Today we’d like to introduce you to Zameika Williams.
Hi Zameika, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey started with cakes and treats while I was a Financial Aid Advisor at a college. I was making cakes and treats for family, friends, and small events, and over time that slowly turned into small catering opportunities. My first catering was a lunchbox catering for 4 people. The menu was chicken salad, fruit, chips, and brownies. I took so much pride in that small catering and from there opportunities kept coming. For a while I was doing events with both the sweet treats and food but it became overwhelming. As demand grew, I transitioned into larger caterings and eventually stepped fully into savory and left the sweet life alone. I’ve now been in the food and hospitality industry for over 17 years, and every stage of the journey taught me something different.
Today, I’m the owner of Luckey G’s Bistro in Fort Worth, a gourmet grilled cheese food truck. My business is named after my grandmother, Geraldine Luckey, who inspired my personal development as a woman and leader. Oddly enough she didn’t like cooking. What she did, she did well but she would always say the only reason she has a kitchen is because it came with the house. She loved hosting parties though. So the hospitality, family, and feeding people have been a part of my upbringing. Both my grandmothers first and second husband were both good cooks. My grandmothers first husband (my moms dad) was owner of Mr. & Mrs. G’s Home cooking and Pastries. He opened his restaurant with his second wife in 1991 and the restaurant closed down 2022. He was a staple to the Eastside of San Antonio and fed many high profile people during his time in business. I come from a family where hosting is life. Everyone has a holiday they are responsible for. I have been hosting Thanksgiving for more than ten years. My mom hosts Christmas and my dad’s side hosts Halloween and 4th of July.
Everything connected to my brand has some level of heart and personal connection behind it. Even the names of the grilled cheese. The Luckey Asha (Mac N Cheese filled Grilled Cheese) is named after my little sister, Iyaesha, a vet in New York. The girl loves Mac N Cheese. The Luckey Ty (a BBQ bacon cheeseburger grilled cheese) is named after my little brother, Tyreese, because he loves bacon cheeseburgers and BBQ sauce is his condiment of choice. Some others are the Luckey Gerri Lee (grandmother) (Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese), Luckey Stu (grandfather) (Spaghetti Stuffed Grilled Cheese), and Luckey Vic (mom) (Chicken Pesto Grilled Cheese). It’s a great pleasure to engage in small talk with my clients about where the name of their sandwich comes from.
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?
Not at all. If anything, it’s like being your own toughest boss and your own worst employee at the same time. {laughs} When it’s good, you run like a well-oiled machine but when it’s bad, it’s stressful, and the people closest to you definitely feel it.
One of my biggest personal challenges has been learning how to slow down long enough to handle the administrative side of the business. I’m naturally a busy body. I can jump into service, events, cooking, and production without even thinking twice so that part is second nature at this point. But sitting still to do invoicing, emails, marketing, content, and strategy? That’s where I’ve had to grow the most. The desire to clone myself has come up a time or two in conversation.
It’s funny because the work most people assume is “easy” or behind a laptop is actually where I’ve had to build the most discipline. I’ve had to learn how to switch gears from execution mode to business mode, even when I don’t feel like sitting still long enough to do it.
Another big part of the journey has just been learning what I didn’t know and what I didn’t even realize I needed to know especially when it comes to growth and scaling, oh and equipment. In my mind I am a low-level plumber, electrician, mechanic, and all other things maintenance related. You can be great at cooking, service, and execution, but building systems, hiring, managing expansion, and sustaining growth is a completely different skill set. A lot of it has been figuring things out on the fly, making mistakes, adjusting, and realizing that what got you here doesn’t always get you there. It’s a continual humbling process.
So, for me, it hasn’t been about having it all figured out it’s been about staying adaptable, staying honest with myself, and learning how to grow into the parts of business ownership that don’t always come naturally, but are necessary to keep building and I am nowhere near done building. I have some exciting things on the horizon. I am just waiting for the right partnerships to develop.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear a lot of hats, and somehow they all connect. I’m the owner of Luckey G’s Bistro in Fort Worth, where I provide catering, private chef services, meal prep, and gourmet comfort food experiences. I’m also a Dual Credit Culinary Arts Instructor, which allows me to work with students who are preparing for careers in hospitality and culinary arts while still in high school.
Outside of the culinary world, I serve in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Paralegal Specialist, which is probably one of the most unexpected parts of my story for people. It’s a completely different environment from the kitchen, but it’s taught me leadership, discipline, and how to operate under pressure in a different way that has helped me in every area of my life.
I also stay active in volunteer work and professional organizations because giving back and staying connected to the community matters to me. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I’m also raising two kids and trying to maintain genuine friendships and relationships, which honestly might be the hardest balancing act of all. {laughs}
What I’m most proud of is being able to build a life that reflects all the different parts of who I am without feeling boxed into one thing. I think people sometimes feel pressured to pick one identity or one lane, but I’ve learned that it’s okay to evolve and exist in multiple spaces.
What sets me apart is probably the fact that everything I do is rooted in connection and service. Whether I’m teaching, cooking, mentoring, volunteering, or serving in uniform, I genuinely enjoy creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and taken care of. I think people connect with authenticity, and I’ve never tried to present myself or my business as something overly polished or perfect. What people get from me is real, and I think that’s why they remember it.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I think the biggest thing I’d want readers to take away is that it’s never EVER too late to challenge yourself or become a different version of yourself. I joined the U.S. Army at 41 years old, and I know some people probably thought I had lost my mind. {laughs} But for me, it was about refusing to let fear, age, or comfort stop me from growing. I’ve learned that some of the best things in life come from having the courage to do things without fully knowing how they’re going to turn out.
A lot of my life has been built on that mindset… just make a plan, work your plan, adjust when necessary, and keep moving forward. Whether it was starting businesses, expanding them, teaching, or joining the military later in life, none of it came with guarantees. I just decided I would rather try and learn than stay stuck wondering “what if.” I refuse to be on my death bed with wonders of what if.
One thing I live by is, “This too shall pass.” I apply that to both the good seasons and the hard ones because neither lasts forever. Difficult times teach endurance, patience, and acceptance. Good times teach gratitude and presence. I think once you understand that life is always shifting, you learn how to appreciate the good moments a little more deeply instead of taking them for granted.
I also think it’s important to allow your support system to support you and to make time to show up for the people who show up for you. As entrepreneurs and ambitious people, we can get so consumed with building, working, and chasing goals that we forget to nurture the relationships around us. But when all the events are over, the work slows down, and the dust settles, the things that really matter are the people, your family, your friendships, the memories, and the moments you made along the way.
At the end of the day, I’m still learning, still evolving, and still figuring things out in real time and honestly, I think that’s the beauty of it all.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luckeygs_foodtruck/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuckeyGsBistro/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilovechefz/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@luckey.gs.bistro
