Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Fischer.
Hi Jessie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My husband Rich and I came up with it’s the idea for Sherwood Pita Wagon in the summer of 2021 while brainstorming about how we could be business owners. I have a passion for cooking and Rich has the experience of kitchen management and line cooking. I have been a hairstylist for my whole career but love to cook for people. We spent many years living in southeast Michigan and really enjoyed the diversity of the food in that area. After moving back home we really missed Mediterranean food. So, we started playing with recipes and ideas of Mediterranean inspired food. Then we searched the internet for food trucks and trailers for sale and ended up making an order for one in Georgia. We were relieved when a full-sized food truck arrived 12 weeks later! That year we were open for just 10 weeks. 2022 was our first full season, and this year our second. We love what we do and love serving homemade, healthy food to our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being business owners definitely comes with some challenges. Rich is a very patient man and loves seeing my visions and dreams come true, even if it makes his job harder. For example, I created a delicious and popular recipe for Falafel Waffles. They were a crispy, gluten-free treat people loved! But… again, I have zero commercial kitchen experience; I am a hairstylist. The recipe was not sustainable or price effective. It broke my heart and many others, too that the Falafel Waffle had to be discontinued. I think that has been our hardest battle, trying to save the Falafel. This year has also been the year of equipment malfunction. It’s part of the business and we just keep going. Our customers are very understanding when we can’t be open.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We put a lot of love into our food. All of our recipes are homemade and mostly made from scratch. We have expanded over the down season last year and now have a licensed prep kitchen. That allows us to have extended hours and days. Our prep cook, Greg, puts in so much time, effort, and consistency into his work. He follows the recipes consistently every time. This allows us to know what is in our food and what we are serving. We take pride in being able to accommodate different dietary restrictions and needs. All of our seasoning mixes, marinades, and sauces are all make from scratch. Our food truck is small, but our passion for the food is so big.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We luckily opened after most restrictions were lifted but take comfort knowing if we were in that situation again, we would be able to feed people safely due to our unique setup.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Sherwoodpitawagon.com
- Facebook: @sherwoodpitawagon
