Meet Tammy & Dennis O’Bannon | Owners of Hillbilly Grind

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tammy & Dennis O’Bannon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tammy & Dennis, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have been in the restaurant industry since I was 15yrs old (over 30yrs) and I knew one day I would open my own restaurant. When we lived in San Diego I told my husband that I wanted to open a woodfired pizza truck after we moved to Arizona in 2019, but that did not workout. We did so much research on the pizza trailer and it was way out of our budget. I put things on hold for quite a while and figured if it happens it happens. Well I was just sitting at home getting board from not working as my husband was working his butt off to provide for us, I told him it was time for me to go back to work so that I don’t lose my mind. I did I found a waitressing job at a local restaurant and it was so weird everyone was so much younger than me, but it was nice to be back to work. Well it didn’t last long, because that is when Covid hit and I was laid off after only being back at work for 2 weeks. So then I started thinking about a food trailer again and wanted to do something that wasn’t as intensive as a pizza trailer. I actually found our coffee trailer on Instagram and followed the couple that had the trailer at the time. Then one day I say that they posted the trailer for sale, I immediately messaged them and said please hold the trailer for us to come look at. Well that is all she wrote, couple months later we have Hillbilly Grind coffee trailer and I am so happy we did this. All my years of bartending paid off. Now I give people a coffee buzz instead of an alcohole buzz! Lets just say best decision ever..

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Well it has not been easy at all and it still isn’t easy, Hillbilly Grind is just over a year old and it feels like 5yrs for as much hard work and dedication it takes to build a successful business. As many of you have seen especially after Covid hit more and more food trucks started popping up around Arizona, well we took a different route and instead of a food truck we opened Hillbilly Grind a mobile coffee truck. I would say what sets us apart is how well we work together as a husband and wife team at every event we do and even at home. When you live together and work in a 6×10 trailer you better be able to get along. HAHA and we do very well, the customers love to come visit us tell us about their families and what goes on in their lives so it is just amazing getting to know our people so much. Being a mobile coffee trailer is not easy especially when you live in HOA and we cannot keep the trailer at our house so our morning begins no later than 3:30am and sometimes we do not get to sit down until 7pm. So anyone that wants to get into the mobile food/drink industry if you do not have a backbone don’t do it.. I have had many sleepless nights and crying wondering if we are going to make it, and we have we have built a great following and man we have stories about our little trailer and some almost made me want to give up, but I did not and it is paying off in so many ways. We started not knowing what to expect from Lil Miss Blue (our trailer name) to wholly cow we are on our way to opening our 1st brick and mortar location. So stay tuned for that it will happen very soon.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well we have only been in Arizona for 2.5yrs and I still need to find fun places to go, but we took a trip up to this Ghost town in Mesa and I really suggest going it was a fun experience. They have a high noon gun fight show and trains to tour the mines as well as fun gift shops and restaurants.

2 of our favorite restaurants one is in Goodyear an Italian restaurant called Bella Luna and the other one is a Mexixan restaurant in Phoenix called Comedor Guadalajara plan for this one there is always a long wait and they are closed on Mon. & Tues. but well worth the wait.

A great family fun day is Saturdays at the Amadio Ranch they have their full market open with local vendors from 9am-2pm with food trucks including us. They make all of their pies from scratch as well as fudge, jams, and the best U-pick veggies, and some awesome farm animals. 2 goats Valentine & Cocoa, a pot belly pig, a Steer named T-Bone, Momma cow Stella and baby bull named Turkey. So definitely a must stop place in Laveen the market runs through June but the farm is open 7days a week.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to my husband and our families for believing in me! But to my husband Dennis he is getting my biggest shoutout, he has been my rock and support during the creation of Hillbilly Grind.

Website: Hillbillygrind.com

Instagram: @Thehillbillygrind

Twitter: HillbillyGrind

Facebook: Hillbilly Grind