Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimmie Backus.
Hi Kimmie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My late mother was a transplant to New York City from Ponce in the early 1960s, and my dad is a Harlem/Bronx guy. Growing up in NYC, during my childhood, I was exposed to diversity. And with diversity, we ate all types of cuisines from American to Caribbean, Chinese, Italian, French, and more. We were exposed to various cultures as well.
My mother cooked authentic Puerto Rican food, and one of the things that she taught me to make as a young girl was a Puerto Rican-style street food called Pastellios. In some places. It’s called empanadas. It’s a turnover filled with meat, spices, and sofritos that my mother made from scratch.
My family loves my pastellios and I make them all the time upon request. I decided in 2023 to spread some of my mother’s love and energy through cooking, so I came up with Ponce Pastellios in honor of her and our beautiful culture. I even created my own signature Chimi Churri sauce to pair with the pastellios and it is a hit amongst the people that have had an opportunity to sample my sauces.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As of right now, it is very smooth. We are building the momentum and working diligently to market to the DFW area. This opportunity will put plenty of eyes on us and the delicious pastellios that my mother taught me to make.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
I am currently building out the Official Kimmie B brand, which consists of the things that I am most passionate about. I am a Class A CDL driver, and I have a truck dispatching business where I provide load scheduling, rate negotiation, business services, and more. You can visit www.OfficialKimmieB.com for more information on what I do.
I also teach people How To Make Money Trucking Without A Truck or a CDL. I host a podcast on Spotify and a Support Circle on Mondays and Saturdays. I teach people how to tap into the trillion-dollar trucking industry by creating multiple income streams in trucking as well.
I loved pulling into a truckstop to heat up my pastellios and a trucker asks me about it. I would have the truck stop smelling great. I just never figured out how to take my cuisines to the truck stop. So, I am currently raising funds to get the equipment to be mobile with Ponce Pastellios and service the trucking industry as well with great food.
What do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in luck at all. We all have the opportunity to get up daily and be successful. Successful people are not lucky; they put in the work!
Pricing:
- Full-Size Pastellios $3 each
- Mini $2 each
- Pre-orders only for a 1/2 or Full Tray
- 1/2 Tray (20 count)
- Full Tray (40 count)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PoncePastellios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poncepastellios/
Image Credits
Kimmie Backus
