Today we’d like to introduce you to Bambi Pride-Huff
Hi bambi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
South of 20, LLC started out as a joke between me and my now husband when we started seeing each other. both going through rather difficult divorces. we had known each other through my now ex husband as they had been room mates in college. I lived in north dallas and my now husband lived in Ennis about 45 min. south of dallas. having to drive through the heart of downtown on 45, most of the time in the middle of Rush hour traffic. I would be on the phone with him and jokingly say “oh my just get me south of 20.” this is was so traffic would get better. when he got sick and lost his CDL loosing his career and our only income with our daughter on the way we had to figure something out. I was running our E-Commerce Amazon FBA business Southern Small town goods. It wasn’t making enough to support us though. My husband dream his whole life was to own a restaurant/ food truck. a family member had a cafe in Historic Down town Sanger ( I know most people dont know where that is… its 15 min north of denton and 45 min. south of Winstar World Casino at the Oklahoma boarder.) with this now being added to the business that we were going to run, my husband said we need to do an LLC for the businesses. we went right back to that joke that we would always say to each other, it just worked, and south of 20,llc was born. my mother in law made the choice to purchase that cafe and we opened Aug.4th,2023 with a 1 month old with us all the time. it was a rough road with a 2 month closure due to unforeseen equipment problems and an insurance claim that had to be filed. we didn’t quit though we redesigned our menu, tested out new options, got new equipment and figure out how social media could become our best friend for being a community that did not want outsiders in to become a profitable cafe. we reopened and made a lot of friends with the regular customers that we had. it was a fun journey. in that we were asked to do catering for corporate events a lot and being that we had a little human with us on a 2.5 hour drive to the cafe 6 days a week, we just couldn’t do the catering to. when our lease was up we looked everything over and made the choice to move into a food trailer under the same name Bear’s cafe, a name sake to our late dogs, my husbands service dog, and my late grandfather Norman Pride who had Big Bear in Indiana when my father was a teen. we now operate out of a 20ft concession trailer for Bear’s cafe serving at corporate catering, as well as residents events at apartment complexes around the DFW and Austin area. Since my last article with voyage we have changed up the menu, as well as doing a lot more big events and setting up a scheduled rotation with several apartments to service their residence more regularly as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been smooth at all. we have had many challenges from brick n mortar being nothing but an up hill battle to the transition to a food trailer and learning how it all works with health permits. Food Trailer is very Different than Brick n mortar restaurant. The process for setting up from a legal stand point has changed so much over the last few years to make it safer. learning how this works for each event/ city/ county has not been easy. also, the pull for the 1 trailer to be in multiple places on 1 day with a team of 3 plus a toddler has also been a challenge. we work through this though as a we always have. our team is very good at thinking on our feet and pivoting if needed.
As you know, we’re big fans of South of 20llc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
South of 20 llc is my parent company for all of my other businesses, from e-commerce to a food trailer. I am proud of the South of 20 Brand and name as it is a symbol for myself and my husband of walking away from what did not serve us and stepping into a new life of acquiring our goals. we are very proud to announce that the 1st of many food truck lines now has a product line of hoodies, shirts, and cups. we are working on a line of bbq sauces and rubs for stores. I would have to say that what makes me most proud of the Bears cafe company under South of 20 is making my family recipes and hearing how much people love it. I am hope that I am making the name sake of this business line my grandpa proud as he looks down on me. as for my e-commerce line Southern Small town Goods, it is going through a transition and it will be wonderful once it goes live.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
if you are buying someone out of there business, make sure they give you all the numbers up front, if you have to keep asking for it walk away. also, if you are buying a restaurant have someone appraise the equipment before agreeing to a number.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bearscafesangertx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearscafesangertx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bearscafesangertx
- Other: https://bears-cafe.printify.me
