We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adriana Garcia . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adriana below.

Adriana , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

A came up with the name of my business when I was thinking of my menu. I knew I wanted it to be a fusion and I also had an idea of it being a lot of options that had not been done before on fry bread.
Our menu is for the fanatic fry bread lover.
The entire purpose of the menu was to make sure we had a great variety to welcome people to our multi cultural business. There’s a little something for everyone’s tastebuds.
Frybread Fanatics is growing and we hope to continue to be blessed by our community and loyal customers & new ones. We are so grateful to have so many people standing behind us.
Thank you guys!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The business started 5 years ago. I was previously in the mortgage & finance world for 27 years. I was laid off a couple days before Christmas. I had a recent car accident and I needed treatment and when my treatment was completed I thought I was going back to work. Unfortunately I got that call everyone dreads and that is “you have been laid off” I was angry & stressed but that’s what pushed me to re-open something that was a small roadside business I had years back into my business I have now.
I started with a small fryer like I had in the past and tables & chairs.
Within a year I purchased a food cart and then several years later I bought my food truck cash. When COVID hit I thought it would have been the end of us but we grew more that year than the others. We had a comfort food people wanted.
The menu has been what I am most proud of. I tested and tested things out and it’s taken a lot of work. The menu has been in existence since the first year. I’m getting ready to add more items and we also have some pretty popular drinks. I enjoy introducing our multi cultural food to people and watching them enjoy the food.
I also run a teen mentorship program that helps kids with mental and physical disabilities. The paid mentorship has been on existence since the 2nd year of business. I still have most of my starting mentees until this day. My daughter is the main reason for the mentorship.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started my business with some savings I set aside. It wasn’t a whole lot but it began to grow after the business stated. It took a lot of discipline to not spend like I was use to prior to starting something on my own. I previously had someone that worked together with me when I first stated and had a lot of experience so it was a huge blessing to have started with someone more knowledgeable than myself. Unfortunately it didn’t work out with him but I continued the business because it was such a huge passion of mine.
When I purchased the food cart it was all money saved. The food truck was the same thing as well. You have to make a lot of sacrifices to save money and stay focused on the end goal.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Last year I thought my business might be finished. I had a 7 k expense and I didn’t know how I was going to fund that. Thankfully the community I live in decided to help with a Go Fund Me.
The money was raised I less then 12 hours.
I was filled with emotions. There’s a famous pie location in Laveen called Amadio. Heritage Farm and Eric and Christina the owners donated and they also helped coordinate this fundraiser.
They also allow me to park at the location every Wednesday night. They help our whole community with many things.
I have a family that I know from church who also helped by offering me a parking spot at their ranch that’s just minutes away from my location. I’m truly blessed by so many people offering help to our little business. It takes lots of praying for guidance and support and ideas to keep a small business running. The odds are usually against us.
I have so many stories of help from strangers and other business owners.
The owner of Dos Molinos -Sandy also came to help during COVID. I will never forget that she said “I’m here if you need ANYTHING. She delivered on that too.
Laveen Baptist Church offered a spot in the parking lot prior to me going to Amadio Heritage Farm. I’ve used the LBC lot for fundraisers to help victims and families in hardships. We all help each other in Laveen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.frybreadfanatics.com
• Instagram: @frybread_fanatics
• Facebook: Frybread Fanatics