We had the good fortune of connecting with Adriana Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adriana, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The most important lesson I have learned is save money. It doesn’t matter how much you make. The reason is you just never know what can change and if it does it can hit you like a ton of bricks. I had a 7 k expense on my food truck and it was stressful. I purchased my food truck cash and utilized all my savings. A few months later I starting having mechanical issues and they are costly on a diesel vehicle. Thank God that I have a community full of great hearted people and businesses and they came to the rescue. I’ve learned since then to have balance and discipline. I still take risks but I take them with a lot of careful consideration.

What should our readers know about your business?
So Frybread Fanatics came about 5 years ago. I had been in the finance industry for 27 years and I enjoyed it a lot. I unfortunately had some hardships along the way. I had stage 4 Endometriosis and several bad car accidents and during all of my career I needed treatment and surgeries. My last car accident caused me a lot of stress at work trying to juggle work and health. I also have a daughter that was diagnosed with ADHD and depression and cutting during that same time and my mom was also struggling with some health concerns. I was overwhelmed being a single parent and doing it alone. I was laid off a few days before Christmas. I had been under treatment for 4 months for spinal treatment. I thought I was going back to work and was laid off over the phone. I began to scramble on what I could do. I previously had a small roadside fry bread business years before but it wasn’t anything big. I started to pray on how I could just stay afloat and get my treatment without a corporate business being upset with me and how I could help my daughter and mom. The idea popped up to do this again and I could be my own boss and take care of a lot of my responsibilities that way. I decided to take that leap of faith and started to build this business with some tables and chairs and a small fryer.
The business then evolved to a food cart and then evolved to a food truck.
During that last 4 years I started a paid mentorship program for teens with mental & physical disabilities. The program is still running today. My daughter inspired this when she started working for me and I noticed she was gaining confidence and becoming more talkative and independent.
When I I made the decision to open Frybread Fanatics my vision was to make it a fusion and to have many options and now we have one of the most creative Indigenous menus in AZ . I’m proud of our whole vision of introducing great food to people that have never had it and allowing people to enjoy our culture through food.
One last important factor is I have not had a surgery since I started this business. The reason being is I’m so physically active now. I hired trainers to get me strong enough to do this job and it’s working.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my best friend to Sedona for a day trip and enjoy some of the restaurants out there. I really love Ken’s Creekside & El Rincon. I would also take my bestie to my favorite spot in Phoenix! Rositas restaurant is my favorite spot because I love the traditional atmosphere and food! We would also go to Amadio Heritage Farm for some pie and hit up the Peach Pit Bistro for a pot pie. I love the atmosphere as well and the owners!
We would get out do some hiking in the area and hope we see cool stuff like scorpions, cactus and our beautiful mountains!
We have to checkout the Botanical Garden.
We would go downtown and checkout some popular spots for drinks and dining.
My favorite spot downtown is Barrio Cafe!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m extremely thankful to God for my Mom. She is 74 years old and is also my prep cook. I’m grateful to God for my father who also impacted me by having his own businesses when I was a young girl. I watched him navigate through many obstacles and he taught me to hustle. I’m fortunate to still have my mom and
she helps in any area that I need help in. Sometimes I offer days off and half days and she will not take them. She loves being onsite as well and engaging with my customers and staff. Everyone on the truck calls her nana. She’s everyone’s nana!
Also my daughter started working with me when she was 12 and she’s now 17 and is my top cashier. It’s not easy working with your own mom I’m sure. She’s now earned money to purchase a car and be more independent.
I want to give a shoutout to Amadio Heritage Farm. Eric & Christina who offer so much support to myself and to many other vendors in Laveen. The Phoenix Indian Center has also been very supportive in hiring me for events and offering support to our business. Thank you also Local First for the education provided and grant that helped on my endeavor in this business.
My last BIG Thank you is to my team.
I couldn’t do this without you. They work hard and have a great attitude and I love working with everyone and banging these orders out alongside with these awesome employees.

Website: www.frybreadfanatics.com

Instagram: @frybreadfanatics.com

Facebook: Frybread Fanatics

Other: Tik Tok Frybread Fanatics

Image Credits
@kennnndalll Kendall Wright

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