaurant on Mars.” He laughs when he says it, but he’s serious about thinking beyond what’s immediately in front of him.

His vision includes seeing Wrap Happy in airports, hospitals, and college campuses across the country. “I saw Wrap Happy in every airport, every college campus, and hospital campus in America.”

That dream is already beginning to take shape. Recently, Wrap Happy products became available through the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport after an organic partnership grew from relationships his fiancé who is a traveling nurse built with airport staff.

When the wraps arrived, the reaction surprised even him. “The TSA agents were cheering.”

For Davon, it was another reminder that genuine relationships often open doors no business plan could predict.

A Legacy Rooted in Family

Near the end of our conversation, the topic shifted to community and legacy. The emotion was immediate.

Just a month or so before our interview, Davon had buried his grandmother. The woman who spent years encouraging him, supporting him, and driving him to opportunities had left an imprint he is still uncovering.

After her passing, his mother shared a photograph from his grandmother’s high school years. Davon described feeling stunned.

His grandmother had won many of the same honors he received decades later, including being recognized as a standout student.

“She was just as decorated, accomplished, and ambitious. She never mentioned none of it.” What she did do was encourage him. “She told me, don’t say no to opportunities. Just take them and see what happens.” That lesson helped shape the man he is today.

The Bigger Mission

As our conversation wrapped up, Davon reflected on everything that brought him here: the setbacks, the pivots, the risks, the faith, and the people who believed in him. “This mission is bigger than me.”

He knows entrepreneurship isn’t easy. “It’s an ugly process.” There were moments he wanted to quit.

But now, after years of persistence, he’s beginning to see the results. “It’s finally starting to compound.”

For Davon, success isn’t just in the restaurant. It’s about creating opportunities, solving problems, investing in people, and proving what’s possible for the next generation watching.

“Anybody can do anything. I’m not just saying that because I heard it in podcasts and stuff. I did it.”

And if you’ve ever walked into Wrap Happy, been greeted by that smile, or left feeling a little lighter than when you arrived, you’ve already experienced a small piece of the vision he’s building. Because for Davon Hill, happiness was never just something wrapped inside the food.

It’s something he hopes every person carries with them when they leave.