We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephen & Desma Estrada Owners of Sabor a Mi LLC and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen & Desma, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We wanted to provide a better future for our kids in hopes that they wouldn’t have to work as hard as we did if we set the right path for them. In starting our business we knew we wanted to provide a family feel since family is important to us. We wanted to bring a piece of our cultural up bringing in hopes of connecting with others. So, what better way to reach people than with authentic home cooked food.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a pop up taco shop, we travel and set up in different locations throughout the valley. We have a Birria based menu and serve it in different ways. Birria is a meat stew traditionally made from goat meat; yet we use beef. Birria is a Mexican dish that originated in Mexico in the state of Jalisco, this is where my family is from. Growing up Birria was made and served for celebratory occasions, so it’s important for us to bring that nostalgic feeling to our customers. We want to provide you with an experience in celebration of love & culture through good food. We play a select play list that consist of songs from our childhood, its a great feeling to hear our customers singing along and watching them dance in line as they wait for their food. We want to give you a sense of family and make people feel at home and that is what truly sets us apart from others. What we are most proud about is our growth, we’ve put in a lot of work in the year and a half that we have been pursuing our dreams. We are excited to see what the future holds, we have met so many great people so far, I’m sure there is more to come. Originality, honest hard-work, and dedication is what got us where we are. There was a lot of sleepless nights we’ve endured & it’s definitely not easy but our passion runs deep and we’re committed to our business. One of the main lessons we learned was to stay authentic! You need to believe in yourself and in your original vision, fight for your dream even if no one else believes in it because there is no better feeling than seeing your hard work pay off. We want people to know that our brand is an extension of our family. We take pride in the food we serve, and the service you receive. When you come to a Sabor a Mi pop up, you are greeted and treated like family.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would start our day by getting our morning fuel at Tres Leches café it’s a wonderful coffee shop rich in Hispanic culture, they serve unique and great tasting coffee and Aguas frescas. We would then go pick up our pre- ordered breakfast burritos from The Phoenix Burrito Plug. He Offers a great tasting yet simply made breakfast burrito there is nothing else like it. Phoenix and the surrounding cities have some many great and beautiful places to visit, and the Valley of the sun is huge on supporting local. For some good drinks and delicious mariscos we would make an afternoon stop at Señor Chelada’s food truck he serves one of the best cevicheladas – which is a michelada topped with fresh ceviche and chips. By the evening one of the best pop ups should be set up and ready to go! We would end our trip visiting a Sabor a Mi pop up, we believe in supporting other local venders. So, not only do we set up and sell our delicious Birria Tacos, we bring along other vendors to sell and show case their talents and passions. We want to afford others an opportunity that wasn’t so easy for us to come by. We try to have something there for everyone. My Comadres Kitchen sets up to sell her luxury desserts for your sweet tooth needs, Bonita Boutique Makes custom earrings and sells authentic hand made hand bags, Goodies by Anahi makes chili covered candys and Merch mom makes custom journals, shirts and drink cups. All local vendors set up along side us to have a good time, eat some good food and listen to good music.

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?
Firstly, We would like to thank our family for the support, push and drive that was instilled in us as kids. Even now, we look forward to my father in law’ calling after every event asking us how it went. It’s truly a blessing to have them here to witness how much people enjoy our food. I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Kimberly Perez with My Comadres Kitchen for believing in my vision and joining us in any ideas we had. Our journey wasn’t easy, and there are still bumps in the road but we would not be where we are if it weren’t for the small mom & pop shops that give us the opportunity to set up at their spots. The Mujeres Mercado was one of the first pop ups we did, Ceci Velasquez & Stephanie Vasquez gave us our first opportunity. After that we were determined to continue working on our dream. Tres Leches Cafè is an awesome coffee shop that allowed us a space on their patio and that really helped us build our customers, we will be forever grateful. We would like to thank Cecy Rivera & Joe Munoz with The South Central Mercado for embracing us and having us at their pop ups. We would also like to thank Tony Ce for putting together a vending opportunity for us that really helped set us apart for everyone else and to Diana better known as the Azfoodie, thank you, for highlighting one of our best dishes and really putting us on the map. Most importantly we would love to shout out The Valley of The Sun! It’s amazing how dedicated and supportive our customers are. It’s indescribable how much we connect with everyone who has come to purchase our food. It’s a great feeling to see everyone show up to not only eat but to enjoy & dance to our music. We wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for our customers.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saborami_seasonings_salsas/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sabor-a-Mi-630981354023780/

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