Today we’d like to introduce you to Ange Hernandez.
Hi Ange, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Michael (Mr. Wally) and I met in college and married shortly after. We have three sons and have always worked in “regular jobs.” I was a schoolteacher for nearly 22 years, and Michael worked in the restaurant business for a long time. We have always dreamed of working for ourselves, and like Edison, we found several dozen ways TO NOT WORK FOR OURSELVES. We sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door, cookware, cosmetics, cheesecakes, catering, food truck…lots of ways, but in 2019, everything changed for us. We decided to make pickles.
Michael has a culinary degree, and I taught math and had teacher skills. We decided to give it our all one more time. Luckily, it has been going pretty well.
In October last year, we decided to take our business to the next level. We opened a storefront with a kitchen in the back.
There were a couple of motivators: 1) our house was built in 1953. It is pier and beam, and the weight of the pickles was LITERALLY crushing our home. 2) We wanted to create a place that we could give our family.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Not even close. When you try something new, you have little to no knowledge. We started the pickles in 2019, and when we started to build real momentum, Covid-19 reared it ugly head. For us, like many others, it meant shutdown. We had 2 sons in high school and one in college and no real income. We started our delivery service. If people ordered within a 45-mile radius, we offered porch drop-off. It was tough, and it just got tougher without the resources and supplies needed to make the pickles: jars!
Luckily, many people supported small businesses, and we survived.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
There are a few things that set us apart from other people in the industry.
1) Customer service! It is not just a thing that we strive for…it is everything. We want our customers to know they are extensions of our pickle family. We are so grateful for all that is happening, and we know it would not be possible if we did not have people coming back week after week or month after month or however often they find us.
2) Quality. Our product has to be its best. We really never want to sell a “mushy/soft” pickle. The crunch is where it’s at. We offer a delicious pickle with a wonderful crunch.
3) Variety. Finally, we offer a variety of old-school pickles. Every event that we visit, we love it when someone says,” Wow. These are like my grandma/ aunt… used to make.”
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
The thing in our business that matters most is the relationships we are making with our customers. It is really wonderful to have people come to a market that might be far away from their home just to come see us. It is hard not to live up to your standards of customer service and quality when you know people are supporting you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mrwallys.com
- Instagram: @mrwallyspickles
- Facebook: facebook.com/mrwallyspickles
- Youtube: mrwallyspickles
