Daily Inspiration: Meet Erin Witt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Witt

Hi Erin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The journey to beginning the food truck began at my first job during my freshman year of college at a local bakery in Haslett, MI. I initially was going to school for psychology to become a therapist until a few months of working at this job, I changed my mind. I worked very closely with the owner who couldn’t have been more perfect of a mentor for me – she helped me build my foundational knowledge of baking and owning a shop. Unfortunately, I lost that job due to Covid and had to pivot so I got a couple more jobs at bakeries here and there until I decided to start baking and selling from my home. I started out selling custom cakes for a great while and that turned into selling baked goods at the local farmer’s market for two years. From there, I met a food truck owner who was placed next to me at the market. He gradually persuaded me to buy a food truck… a few months later, I did! It was the biggest leap of faith I’ve ever made in my entire life – I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. After a year and a half of planning the business and fitting my food truck to my needs, we opened!

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?
If it was a smooth road I probably wouldn’t be here! This journey has been the hardest challenge of my life. I was 19 or 20 when I began working for myself and planning the food truck with only a handful of business classes under my belt, so I had no clue what I was doing. There aren’t many resources out there about food trucks, either which made it much more difficult.

A lot of the struggles had to do with not knowing how to operate a commercial kitchen – I’ve worked in bakeries but not restaurants. I had to figure out what type of a menu I wanted to make for the public that went well with coffee and could incorporate my baked goods but be different than your typical cafe bakery. I had to make sure it was a menu I was proud of making every single day and that I wouldn’t get too sick of making. I also had to make sure I knew how to have quick food service as food trucks are essentially *fast* food.

One of the biggest struggles I’ve had to work on and still do is managing my stress. I put myself in quite the position as a 20 year old to start up and own a food business with little to no prior experience of doing so; I truly never felt more lost in my life. It took me about two years to truly tone down my stress and fall into a stable routine. I’m extremely grateful to have had my family with me through my entire journey because if I didn’t have them by my side, I would not be here doing an interview.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I own a bakery/cafe food truck that specializes in organic, fair trade cold brew, waffle sandwiches, loaded waffles, and baked goods. The items that Brewitt is known for would be our Hangover sandwich (bacon/sausage, egg, cheese, maple syrup, chipotle aioli, all on a waffle), our Brewitt cold brew with sweet foam (mocha and brown butter syrups), and lastly our Creme Brûlée waffle (pastry cream, caramelized sugar, and fruit on a waffle).

These items, I believe, set Brewitt apart from other businesses because they’re unique but not too different from what your taste buds might be used to. I like having waffles as our vehicle for flavors and textures because there isn’t much of a limit – your imagination can really run wild. It’s a more novel idea to have a waffle sandwich and I think that allows more room to push the envelope.

I’m most proud of having built the clientele so far that is open to any new ideas or items on the menu. We have a good amount of customers who order new items/sandwiches from us because they trust us and what we make.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
One surprising thing that most people who know me might not know that I played JUCO basketball my freshman year of college right before Covid. Unfortunately, I was only able to play that first year – our second got canceled, but a lot of people seem surprised when they hear that!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brewittcafebakery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brewittcafe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinsgreatbakes
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrewittCafe