We recently connected with Shannon Barron and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

In todays time we have a lot of people that have a hard time making ends meet. If someone comes to my food truck and I notice they are interested in food but don’t seem to have enough money or orders the cheapest thing on the menu, I will fix them a meal. It not only helps them but it helps me also. I tell them to try it and post on Facebook what they liked or dislike about it. I do that with new items and especially any specials I put on the truck. I also have a gentleman that comes and he digs through his vehicle for change to buy my cheapest burger. I generally always fix him and his wife food on the house. Good deed’s go a long way

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Shannon Barron and I’m am the owner and creator of Bob’s Grab and Go which is a food truck and an ex-xray technologist . I have been in the medical field since I have been old enough to work however, the stress of Covid in 2020 made me feel like I was burnt out and no longer able to give the compassionate care as before so I soon realized I was ready for a new career. I thought I would take my creative cooking hobby (which I love) and see how others liked it. So I started following and studying how to run a food truck because I thought the overhead would be less than a brick and mortar. 2 years into this idea a truck popped up on my Facebook feed and my husband said go for it. So here I am. I opened March of this year and quit my X-ray job 5 months later. It started slow however the last few months I have started seeing regular customers. I always get asked “So where’s Bob”? My business name and some of my burger/sauce names come from an important influencer (my father-in-law). Most secretly don’t care for their in-laws however mine was the best. Sadly we lost him in 2020 to cancer. He was one that lived every day for a place in Heaven and wanted everyone around him to understand and be apart of the Gospel as well. He loved his family and friends with everything in him. But he also had a love for food too. That’s where I came in. He loved my cooking, I think more than me. I’m just kidding. I could go on and on about him but I just wanted everyone to know that he was what inspired me so I made him the focus of my business.
Now back to the business, I started with a very simple menu and I have leaned more towards comfort foods. Smashburgers, loaded fries, nachos and my deep fried desserts. That’s what people love. I add different versions of my burgers and desserts as specials to see how my customers react to it and if it goes over good, it becomes a menu item.
Customers keep coming back because of appearance, consistency and a friendly attitude/atmosphere. Made from scratch and cooked to perfection. That’s my motto and it works for me. No frozen patties here!
I’m more of an introvert. I have never been one to put myself out there with the look at me attitude. I have been fine my who live standing in someone’s shadow. This is where the challenge has been for me. I’ve had to be the one on the front dealing with the public. It was hard in the beginning but as time goes on, it get easier and easier to socialize and represent my business in a positive way.. I am definitely still a learning progress.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Most do not know that I wasn’t ever in the restaurant business from the beginning. Cooking and creating new dishes was a hobby of mine. I loved it so much that I have dreamed of having a restaurant for years. I didn’t have a business background just medical. I studied what seasons worked well together. The ins and outs of food trucks because I thought that would be more financially sound than a restaurant and I was still working full time to be stable enough to make my dream come alive.
March of this year, I made it happen. I worked Monday-Friday and when I got off work the prep began. I would work the food truck all day Saturday. And the rest of the week during the evenings after work. It was so tiring but so worth it!! When you have a customer come back and say “this is the best burger I’ve had” or “I’ve never had such good food off of a food truck” it makes all those long days and nights worth it!!
I was getting call and messages during my work hours asking when and where I was setting up. It was getting too busy for me to schedule so my husband and I decided that it was time to quit.
Quitting my job was hard and scary going from a steady income to a world of the unknown. But I’m making it. It was tough and money is a lot tighter then it used to be in the beginning but I still have my nose above the water and I know next year will be even better!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Food trucks have become very popular in my area since Covid and everyone thinks that’s easy and profitable. I thought that also in the beginning. However, in reality it’s long hours prepping, whole days wasted restocking and then long hours on your feet serving and cooking in an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter. But it’s all worth it to me!!I’ve learned to use my time wisely. Be more cautious on the events I book for so I have less waste and make more of a profit. I have learned so much in the last few months which helps in making my business more profitable and I pray that next year and every year after is better.

I used to worry about my prices being to high but my husband has always said he didn’t care to pay for expensive food if it tastes good or even if the service was good. But when the service is bad he won’t return.  Customers want consistency in taste and appearance and friendly face with good service!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bobsgrabandgo.wixsite.com/goodfood
• Instagram: @ bobs_grab_and_go
• Facebook: Bob’s Grab & Go