Meet Krissy Johnson-Myles of New Texas Orleans in Arlington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krissy Johnson-Myles.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to Dallas TX in 2004 from New Orleans, LA. I was about to divorce my husband at that time and wanted my daughters to attend better schools. So I packed up and left…I didn’t have family here but I was determined to start my life over. Over the years, I would always miss having a taste of home. The first time I found a restaurant that had gumbo I was sooooo excited until I tasted the chicken noodle soup that they called Gumbo. I was also excited to see my first parade in Downtown Dallas….that too was very different than home. I was always content with visiting home to get my fix of good food and stock up on items that I can’t purchase here in TX.

Eventually Fiesta started selling 2 of the items that we love to cook within Louisiana so I was satisfied with that. Well, Christmas of 2018 was no different for me than any other Christmas. I am usually in the tax office gearing up to get all of my Krissy’s Kwik Tax locations ready for tax season. I typically Christmas shop and grocery shop on Christmas eve. Well, this year I went to 5 different Fiesta’s, called three additional Fiesta’s, called about 6 Krogers….just to be told that I was too late, all the other Louisiana customers had been in and purchased exactly what I was looking for. That night we had pizza for dinner and I told myself that I am not the only one here going through this, so instead of paying triple the price to ship items online, I decided that I was going to bring the items here that we all are longing for.

From that night New Texas Orleans was born.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I am the owner of many businesses and this has been the hardest one to date. The process of renovating a preexisting establishment was very hard because the previous owner did not really care about the building. It was horrible in here. I also had my share of nightmare contractors during this process. That slowed alot of things down for me, my deadlines did not matter to most because they were paid in advance for most of the work. Passing inspections meant that I was dependent on others to properly complete their work, so that was not something that I was in control of either, which is very hard for me – anyone that knows me can tell you that I love to be able to have control of my business.

The support has been amazing – lol yet that as well turned into a struggle to keep items stocked. The week of opening, La was hit with a storm which caused us not to receive a truckload that had $9k worth of product, we also learned that our local distributor decided that his truck would not fit into our parking lot two days prior to opening. So combine that with the amazing support of former Louisiana residents living in the DFW area, we could not keep the shelves stocked. We sold out twice in one week…and we weren’t just ordering the minimum amounts for the store, I was spending $20k out of my pocket to stock this store each trip. The only struggle in my opinion with that are the customers that become angry when the product that they are looking for is sold out by the time that they arrive. It’s like I can have 70 qts of pickled pig lips but when that 71st customer arrives then they are bashing the efforts that my family and I have made to even have the items available locally. It’s like a slap in the face to prepay to help others have a piece of home and they would rather bash instead of appreciate it and know that the next shipment is on the way. OMG and I don’t even want to get into the issues with our POS system and the lack of items promised with it, that really did not come with it at all. There were so many behind the scene challenges that no one would ever dream of.

Distributors don’t have the correct UPC codes or don’t have them electronically, so we had to manually enter each items upc codes into a POS system that was not even working properly. I also want the store to be home for residents from all areas of Louisiana, so I decided to let them tell me what they want me to stock in the store….with doing that, I receive atleast 50 new items weekly that have to fit on the shelves, I never know which items are actually arriving until the truck is here. So that leaves us with items on the shelf Thursday morning in the place of a different item that was there Wednesday night, so the shuffle of price tags has been a struggle. Once we get the list filled and items in its final place, this will all smooth out. Its been a struggle with every aspect of this store honestly.

New Texas Orleans – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
New Texas Orleans brings a taste of Louisiana to the kitchen counters of Texas residents. We bring back childhood memories of former residents. The smiles on their faces are just priceless. I love standing out in the End Zone (Saints area) or on Magazine Street (our isles are street names) and talk to my customers, we always tell each other stories from back home. It’s like having family out here even though I don’t. We specialize in carrying products that are specific to Louisiana, products that we love to cook with. I am also known for having a large variety of Saints items, beignets, a great hot kitchen menu, Cajun Soul Food Friday, and carrying black produced products from local vendors. I am most proud that I actually cared enough about my City to incorporate it into every inch of the store. As you walk through, you will feel like you are in a different part of New Orleans. Our checkout stands are street lamps just like in the French Quarters. I think New Texas Orleans is different from other stores because I want this store to make customers feel like they are at home, so no matter what City you are from, I will order and stock the items that you request.

We also have little known facts on our shopping carts that highlight facts about New Orleans – we are hoping to encourage literacy.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
My definition of success it setting a goal, actively making strides towards it, and tackling it despite any obstacle in your way. My criteria and marker for success is NEVER GIVE UP….you have to believe in yourself, you have to speak it into existence. You can change your path to get to your end goal, but never lose sight of it. Always know that whatever you want is attainable. Grasp your success through the tears, joy, struggles, ups and downs. Never let anyone tell you what you can’t do – we can be our biggest downfall so never let yourself tell you what you can’t do either.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1700 E PIONEER PARKWAY, STE 100
  ARLINGTON, TX 76010
• Website: WWW.NEWTEXASORLEANS.COM
• Phone: 817-617-2096
• Email: NEWTEXASORLEANS@GMAIL.COM
• Instagram: @newtexasorleans
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewTexasOrleans

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