Today we’d like to introduce you to Javier Heredia.
Javier, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always secretly known that pizza, by itself can save the world. Honestly, how many foods can satisfy little kids and grown ups? Even when it’s cold?!…exactly! Pizza can…always has and always will.
Social Pie began as a vehicle to contribute and better our community. By supporting the local craft beer scene, using local Texas ingredients whenever possible, reusing and recycling materials, and partnering with local charities we found a way to do exactly that…be socially responsible. That’s how our name came to be.
Personally I never imagined that I would be on the entrepreneurial train. Riding along the ever changing tracks with massive blind curves and its steep climbs and descents has brought many lessons.
Social Pie opened its doors to the public about 1 and a half years ago. But my story doesn’t start there. My story started on 12/15/2006, while visiting a city I had been to many times…New York City.
As a young boy my dream had always been to follow in my father’s footsteps as an airline pilot. I attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and graduated with my degree as well as all my required training to one day become an airline pilot. In 2000 I accomplished my goal, at the ripe young age of 22.
Six years later is when my life and my families lives were sent into a spiral I could of never fathomed. On 12/15/2006 I was a pedestrian with the cross signal in my favor, and while in the cross walk I was struck from behind by a private garbage truck.
My injuries are beyond the scope of this article, but they were substantial and life threatening. Four weeks of my life passed while I was in medical sedation, the team of medical professionals worked tirelessly to save my life.
Five years of physical therapy later, where I re-learned to breathe on my own, chew, speak, and eventually stand, took every ounce of perseverance and grit.
Today, I can summarize my journey in one sentence. From professional pilot, to professional patient and back to professional pilot.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Any road to achieve a goal is riddled with obstacles and/or challenges. It is inevitable you will at some point be faced with one or the other, perhaps both at the same time. The key is to think on how you are going to think about them. What meaning will you give them? Perhaps a meaning of “Why does this always happen to me?” which doesn’t empower you but create a victim mentality, OR ask yourself “What is the lesson in this? What can I learn?” the latter is a question that empowers you. Choose.
The challenges we have faced with a new concept restaurant are as varied as the Texas weather. We have had to and continue to work on marketing, branding and advertising. Not having access to the brand recognition like a national franchise has been a challenge. We have decided to view it as a way for us to innovate and find creative ways to advertise…it has forced us to make sure we have an excellent product and focused on customer service…we choose to see it as a positive obstacle.
As an entrepreneur, personal life challenges can influence or even limit your decision making abilities in business. How? Because I believe how you do anything, is how you do everything.
I’ve have been asked many times how I’ve kept a positive attitude throughout my recovery. The truth is it has been a constant challenge. From the moment I awoke from a 4 week coma, and even though I wasn’t able to speak, I didn’t feel sorry for myself. I recognized that feeling sorry or angry was literally not going to take the pain away or remove the rods in my spine and legs…I had to focus on my mindset.
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default” -J.K Rowling
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Social Pie story. Tell us more about the business.
Fun Loving. Earth Loving. Pizza Loving is our motto. From inception we wanted to use Social Pie as a vehicle to better our community. To give back and support.
We accomplish this in a few ways. First, we are part of the Go Texan campaign by supporting Dallas and Fort Worth breweries, offering wine from Texan vineyards and using Texas products on our pizzas whenever possible.
Social Pie understands we don’t have a “Planet B”, so we aim to reduce our carbon footprint as much as we can by re-using or re-cycling. One day you’ll be eating a slice of pepperoni on a plate that says “Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary” and the next time you have a dessert on a Christmas plate in the middle of July.
Lastly, percentage of our pizza sales go to local charities. Our guests cast their votes to their charity of choice. We call it “Donation by Consumption”.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Here is the formal for Luck:
Preparation (belief/growth) + Attitude (belief/mindset) + Action (doing something about it) = LUCK.
That’s it. Simple, but nobody said easy.
Contact Info:
- Address: Social Pie
5855 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75204 - Website: www.SocialPie.kitchen
- Phone: (469) 930-4483
- Email: jheredia@socialpiemaple.com
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
