We were lucky to catch up with Lacy Allen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lacy, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

Running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere has so many limitations. Staffing is challenging, sourcing ingredients and food can be challenging and providing quality of food at a decent price while also making a profit is a huge challenge.

We have seen a lot of price increases in the last 2 years in our food costs and we’ve had to increase our prices to adjust accordingly.

Lacy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was the Dining Room Manager at Hell’s Backbone Grill as well as a Server there for many years. When I traveled to India one winter I decided to start my Pickle company “Indigo Pickles”. When COVID hit and Hell’s Backbone stopped doing breakfast, I saw a need and I decided it would be nice to run a breakfast food truck. Wild Indigo Cafe is located at Hills & Hollows. We serve breakfast and lunch. I use a lot of Indian spices that inspire our dishes. It’s been really fun to see how restaurants run, what the profit margins are and to manage employees as well as the ability to be creative with painting the food truck and creating the menu.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I believe that really listening to your employees creates a high morale. You don’t always have to agree with them, but I think truly listening and considering your hat they are saying is very helpful in creating a team environment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel as though life is always about pivoting. During COVID, we had to pivot to an outdoor dining model until it felt safe enough to open the dining room. In the food truck, I feel like I am constantly pivoting. I am always asking myself “is this working? What can I change to make this better?”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Wildindigocafe