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

Garret, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

As we were thinking of names for our business, we know we wanted to make a connection to Utah. My Father, Mother myself and my wife that passed have pioneer ancestry. The business is dedicated to celebrate the life of Rebecca Lyn Smith. We first thought of Pioneer Burgers. We decided to go with Burger Pioneers for two reasons. The first, we wanted Burger as the first part of our name to make it easier to find us on search engines. The second, we are pioneers in the burger industry!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m March of 2022 I lost my wife of 19b years. I was left rudderless. Having for daughters, I knew I had to do something to make a better living. I’ve been in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. I discussed opening a food truck with my Father, Dennis Smith. We decided it was a good idea and went ahead with our plans. Mobile vending is a lot different than a brick and mortar. We had a lot to learn. We got a used food truck in June of 22. After fixing everything and designing it. We opened for business on October 21st 2022. It’s been a lot of work, more than we thought. We are finally finding a balance and are operating as smooth as ever.

We didn’t want to do gimmick burgers. We decided on six burgers that I knew would do well. We use organic grass-fed Black Angus beef. Our patties are 1/3 of a pound. We also have waffle fries and crinkle cut fries. Pioneer sauce is our take on fry sauce. We occasionally run Wild Bison Burgers from the Ute tribe as our special.

I knew all the usual complaints that most Burger places get. We make sure that your Burger stays together so you don’t need a fork and knife. We don’t drown them in sauce so you can actually taste the high quality beef. We also make sure they are cooked to 160° in accordance with local health codes.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Quality and consistency. These are huge in this industry. Every time someone patronizes or establishment, they should expect the same or better experience.

Customer service. I don’t take orders from a window and hand them out a window. I exit the truck to greet the customers and answer any questions they may have. I’m always thankful to customers. Even if they had a bad experience, I’m thankful they let me know so we can correct the problem.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Food Truck 101 and Food Truck 201 by Bill Moore have helped immensely. We utilize social media for a lot for ideas.

We also network with other business owners to build trust and strengthen each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://burgerpioneers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burgerpioneers?igshid=ODA1NTc5OTg5Nw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082945586438&mibextid=2JQ9oc
• Yelp: Burger Pioneers