Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Johnson.
Hi Andrea, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I had rental properties and when the pandemic hit, I got a bitter taste in renting. People were allowed to stay in my rental properties for over a years and did not have to pay rent and the law stated you could not evict them. I was trying to find a business I could get into. My youngest son had been teaching himself to smoke meat. I recall the neighbors dogs fighting and making a lot of noise. When I went to the door and looked out I saw a dog with a whole brisket hanging from his mouth. I immediately went and ask my son did you throw that whole brisket to the dogs and replied yes and I asked why would you waste money and meat like that? He told me because it did not meet my expectations. And as far as money I bought it so I have the right to discard it if I don’t like the results. My son would smoke meat and forbid me to give someone outside the house some because it did not turn out the way he wanted it to. He could not throw it away because I bought it. I would tell my friends about the meat he smoked and they would want some, I told them he didn’t want no one outside the house to have any because he was not satisfied with the way it turned out. Each friend convinced me to give them some without my son knowledge of me sharing and they all said if he doesn’t think this meat is good I would sure love to try what is good to him because it can’t get any better. So I began to think and I said that’s it I will get a food truck and get my son to smoke my meat. BUT, it wasn’t that easy. I did not do my research and was I in for a rude awakening. I had to go through a lot of red tape that I had no earthly idea I had to endure. It’s not as easy as getting a food truck and start selling food. There are a lot of rules and regulations you must abide by the do’s and don’t. AnR Craft BBQ is a family ran business, but no one really wants to do the food truck. As far as my youngest son he said he enjoyed smoking the meat when it wasn’t a commitment. Now that it is an obligation he doesn’t enjoy smoking the meat as much. As far as my oldest son, whatever I ask or need him to do he is right by my side doing what I ask him to do. As far as my husband every time the truck goes out he is right by my side working with me on the food truck. My husband reminds me daily this is not something he wants to do he is only doing it because he loves me and he know this is what I want to do. So everything falls on me. I have to inventory the truck, shop for the truck, promote the truck, find and schedule jobs for the truck, work on the truck, clean the truck etc. I never get a break from the truck. It’s a hard task, but I know all it takes is the right location and it will be worth it all. Most of the people that have tried our meat loves it. My youngest son that smokes the meat is very passionate about what he does so he gives me a lot of rules and regulations that I must abide by his orders for him to keep on smoking my meat. He does a lot, he smokes the meat, he makes my sausage, desserts and bbq sauce and he does it without a complaint. The beautiful thing about this food truck is no one is getting paid they do it out of love and know right now I can afford to hire help. Let me tell you how we came up with the name AnR Craft BBQ. The acronyms A is for Andrea or Antwaun my oldest sons and the R is for both my youngest son and his dad both their names is Richard and Craft is because everything is made from scratch. AnR Craft BBQ is really growing and I just know that one day my dream will be a reality if I hang in there get gets rough sometimes. My plan is to ride until the end.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Wow, I’ve endured lots of struggles such as: prep table going out losing everything inside and had a gig scheduled to be at and nothing to serve no time to give a notice to guest that are to be served. Built in generator went out and nothing powers on w/o generator. Cooler and freezer both went out and lost all contents inside. The freeze bursting the line on the hot water heater and the floor flooding with water. Running out of propane in the middle of serving. A frame breaking while driving thank God had made it to destination and was backing up and the truck just dropped to the ground. Got to a gig and the gear burned out on the reverse could not back up. Cable on accelerator sticking and while driving the truck accelerating faster and faster had to turn truck off so I would not crash into car in front of me. Ignition going out and can’t get the truck to start because switch I was out when I was getting ready to go to a gig. Those are just a few of the major problems. Having too much on my plate got distracted and left 12 brisket in the van when went meat shopping in the middle of summer and had to throw all of them away. So tired forgot 7 slabs of ribs did not refrigerate had to throw them away. I could go on and on. The unimaginable had happened to me in this business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the owner of a bbq food truck. I go out and serve hungry consumers in the tarrant county area that book me to serve at their location. I specialize in making sure whatever meat you get from my truck is juicy and tender and flavorful our meat had just the right amount of smoke favor not over powering. I am proud of the tenderness and the texture of our meat, I’m proud of our homemade sausage. I’m not trying to toot my own horn but I’m proud of the meats and dessert that comes off of our truck.. the thing that sets me apart from others is that we are passionate in what we do and we stand behind our food. If there is a problem we rectify and come up with a solution.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson that I have learned along this journey is that things doesn’t always go as planned you just have to think fast on your feet and turn lemons into lemonade. Your hard work will pay off.
Pricing:
- – prime brisket $15 per 1/2 lb
- -Beef sausage $8 each
- -Pork spareribs $12 per 1/2 lb
- -pulled pork $12 per 1/2 lb
- -Texas Twinkies $5 each
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @anrcraftbbq
- Facebook: AnR Craft BBQ
