When Dot Hubbard founded Hubs Peanuts in 1954, women weren’t allowed to take out business loans without a male relative co-signer. After Dot left her teaching job to start a family with her husband HJ, she started a side hustle selling her family’s home-cooked peanuts at local shops. As the venture turned into a lucrative business, Dot began shipping orders from her kitchen in Sedley, Virginia, where the company is still headquartered today.
Seven decades later, Dot’s daughter Lynne Rabil took the company’s reins. Lynne grew up surrounded by peanuts and her mother’s entrepreneurial gumption, and today, she’s leading a team of majority women owners and employees, and selling millions of pounds of gourmet peanuts in nearly a dozen flavors.
Meet our newest FACE of the South, Lynne Rabil of Hubs Peanuts.
Can you tell me a bit about your younger years leading up to taking over the family business? What was it like in your home and hometown?
I grew up in the tiny village of Sedley in the home where our mother began cooking peanuts. We lived a block from my grandparents, who owned a small mercantile store where they sold ice cream and had cheese wheels. They also raised sheep and chickens at home and owned peanut farms around town. It was an idyllic childhood where I walked to school, gathered eggs, fed the sheep at my grandparents’ house, and rode bikes freely with friends all over town.
Our school had four teachers for six grades. We would move from one side of the room to the other when we changed grades. I was a high school history and government teacher before moving into the management of Hubbard Peanut Company; however, all four of us children worked summers and holidays throughout our school years. Even during my years of teaching, I handled the weekly payroll and continued to work during the holiday season to help.
While the company has grown tremendously, Lynne and the Hubbard family have stayed true to Dot’s exact original recipe. They still operate in part out of the home Dot started the business in and continually give back to the community through their Hubs Hearts Program, just as Dot did.
Watching your mother struggle and succeed in a fiery environment for women in business must have impacted you greatly. Could you tell us about Dot and her legacy?
Dot’s struggle was the balance of raising four children — all with school activities — while growing her business. Families face the same balance today with meal prep and shopping, especially in a tiny town. It was even more pronounced back then because there were Blue Laws where nothing was open on Sundays. When I first began working, Blue Laws were still in effect, and it was very difficult for me with two children, so I often think about what that was like for my mom with four of us. The advantage we both had as we raised our families was living so close to grandparents who helped tremendously daily.
“Being raised by my mother (pictured) while she was working to produce and build the Hubs brand, I never knew that a woman had any limitations set by cultural norms until I studied about it,” Lynne says. “Dot was an independent woman who garnered a level of respect in business that truly paved the way for me. I could not be more proud to carry on her legacy.”
Having worked so closely with both of my parents all my life, I am amazed at what they were able to start and the processes they put into place without the benefit of easy money, off-the-shelf equipment, computers, and credit cards. Within a short period and during the ’60s, Hubs peanuts were being touted by food editors from New York to San Francisco and sold to customers in all 50 states and around the world. As children, we were proud of our mother’s recognition as a businesswoman who served as the first woman on several local boards of directors.
Mrs. Dot Hubbard packaging peanuts in the company’s early days.
What’s a common misconception people have about the peanut business?
For years, one of our tag lines was, “They’re not just peanuts … they’re Hubs.” Generally, people think of peanuts as a lowly snack compared to almonds and cashews; however, once they try our style of Virginia peanuts, they recognize the difference. We work to educate customers about the nutritional values and the sustainability of peanuts as a crop compared to almonds and cashews, which definitely have more impact on the environment.
How has The Hubs Vine (the company’s market, cafe, and venue in nearby Franklin, VA) enhanced the business?
Our home in Sedley is still our headquarters, but this location on a major highway that crosses the Commonwealth has made us more accessible to locals and visiting customers. We have added a new chocolate operation that makes us more efficient and flexible. Most importantly, we can impact our community more with our additional location.
The space hosts reading programs for children, yoga classes, wine tastings, singer-songwriter events, and fundraisers. The local food bank uses the space for its “Pack the Backpack” program for schoolchildren. “We have also had wedding events, class reunions, and will host a prom soon,” Lynne adds. Image: The Hubs Vine via Facebook
Where can we find you on your days off?
On a day off, I enjoy quiet time in my garden or on my deck overlooking the water while I read.
Who’s inspiring you right now and why?
Too many people inspire me to name one; a neighbor overcoming a debilitating illness, a world leader fighting a war, a historical biographer that opens my eyes, or an elderly friend who lives each day purposefully and passionately. Today, my two children and grandchildren inspire me to be my best self and leave their world in a better place.
Lynne’s son Marshall is Hubs’ Director of Sales and Marketing. Image: Kyle LaFerriere Photography
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and from whom?
I don’t know about the advice, but Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech always comes to mind. Essentially, it’s not enough to sit on the sidelines and criticize something to affect change. Jump in and try to do something about it.
Besides faith, family, and friends, name three things you couldn’t live without.
One: I could live without being close to the water, but I don’t want to. Two: Access to healthy, good food. Three: Purpose.
And one quick “lightning round” of questions:
- Your last best meal: Pasta Primavera at The Hubs Vine for singer-songwriter night.
- Your favorite hidden gem in Virginia: It wouldn’t be hidden if I told you!
- Your last vacation: Turks and Caicos.
- What’s on your bedside table? A clock, a book, glasses, and water.
- What’s your go-to birthday present (to give)? A can of Hubs peanuts and someone’s favorite beverage.
Thank you, Lynne, for sharing a bit about your life, your peanuts, and your inspiring business prowess! All images submitted by Hubs Peanuts unless otherwise noted.
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