Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Adrian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The mission behind my business is a wild one. It all started back during Covid when I saw my husband was being laid off from the hospitality industry. Thankfully, I will still consider considered an essential worker, but that definitely took a toll on our finances. Imagine two young kids in their early 20s with two kids one four year-old and one newborn. Little did I know it didn’t end there. I ended up being sick with an autoimmune disease that only chemo and steroids could control. Biopsy after biopsy. I finally got an answer all well running a business from my backyard. My husband was my rock through it all. And one day we came up with the bright idea of Mexican Italian fusion. A pizza restaurant offering Mexican dishes and a Mexican topping pizzas. As I stated in the beginning that time wasn’t easy we decided to sell from home to make a little money. I had to quit my job due to my illness. February 21, 2022 was day one of a backyard dream. Little did we know it would be the start of something amazing. I will say through it all we did face our challenges of hitting rock bottom, not only once or twice, but a handful of times. We almost gave up we got hit with so much. We just wanted our normal life back. We went from selling for my backyard to renting out a space to breaking into the lease that made us lose all our earnings to starting a catering. Boy or boy that catering was like a miracle. We met our amazing business partners who saw something in us that at the time we just couldn’t see anymore it’s like we were blind to success, scared to fall again. Push forward November 2023, De Horno was born a standalone brick and mortar business. After some renovations and applications, June 28, 2024 was day one of operation. I myself was in full remission of course nothing curable but maintainable. Almost a year later we have been slowly growing, but surely with the mission of everyone is family no matter your color your ethnicity you’re wealth.. We wanted to make this a safe place for everyone. We wanted everyone to feel like family. Our mission is simple. Keep an open mind and no matter how many times you fall grab onto that little bit of light and push two times stronger each time making it for making it six making it eight making it 10 etc.
Andrea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
me and my husband decided to start something crazy. Definitely something different. It was a dream but a nightmare at the same time. But God only knows what he has for you and what his plans are for you. My husband has been in the hospitality industry for over 10 years working in every single field you can think of from dishwasher up to mini chef positions. He has experience in fine dying, casual dying plates from all around and just all over the kitchen knowledge. Little old me I have car experience I take after my brother who has worked in this industry of cars and it has always been my passion looking up at him. Customer service has always been something natural in me. When my husband was laid off during Covid, me still being an essential worker we decided to start a crazy idea of a backyard business. My husband came up with all the recipes and I purchased the equipment so that we could get things started. We made a social media page a month prior to opening. Business has always been a thing of mine. I started promoting it and little did I know opening weekend February 2022 we thankfully sold out within the first three hours. Unfortunately, our landlords did not like it and we were seeking to move elsewhere. We rented out a restaurant space but little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. it was so bad that we had to break the lease early, making us lose all of our savings. And uncle of my husband was amazing with us. He believed in the little dream we had he helped us so much but again it wasn’t doable. A close friend of ours recommended us to do a catering for a friend of theirs. That’s when a bulb went off in my head and I decided to post it on our social media little did I know so many people were gonna be interested. This is when we met our business partners complete strangers who believed and complete strangers. Fast-forward November 2023 we are signing the lease to a brick and Mortar. June 28, 2024 was day one of operation fast-forward almost a year later we’re doing good with a lot of trial and error. We could be doing better, but I can’t complain. We’re better than where we were.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
a lesson I learned was definitely to humble myself down. I love my family, and I love that I had everything growing up. When I got married, my husband comes from a single mom. A hard-working, single mom. I never knew what it was to hear. The word now I never knew what it was to miss a meal. I never knew what it was to have to sacrifice just to pay your rent. this was until I decided to start with a dream. A dream I thought was so easy because I’ve always had everything to figuring out that nothing comes easy and you have to work for everything no matter what. No one is gonna wait for you no one is gonna be patient with you. I have learned to value things more. I have learned to value family more, and I have learned to value everything that comes my way good or bad.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
oh man is this a hard one. No one ever sees the business owners view of things. A lot of people think just because you open a business you automatically become a millionaire. No one ever wonders who pays the bills who pays the Produce the supplies, the payroll, the employees. Business owners are the very last to get paid. Honestly, that’s even if we get paid. If opening a business means becoming a millionaire in the next day, I would’ve done this years ago, but sadly if that’s not the case. A business owner is the last person to get paid in anything and that’s if you’re able to get paid. I remember there was months where we couldn’t pay ourselves because we had to make it into meet for everything and everyone else. I applaud my husband because he sacrificed so much that no one ever sees.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/de.horno.stockbridge?igsh=MTdwb3BiaHRleGt2dw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: De Horno Stockbridge
- Other: Tik Tok: De Horno Stockbridge
Image Credits
Elias Eccleston, Janell Escalera