We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Neron Adams-Escalera. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Neron below.

Neron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Foodies LLC (Foodies DMV) started as an idea during the pandemic, where I turned one of my greatest passions into a legitimate business. I have always had a passion for cooking as a young kid and attempting new recipes, but I also love to host events and ensure that my friends and family have a good time, while eating amazing food. I am a foodie and have a love for trying different foods from all cultures, so the business name naturally derived from that term.  Not to mention, my family is originally from San Turce, Puerto Rico and Bronx NY.  My grandmother (Abuela) on my father’s side of my family is also an amazing cook and I spent a number of Thanksgiving’s watching her prepare large quantities of food for family members, who enjoy Puerto Rican favorites like pasteles, arroz con gandules (rice and peas), platanos (sweet plantains), pernil (roasted pork) etc.  This is essentially where I have derived some of my recipes and flavors, where my premise is Caribbean Latin fusion cooking.

The start of my journey included intensive research on different restaurants and business models. I also spoke to some of my closest friends/family about my ideas and how I wanted to execute. My next steps were to figure out the best way to dive into the culinary world; I decided to educate myself more on the craft and enrolled in culinary school at Prince George’s Community College to really learn the science and business side of cooking and hospitality/culinary arts.

I originally wanted to practice law and execute contracts, which I followed this same process during my undergraduate studies, where I currently possess a Business Law Degree from Temple University and a Master of Public Administration from CUNY Baruch. Investing in my education has always afforded me with various opportunities in government and the private sector, which has been the bulk of my career experience.

Prior to legally establishing as an LLC, I wrote a business plan that set expectations for myself and my company, which is an important blueprint or roadmap to my vision for a sustainable business. I was able to establish some short- and long-term goals that I have been successful in working towards. One of the hardest barriers after legally establishing the business was time, since I worked a full-time job, attended culinary school, and still tried to maintain a social life; but sacrifice will always contribute to your long term success, and I often had to miss time with friends or family to attend events or travel for business.

I’ve always considered myself to be a personable person and I believe it is one of the biggest growth factors of Foodies LLC. I love networking and hearing new ideas of how I can do better as a business owner, menu/food ideas, or keep growing as a person.

Social Media has been a big catalyst for the growth of my business. I started my journey by posting my menu items to social media and testing the waters to see some of the food items that people liked or were interested in tasting. Social media has led to many successes, including hosting brunches in the DC metro area. I will look to continue this growth and being the face of my brand, where Foodies merchandise, sauces/dry rubs, and website should be launched or introduced soon.

One of the biggest things I had to learn in owning/starting a business is patience, since most businesses are not built overnight. I often times wanted success overnight and it took some humbling to understand that it will continue to be a slow “grind”, but staying the course and constantly adapting is key to long term success.

Neron, 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?

My name is Neron Adams-Escalera and I’m originally from Brooklyn, NY but raised in South Orange, NJ. I went to St. Benedict’s Preparatory school in Newark, NJ where I played soccer and ran track and field, eventually making All-American for the Distance Medley relay (400 leg). I originally thought about attending culinary school from high school, but I also had other ambitions to learn about law. I received several scholarship opportunities from various schools, but ultimately landed on attending Temple University, since it was close enough to drive home to NJ to visit my parents and friends. Temple was the only school (out of 10) that did not offer me a scholarship.

Throughout my undergraduate studies I had a passion for business and always kept an entrepreneurial mindset where I would host parties with some of my closest friends, but I was very independent in being able to cook for myself and dorm roommates.
I consider myself to be a creative when it comes to cooking and I love trying new recipes, understanding different palate and diets. I’ have been able to put my own interpretation of food into all my dishes and I always welcome positive or negative feedback to ensure I’m adjusting based off of the customer’s experience.

I am most proud of being able to pivot from a corporate environment to most recently a full-time entrepreneur that will dedicate my full attention to the growth of my business. I have goals of adding a food truck and eventually some commercial space that I can execute on a larger scale. I am also proud of the support I receive and continue to receive from people of all walks of life and it is a great motivator for me to keep going harder with my vision and expectations to provide the best experience possible.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the greatest learning experiences I had during my journey as an entrepreneur that displayed resilience, was a time where I was hired to cater a 100 person wedding for a good friend. This event took months of planning and it was such a great honor to even be considered, as a new business owner and the event taking place during the pandemic. However, even with months of planning the things that I did not expect to go wrong, did. My original menu included Beef Ribs with a Blueberry Jerk BBQ sauce, where I pre-ordered 30 slabs of ribs for the wedding guests. I was notified by the distributor the week of the wedding that they cancelled the order due to lack of availability, which was one of the most frustrating experiences. I attempted to search for beef ribs at almost every grocery store in Maryland or DC, since I did not want to disappoint the bride/groom. Ultimately, I was very transparent with the bride about the mishap and was able to improvise the menu to a better option of Beef Brisket with Blueberry Jerk BBQ sauce. I learned a great lesson in resilience and adaptability, while still providing a good customer experience. It is also very important to partner with reliable vendors and have continuous follow up.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since I started my company, I tried to manage both a full time job in the real estate industry and entrepreneurial life as a caterer; while attending culinary school on a part time basis.  This was extremely stressful at times due to the high expectation within each and I felt myself wanting to dedicate more time towards my passion of cooking.  Due to the recent interest rate hikes and tumultuous real estate market, I was laid off in November 2022, where I worked remotely as a Market Manager for a real estate technology firm for approximately one year. I have been blessed to always have steady employment, but this gave me an opportunity to focus on my catering business full time and use my creativity to continue hosting events, as well as work on my website, merchandise, social media presence and future business opportunities.  The pivot was somewhat inevitable with the traction I have continued to gain with my business and my need to dedicate more time to perfecting my craft and finding innovative ways to thrive during such a volatile period of my life. However, where there is a will, there is a way.

Contact Info:

• Website: Coming Soon
• Instagram: @therealneron @foodies_dmv
• Facebook: @Neron Adams-Escalera @Foodies LLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neron-adams-escalera-8a6444258
• Twitter: @therealestneron @foodies_llc