We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zachary Nogra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Our idea was originally born on the golf course, but the fine details of how to execute the idea was a major learning experience. Although I had years of restaurant experience before launching Out Of Nowhere ATX, I quickly learned that there were plenty of things that I had never done before. Putting together our business plan, generating capital, branding and marketing were all aspects that I had to figure out on the fly.

We started our LLC on September, 1st, 2021, and had our trailer a month later, which only consisted of the gas equipment needed. We had to find, and purchase, all of the refrigeration, cookware, prep tables, shelving and our initial inventory to test our menu. On top of that, we needed to get the trailer inspected by professionals to ensure that it would comply with the City of Austin Mobile Vender inspection. We passed our inspection on December 4th, 2021, and open for business that night.

One of our biggest challenges was figuring out a menu that we not only loved, but one that we could execute with the equipment provided. We originally tried doing sourdough pizzas, which were very tasty, but unfortunately our trailer was not outfitted to be able to meet the demand that we were receiving. We made a pivot to focusing on utilizing our flat tops, and decided to focus on burgers and sandwiches, as well as our homemade truffle frites, and our charcuterie plates.

Making these changes were some of the best, and most difficult, decisions that we had to make. It allowed us to truly move forward with the business, and execute the goals that we had set for ourselves. We are now 10 months into this business, have a great location in Downtown Austin, and are striving everyday to get better as a business.

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

Growing up in a Filipino household, I have always been conditioned to eating amazing food, that was prepared with love and care. I was always fascinated with working in restaurants, and began doing so when I moved to Austin in 2014. I really fell in love with the atmosphere, the camaraderie between my co-workers, and the regulars, and of course the overall service experience. I truly enjoy giving top tier service, regardless of my position or role.

What I am most proud of regarding our business is that we take the extra steps to not only ensure that our food quality is on point, but that our customer service quality is second to none. We prepare most of our menu from scratch, and make sure that it is up to our standards before we go to sell it. I am also proud to say that we have a staff that truly gives it their all. Without their hard work, and dedication, we would not be in the amazing position that we are in currently.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

From a young age, I witnessed my immigrant mother work multiple jobs at once to provide for our family. As a second generation Asian American, I saw the sacrifices that she made so that my sister and I would be in a position to live the American dream. All of the hours that she had worked was just enough to keep us in the lower middle class, but she continued to do it because she believed that this was the key to us having a better life.

Over the past decade, I have taken those values that were displayed at a young age to continue to build and grow as a person, and as an entrepreneur. Through my time in the military, to being the first person in my family to graduate from college, I had always felt passionate about starting my own business someday.

This opportunity to open our food trailer has been the epitome of the hard work, passion and dedication I witnessed my mother display to me when I was a child. Those traits, combined with my 10 years of knowledge and experience in this field will allow us to continuously grow as a business.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Zack and Raj go way back, and are actually high school buddies. They met back in Crystal Lake, IL at Prairie Ridge High School. They went their separate ways in college and reunited in Austin, TX in 2014. 7 years later, at the end of 2021, they both decided to open Out of Nowhere ATX and start their venture.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://outofnowhereatx.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outofnowhereatx/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/outofnowhereatx
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/out-of-nowhere-atx-austin

Image Credits
@haydenplus1 – Hayden Walker