Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviews Michaela Merrick. She is the owner of Pretty Little Tacos. Pretty Little Tacos is a Creole-Mexican Street taco concept founded by Michaela Merrick in May 2020. An industry veteran, Merrick launched in Triton Yards in May of 2020 and immediately established a loyal following. Merrick took the challenge of opening at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic head-on to follow her dream. Pretty Little Tacos offers vegan alternatives and dessert tacos, including peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake. She is on the show to tell us her story, from Food Trucks to the restaurant.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to money making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's to show that she is the secrets of success
experience firsthand by marketing and Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I
will know he's giving me advice on many occasions. And
in case you didn't notice, I'm not broke. You know
he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and industry decision make
because it's what he likes to do. It's what he
likes to share. Now it's time to hear from my man,
Rashan McDonald. Money making Conversations. Here we come.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. I'm fired up.
I'm ready to go. Fired up. Food. Everybody knows I'm
a foodie. If you go to my Facebook page, you
will see food. You will see a lot of food
I get. I'll be in the airport. People to stop, Rashana.
Can you stop posting food on your Facebook page? Can
you stop posting food on your Integram? They'll call me cakemn,
(00:50):
They'll call me the baker. They asked me for food
and be serious. I'll be sitting on the plane and
I said, can you bring me a pie? Can you
pull a pile to your overhand. Can you can you
do something for your short well? I got somebody that's
what she does for a living. I just baked for fun.
Pretty Little Tacos is a Creole Mexican street taco concept
founded by Mikayla Merrick and May of twenty twenty, an
(01:13):
industry veteran mark launched in Triton Yards in May of
twenty twenty. May of twenty twenty COVID. COVID didn't stop her,
did not stop her. Pandemic virus was raging all around
and she was following to her dreams. Pretty Little Tacos offers
vegan alternatives as well as dessert tacos. You know, I
want to ask about that dessert tacos including peach cobbler
(01:36):
and strawberry short cake. She is on the show to
tell us her story from food trucks to the restaurant
and now back to the streets. Please work with the
money Making Conversations Master Class. Mikayla Merrick, How you doing.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I'm doing well? How were you good?
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Good?
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Good good? Pretty Little Tacos? How did you come up
with that name?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well? Part opening up my company? I had like a
cooking show with one of my friends. And we were
called pretty little cooks pretty low the same time. Yeah,
so we had like a little it wasn't really a podcast.
We didn't get a chance to really do go like
maybe three or four episodes. But I really just like
the ring that I had to it. So eventually when
I started my business, I just, you know, transmit that.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Over pretty little taco. And it's a catchy term and
it's an original term because your Google it pops up.
So the whole concept of of we got the tile
pretty little tacos. But why tacos?
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Well, I love tacos. I've never really been able to
pass them.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now, let me ask you it for a youear started.
Is it meal or flour? I'm a flower I'm a
flower person. So are you meal or flour?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I like flour, but I do like both. It just
depends on the type of tacos. You know, some tacos
require flower towards you and trump. I feel like taste
better with corns. So I am a taco freak, like
I love tacos. Everywhere I go. If I see a
taco truck, I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna try it. When
I go to La I hunt down the street corn vendors.
(03:04):
You know, I just love it. You know, I've always
loved it. So me and my family, like we always
we cooked. That's what we do. You know. One of
our favorite things to eat is tacos. So my brother
is a chef. We you know, we come up with
all types of unique tacos and we eat them at home.
So when the pandemics happened.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
So you say your brother's a chef, so he's he's
a person who went to school and became a trained chef.
I'm assuming when you say that.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Correct, right?
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Did you do the same? Did you do the same?
I didn't, Okay, but you didn't. And and you own
a business and food. How did you pull it? How
did you pull it?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well? I think it was just perfect timing. Really, there
was like a time frame where in the beginning of
the pandemic where everybody was on tall and my brain
was moving and I was like, you know, I told
my mom, I said, Mama, have this idea, and she
was like, okay, she believed in it. And the next
morning she woke me up and was like, let's go
get a food. I was like what, and she was like,
(04:02):
let's go do it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And I was like, okay you no, no, no, go
get a job, girl. No, let's go get a food truck.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So you've only had a job, and I was always
very like hard working. I've been like number one in
customer service. Wherever I've been, I've been in the like well,
I've worked in like bar services areas. I've worked in clubs,
I worked in restaurants. I've worked a little bit of everywhere.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So you're a person, You're a people person naturally.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, And I know what the people want. I mean,
you know, I think I do well.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You're successful. We're going to talk about that in a minute.
But let me let me get back to your mom.
So your your dad's a chef, you said, and your
brother's a chef, right your mom?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
My mom is a flight is in the Southwest.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Okay? Cool? And then you, like I said, was you
did a lot of different jobs. Did you go to college?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Did you I did go to college. I went to
I went to I went to Georgia Perimeter. And when
the pandemic started, I was in school my dental hygiene.
And the funny thing is that my dad always told me,
like you need to go back to school and go
back to school. So I went back to school, and
then the pandemic happened, and then I started this business.
And my dad was like, oh, you don't need school,
focus on the business. So if I stopped going to school,
(05:13):
so I could focus on pretty little talkhods so pretty.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
So your funny is your family's funny. Go to get
your get you get. I'll stop taking to make them tacos, girl,
make them tacos girl. Mama, look at the food truck.
Looks at the food truck. So I love that that
was a whole family. Their whole family is entrepreneurial oriented,
and they wouldn't allow you to like sit back and go,
you know, like some people will if this goal is
(05:36):
not working, some people sit back and sulk. I'll feel
sorry for themselves or or just say this is not
going to happen. Oh woe is me. That doesn't seem
like your family, And it doesn't seem like that's you either.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Oh No, I'm very resilient. I don't take no for
an answer. I literally I've learned as I've gone. I've
listened to my customers. I try to apply to every
single customer the same way, you know, genuine to their
circumstances or their experience, and I learned from it and
that's just the best way that I can You know,
I could tell anybody. You have to be resilient. You
(06:11):
can't give up. You have to keep going, like at
the end of the day, Like as you go, you
start to have people that depend on you, not only
your employees, but your customers. Like they don't want they
don't want to see you not succeed. They want you
to be the best that you can be. So you
have to just keep going. You can't give up.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Okay, I'm talking to the owner of Pretty Little Tacos
is based in Atlanta, and I'm sure, how in a
location do you have in Atlanta right now?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
We have technically we have three. So we have the
one that is in Politan Road, located in Colony Square,
which is like it's really I love that location because
it's very diverse. You never really know who's going to
walk in there, so I love that space. Our next
location that we have is a new spot that we
have in Union City. It's situated more like us to
go delivery pick up like service only the DP gas station.
(07:00):
So I have this whole idea that I want to
get pretty little tacos in every gas station in Atlanta.
So this is my starting point. And then i also
have a larger restaurant that I'm working on on Moreland Avenue.
I'm about ninety days out at that at the most,
I do I get my liquor license, hopefully in July.
So you know, I'm really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It does get some tacos, that's what that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Now, yeah, I'm excited about that. I think that I
will be able to actually give my customers, you know,
an experience, and that's very important to me.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, and so will you come back on this show
that when it opens? Can we do that? Can you?
Let's talk about it all how it all started, because
you know, I know in college, I was made. I
was in my dorm room. I was I was. I
was making pizzas, selling pizzas out my dorm room. I
had a little medium pizza. All they served, had my
little crust already pre made, turned and converted a walk
(07:53):
into a into an oven. And I would have two
pizzas I would serve. You know, it was pepperoni and
it was hamburger. And I had my ragou sauce. That
was so. I was an entrepreneur back then, but I
didn't take it to the next level. You took an
idea of tacos. You put a nice catchy name to it,
pretty little Tacos. How did you knew this was working
(08:13):
in the height of the pandemic.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Well, I didn't know it would work, and I think
that that was the reason why I was able to
do it. I really didn't have a choice. I didn't
get any assistance or any help. Women and everything, you know,
shut down. So for me it was like survival. So
when I was able to take out the fear and
just know that I had to do it, it made
(08:36):
it easier for me. I didn't really have a choice.
And you know, going into it, my expectations were very low.
I just expected to pay my bills and you know,
and very quickly, like I was, I got there. I
was a little afraid because I had done so much research.
I did so much research that it scared me and
it told me that I wouldn't be able to afford
to hire anybody. So I was like, Okay, I have
to do everything myself. So at the beginning, I was
(08:57):
cooking everything, I was loading it up, and I was
putting on the truck and I was selling everything. My
mom was helping me, my brother was helping me, and
you know, we were making things work. But what I
started to realize, you know, that people really liked it,
was when I got to Triting Yards. And once I
got there, I started to have like really long lines,
like crazy lines, and it was just very humbling, you know,
(09:18):
and it took a lot of time.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
How many how many varieties of tacos that you have then,
because now you have a big menu. We're going to
get to the menu in the next break, But how
many variations of tacos that you have at the start?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
At the beginning, I only had chicken steak and oxtails.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Chicken steak and ox tail lying around the box.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yes, the street corn, that's it.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And now now street tacos are smaller, correct, if I'm
not mistaken, they're smaller versus other tacos. Now do you
do you still do just street tacos or do you
do the other version of tacos at your current locations?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I pretty much always have used the full sized taco.
I don't believe in sping the meat that the tacos
are pretty feeling like for me, I probably could eat
three and then I'm four, So I put a lot
of meat on them. You know, I make sure that
we're not stingy. You know that's my biggest You got
(10:23):
your you.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I'm a fan already because I hate people. I never understand.
I go into restaurants, people be you know, they be
counting the meat they putting on your plate. It's this
one restaurant I go, I'm not gonna name the name,
and I can they just count the amount of meat
they put on a plate. I'm going, like, really, come
about to put some meat on that? And I come back.
But now you're already frustrating me because I'm down two,
(10:45):
I'm counting why you're counting.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And you're still hungry.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I'm still hungry. So now there were a lot of
roadblocks and licensing and because with the kitchens you were using.
Can you run us through that before we go to
the break that some of the frustration because we're all
dreamers and when you dream, the reality is is not
as comfortable or as easy as the dream makes it
(11:09):
out to be. What were some of the roadblocks you
got before you really start seeing your life shine.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Well, the biggest thing was obviously I started it with
you know, a little to no money, so it was
literally like I was reinvesting every day, you know, and
eventually I started to get to the point to work.
It made sense. But the biggest thing that I had
a problem with was like, obviously I started during the
pandemic and all the government was shut down. I couldn't
(11:36):
call the Health Department and say, hey, you know, am
I doing this right? You know, I don't want like
I did call, but I couldn't get I couldn't get through.
So I emailed and that ended up saving me. So
when they did open back up, they did see that
I had been reaching out to them. So I wasn't
like in trouble or anything. But I found out that
there were so many things that I had been misinformed about,
and the number one thing was commissary kitchens. Commisary kitchens.
(11:59):
There are some good commentary kitchens, don't get me wrong,
but a lot of them. If you don't know what
you're looking for, they will scam you. You will be
paying for a permit that they don't have the qualifications
to get you. And so that happened to me twice.
I lost a lot of money thinking that, you know,
I was doing the right thing, not you know, while
the health department was closed, and when they opened they
(12:20):
informed me, oh, well, you know, these people don't even
have a permit for you to get your food truck permanent.
So once I found that out, it was like, okay,
back to square one. And then it ended up making
me park my truck, you know, and then ultimately because
it was parked, someone did fill my first food truck.
But I have since got a new food truck and
so that's why now you know, we're getting back outside.
(12:43):
But that was the biggest thing for me. It's kind
of not really knowing the ins and outs, and a
lot of people, a lot of gatekeeping people weren't really
helpful to people, the other people in the food truck parks.
So I had to figure it out on my own.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Okay, I wanted to slow it down a little bit
because some things you said, I don't know, and I
think that a lot of people they hear you said
permit like permit licensee A commisary kitchen. What are commissary kitchens?
What is that?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Well, you need a commissary kitchen because you can't cook
your you can't cook your food out of your house.
You need to be able to have a space where
you have the designated area to where you can cook,
store and prepare your food, and then also be able
to pull your food truck in, clean your food truck
out properly according to the health you know, department standards,
and you have to have a base it's like your
(13:27):
base of operations. Like you can't just have your food
truck part in front of your house, like, you have
to have a base of operations. And so that's what
that is supposed to serve as. But a lot of
people get it confused if there's another there's like a
a permit that's for caterers, right, So a lot of
these these commisary kitchens they go through the Department of Agriculture,
(13:49):
you know, as opposed to the Department of Health. So
they're not even the right type of you know, permit.
So once you get in there, they don't tell you that.
They just take your money, you know, and then once
you go down to the health for me, they're like,
we don't you know, you can't use that. So that's
the you know, that's what I mean when I say
that cool.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I'm talking to the owner of Pretty Little Tacos. This
is a Creole Mexican street taco concept founded by the
person I'm talking to, michaeleab Merrick in May of twenty twenty.
The COVID didn't mean nothing to Hu. She jumped out
there and did her thing, and she is telling her
story on Money Making Conversations Master collect If you want
to talk to her, please call at four zero four
(14:25):
eight eight zero nine two five five four zero four
eight eight zero nine two five five. We were right
back to continuous conversation because we want to say the
next step. And she's in her third year. She's doing
the thing. But more important, I want you guys to
hear that you can make it happen too, but you
gotta do it the right way. You gotta follow the rules,
and you got to listen to her story. We were
right back with more Pretty Little Tacos.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass
with Rushawn McDonald. You are now tuned into the Money
Making Conversations Minute of Inspiration with Rashawn McDonald.
Speaker 7 (15:04):
Michelle Williams is a Grammy Award winning recording artists and actress.
She rose to start him as a member of the
Omega group Destiny's Child in her new book Checking In
How Getting Real about Depression save my life and can
save yours. This book will help you see the science
to overcome depression, to.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
Go into counseling.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I really want to help people in entertainment and sports
because I don't feel like we have to live these
lives with dysfunction or not identifying hurts that trigger certain
behaviors and responses. Because just because I was hurt in
my childhood does not give me the right to go
(15:42):
hurting people as an adult. And then I really feel
like we can go on to be more whole and
have great quality relationships.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Michelle Williams full interview.
Speaker 7 (15:53):
It's available at Moneymaking Conversation dot com. Keep winning.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Now, let's return to money Making coveras Masterclass with Rashawn McDonald.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Welcome back to Money Making Conversations Master Class. I'm talking
to the owner, creator, CEO, president, do it all a
pretty Little Tacos. We have a caller on the call, Sarah.
How are you doing? Sarah, Welcome to the show. You're
speaking to Rashon McDonald and michaelam Merrick what is your question.
Speaker 8 (16:20):
Well, it's more of a comment. I just want to say, like,
you're honestly a huge, huge inspiration to somebody like me.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I'm not in the food.
Speaker 8 (16:29):
Industry, but I am a new business owner and just
to hear your story, how like you didn't give up
and you had all these obstacles and still have a
successful business. I definitely went there the one downtown Colony
Square and it was an amazing experience. So I just
wanted to say, like, you're a huge, huge inspiration and
(16:50):
I'm so proud of you, and just keep going. I
guess firing up there so much.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Sarah.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well, Sarah, thank you for ma in their phone call.
And I want to turn my question back to you.
This is not this is normal for you. You are an inspiration.
Your story. I wanted to tell you a story because
you know, you know, I tried to do my homework
and I knew first of all the fact that you
opened your business in the middle of COVID. That was like,
because I know you was a you know, a separation.
(17:18):
You could get close to each other, you had business,
had the hours they had to operate, and there's so
many rules that were in place and then you I
didn't know the fact that you really couldn't get your
your licenses because basically nobody was in offices and when
they when they got back, they had to do catch up.
And then you was out there trying to go to
these little commissary kitchens and they were just abusing the
(17:40):
relationship because they know you didn't know. But all that
was it your parents, which is your brother, who kept
you focused, who kept saying, don't give up, don't give up,
you can do it. This is your dream. Keep your
prayers strong. What was it?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
My daughter's channing. She's seven now, but you know when
I started the business, she was four. She always been
very proud of me. You know, every school she goes to,
she brags about me so much, like I'm always doing
events at her schools or you know, catering her friend's
birthday parties because she's my biggest fan. So that is
(18:14):
that's my biggest insoration. That's what keeps me going. I
just want her to have a head start. I want
her to understand that, you know, she can she can
do anything she wants to like, and I'm going to
show her how. So that's you know, I do that
and then also for my family, like I like, my
dad had a restaurant in the past, but you know
he didn't really, it didn't last. So for him and
(18:35):
for everybody in my family, like, they're really proud of me.
So that pushes me and keeps me.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Going, Wow, you know, now what are what are there?
What are their specialties? Okay? Because you say, your father's
a chef and your brother's a chef, and then you've
opened this very popular creole mexicanan street taco concept. Whereould
where were these skills trained in?
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well? My dad like, well, we're creole. So my dad,
he's he's a creole. He's that's Creole cuisine. His favorite
dish line is a seafood pot pie. It's really good,
crop fish, crab, shrimp, really good. So I really like that.
My brother, he's a little bit he can do it all.
He's very well rounded. He can do anything when it
(19:19):
comes to food. He's like one of my biggest inspirations.
He's very smart. He knows his stuff. You know a
lot of the things that I've learned along the way
are just from listening to him or being around him.
You know, I've learned a lot of things and he
doesn't even realize it. So you know, I listen to
absorb and I pay attention to him. He's very well
around it. He does caterings. He was probably one of
(19:41):
the first Instagram celebrity chefs. He's cooked for everybody. He's
done a lot of things. He fas a lot to
be proud of.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
And hey, who's your brother? Now you tell me some information.
I need to know your brother. Who is your brother?
Speaker 3 (19:53):
My brother's name is chef Mike Ballely, My little brother.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Out there on Instagram, out there just blowing up doing
his own thing too. So you know, so you got
like a social media celebrity chef brother, and then you
got a creole Mexican street taco concept that is blowing
up all over the city. And then you want to
put it in every every gas station around the country. Really,
(20:18):
that's what you want to do. You know, now, what
what what starts to elevating that dream? Like you said,
because it's all about food quality. You know what they
get over here, they get over there. How do you
maintain that.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I have all my prep in one space, I have
everything cooked in one kitchen by the same prep team,
and I just divvy it out. That's the easiest way
for me to do it. I am going to for
some copacking option soon, which will be like, you know,
I send my recipe to a company and they make it,
you know, in mass production, they send it back to me.
(20:53):
But for right now, I like to keep the fresh
and authentic. I like to keep you know, keep it
where it feels like someone put a lot of love
into it. So I haven't really you know, wanted to
pass it over just shit. But for now that's what
I do. I have the same prep ladies that I've
always started with, and yeah, they know the recipes and
they do they do pretty good.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Okay, cool, so do that you know like they like, now,
are your recipes like secret recipes? You know? With they
you know, they have to sign n DA's and all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, everyone has to sign NDAs. I
just actually updated everybody's NDA last week.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So yes, they go in their kitchen, they can't go
around there trying to make their own little street tacos.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Even the cashiers. Everybody has to sign an NDA.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
There you go. Everybody listen to this now because.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
I keep it equal opportunity, you know, And don't get
me wrong. I do have a lot of people that
work with me that want to have their own companies,
and like, you know, that's why I'm here, you know,
on this journey together. I mean, I feel like they're
learning if they're paying attention to me and they're learning so.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Well, you know that's important because I want to I
want people to hear this, like Shareer heard you, Sharah
is seeing you. Because there's business and there is relationships
in business superseded relationship. Business superseded love. Business supersedes family
because it's business. And I've been there. No, I've hired
(22:18):
my family and kept it emotional. And guess what I
lost because I forgot the power and the rules of business.
And it's important. So if you got to get people
this side of the NBA, sign it otherwise you will
pay a price for that later on. Am I right?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
You have to make sure you protect yourself always. It
also keeps it honest and you know, keeps the integrity. Hi,
No one is, you know, trying to steal anything from you.
So it works out.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Now, what makes food truck business so competitive and so cutthroat?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
There's so many new food truck owners like your.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Voice, your voice dropping so many there.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Theory, if you do research right, like you'll see like
there's I don't know the exact numbers, but I'm pretty
sure there's like been an influx of like food trucks
that came in after the pandemic during the pandemic, So
it's very competitive. When I was at Triton Yards, I
had a standing spot, so it was like no other
(23:20):
taco people really wanted to come into the parking lot
when we were there, you know, And I didn't have
a problem with them coming, you know, welcome. I like
to I'll go try and I like tacos, but it
was just kind of like they really didn't want to
be there. But it's very competitive. I but I thrive
off of that. You know. I like to study and
see the best of the best, and you know, I
just level up every time. So you know, it doesn't
(23:43):
it doesn't intimidate me.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
You know, I feel like I'm talking to the Tupac
of tacos here. Keep your head up, keep your head up.
You're coming over here. Messing with my tacos. Gonna be
a problem. I love talking to you. I loved I
loved I love them, your family, your moms or flight attendant.
She's out there told let's go get a food truck.
She's inspiration. Your daughter is so proud of you. She
(24:07):
talks about you that gives you inspiration, that let you
know that you're making the difference. You're inspiring future entrepreneur
and your daughter. She's seeing that you don't have to
do an eight to five, that you can believe in
your own dreams. She's also saying that you don't have
to go to college to be successful, which is what
this new generation is telling us. And we're starting to
see there are different rules. Allow those different rules to happen.
(24:28):
But Pretty Little Tacos is your brand, is your baby. Again,
before we wrap up, tell everybody in Atlanta, Georgia and
around the country, because everybody listening to that they gonna
nobody Pretty Little Tacos now how they can find your
locations in the city of Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You can follow us on Instagram at pretty Little Tacos
atl You can also go to our website at www
dot Prettylttle Tacos dot com and that will have all
of our social media handles on there. You can send
us an email, do a catering inquiry, whatever you would
like to do. Our location is in Quality Square and
Politan Road Food Hall, and then we also have one
(25:03):
on forty three fifty Jones Borrow Road in Union City.
It's located inside of the gas station Morelands. I will
announce that opening day very soon.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Ninety days, right, and you're coming back, right, Mikayl.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, I'll be back, and then it's available to be
booked if you have an event that you want us
to pull up to. Any festivals. We are looking for
you guys. We really want to get our trucks back
outside and we're ready to go, you know, fully staffed,
fully loaded, and ready to go.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, I want to thank you for taking the time
pretty little Tacos, and I am a text ma nex nut.
I'm telling you so so the fact that you have
a business out there that's thriving. I can't you know,
I'm on NPR, so I just can't say I'm gonna
come by, but let me know that thank you for
giving me the location. I guess I could say that again.
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation master Class.
(25:53):
You are an inspiration. You are very unique in what
you're doing. I say that because of the fact that
you're following your dreams and a lot of people don't
and don't think they're passing our dreams every day and
you're doing it. Thank you for coming on Money Making
Conversations Master Class.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Thank you so much for having me. I have a
good day.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Bye bye. Well she's so busy, so professional. Thank you, y,
thank you for coming on my show. I want to
thank you guys for listening to my show again. I'd
be back next week as I am every week with
a new set of people who are going to make
a difference in your life. Talk to you soon. Money
Making Conversation Master Class Roushawn McDonald, I'm out.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with through Shan
McDonald is produced by thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. Is available at
thirty eight fifteen media dot com. And always remember to
lead with your guests.
Speaker 5 (27:04):
HBCUs represent Black excellence. If you attend or are an
alumnus of an HBCU, we want to hear about your story.
The MYHBCU Story Digital Library will allow current HBCU students
and alumni to share their stories. Registration is open to everyone.
More information is available at HBCU college day dot com.
(27:25):
Click my HBCU story. Next, you can upload a photo.
The photo can be recent or from when you attended
your HBCU. Then share your academic or social experience at
your HBCU, which can be your favorite class, hangout, joint,
homecoming game, student center, honor, off campus party, greek show,
and how attending an HBCU changed your life. We also
(27:48):
want to hear stories if you pleasure a fraternity or sorority.
The goal is to use your my HBCU story to
promote and uplift the HBCU brand. Your HBCU prepared you
success and now we want everyone to read about your
black excellence. More information is available at HBCU college day
(28:08):
dot com. You can click my HBCU story to share
your story.
Welcome to money making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
It's to show that she is the secrets of success
experience firsthand by marketing and Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I
will know he's giving me advice on many occasions. And
in case you didn't notice, I'm not broke. You know
he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and industry decision make
because it's what he likes to do. It's what he
likes to share. Now it's time to hear from my man,
Rashan McDonald. Money making Conversations. Here we come.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. I'm fired up.
I'm ready to go. Fired up. Food. Everybody knows I'm
a foodie. If you go to my Facebook page, you
will see food. You will see a lot of food
I get. I'll be in the airport. People to stop, Rashana.
Can you stop posting food on your Facebook page? Can
you stop posting food on your Integram? They'll call me cakemn,
(00:50):
They'll call me the baker. They asked me for food
and be serious. I'll be sitting on the plane and
I said, can you bring me a pie? Can you
pull a pile to your overhand. Can you can you
do something for your short well? I got somebody that's
what she does for a living. I just baked for fun.
Pretty Little Tacos is a Creole Mexican street taco concept
founded by Mikayla Merrick and May of twenty twenty, an
(01:13):
industry veteran mark launched in Triton Yards in May of
twenty twenty. May of twenty twenty COVID. COVID didn't stop her,
did not stop her. Pandemic virus was raging all around
and she was following to her dreams. Pretty Little Tacos offers
vegan alternatives as well as dessert tacos. You know, I
want to ask about that dessert tacos including peach cobbler
(01:36):
and strawberry short cake. She is on the show to
tell us her story from food trucks to the restaurant
and now back to the streets. Please work with the
money Making Conversations Master Class. Mikayla Merrick, How you doing.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I'm doing well? How were you good?
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Good?
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Good good? Pretty Little Tacos? How did you come up
with that name?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Well? Part opening up my company? I had like a
cooking show with one of my friends. And we were
called pretty little cooks pretty low the same time. Yeah,
so we had like a little it wasn't really a podcast.
We didn't get a chance to really do go like
maybe three or four episodes. But I really just like
the ring that I had to it. So eventually when
I started my business, I just, you know, transmit that.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Over pretty little taco. And it's a catchy term and
it's an original term because your Google it pops up.
So the whole concept of of we got the tile
pretty little tacos. But why tacos?
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Well, I love tacos. I've never really been able to
pass them.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Now, let me ask you it for a youear started.
Is it meal or flour? I'm a flower I'm a
flower person. So are you meal or flour?
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I like flour, but I do like both. It just
depends on the type of tacos. You know, some tacos
require flower towards you and trump. I feel like taste
better with corns. So I am a taco freak, like
I love tacos. Everywhere I go. If I see a
taco truck, I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna try it. When
I go to La I hunt down the street corn vendors.
(03:04):
You know, I just love it. You know, I've always
loved it. So me and my family, like we always
we cooked. That's what we do. You know. One of
our favorite things to eat is tacos. So my brother
is a chef. We you know, we come up with
all types of unique tacos and we eat them at home.
So when the pandemics happened.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
So you say your brother's a chef, so he's he's
a person who went to school and became a trained chef.
I'm assuming when you say that.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Correct, right?
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Right?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Did you do the same? Did you do the same?
I didn't, Okay, but you didn't. And and you own
a business and food. How did you pull it? How
did you pull it?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well? I think it was just perfect timing. Really, there
was like a time frame where in the beginning of
the pandemic where everybody was on tall and my brain
was moving and I was like, you know, I told
my mom, I said, Mama, have this idea, and she
was like, okay, she believed in it. And the next
morning she woke me up and was like, let's go
get a food. I was like what, and she was like,
(04:02):
let's go do it.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And I was like, okay you no, no, no, go
get a job, girl. No, let's go get a food truck.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So you've only had a job, and I was always
very like hard working. I've been like number one in
customer service. Wherever I've been, I've been in the like well,
I've worked in like bar services areas. I've worked in clubs,
I worked in restaurants. I've worked a little bit of everywhere.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So you're a person, You're a people person naturally.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, And I know what the people want. I mean,
you know, I think I do well.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
You're successful. We're going to talk about that in a minute.
But let me let me get back to your mom.
So your your dad's a chef, you said, and your
brother's a chef, right your mom?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
My mom is a flight is in the Southwest.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Okay? Cool? And then you, like I said, was you
did a lot of different jobs. Did you go to college?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Did you I did go to college. I went to
I went to I went to Georgia Perimeter. And when
the pandemic started, I was in school my dental hygiene.
And the funny thing is that my dad always told me,
like you need to go back to school and go
back to school. So I went back to school, and
then the pandemic happened, and then I started this business.
And my dad was like, oh, you don't need school,
focus on the business. So if I stopped going to school,
(05:13):
so I could focus on pretty little talkhods so pretty.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
So your funny is your family's funny. Go to get
your get you get. I'll stop taking to make them tacos, girl,
make them tacos girl. Mama, look at the food truck.
Looks at the food truck. So I love that that
was a whole family. Their whole family is entrepreneurial oriented,
and they wouldn't allow you to like sit back and go,
you know, like some people will if this goal is
(05:36):
not working, some people sit back and sulk. I'll feel
sorry for themselves or or just say this is not
going to happen. Oh woe is me. That doesn't seem
like your family, And it doesn't seem like that's you either.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Oh No, I'm very resilient. I don't take no for
an answer. I literally I've learned as I've gone. I've
listened to my customers. I try to apply to every
single customer the same way, you know, genuine to their
circumstances or their experience, and I learned from it and
that's just the best way that I can You know,
I could tell anybody. You have to be resilient. You
(06:11):
can't give up. You have to keep going, like at
the end of the day, Like as you go, you
start to have people that depend on you, not only
your employees, but your customers. Like they don't want they
don't want to see you not succeed. They want you
to be the best that you can be. So you
have to just keep going. You can't give up.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Okay, I'm talking to the owner of Pretty Little Tacos
is based in Atlanta, and I'm sure, how in a
location do you have in Atlanta right now?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
We have technically we have three. So we have the
one that is in Politan Road, located in Colony Square,
which is like it's really I love that location because
it's very diverse. You never really know who's going to
walk in there, so I love that space. Our next
location that we have is a new spot that we
have in Union City. It's situated more like us to
go delivery pick up like service only the DP gas station.
(07:00):
So I have this whole idea that I want to
get pretty little tacos in every gas station in Atlanta.
So this is my starting point. And then i also
have a larger restaurant that I'm working on on Moreland Avenue.
I'm about ninety days out at that at the most,
I do I get my liquor license, hopefully in July.
So you know, I'm really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It does get some tacos, that's what that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Now, yeah, I'm excited about that. I think that I
will be able to actually give my customers, you know,
an experience, and that's very important to me.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Okay, and so will you come back on this show
that when it opens? Can we do that? Can you?
Let's talk about it all how it all started, because
you know, I know in college, I was made. I
was in my dorm room. I was I was. I
was making pizzas, selling pizzas out my dorm room. I
had a little medium pizza. All they served, had my
little crust already pre made, turned and converted a walk
(07:53):
into a into an oven. And I would have two
pizzas I would serve. You know, it was pepperoni and
it was hamburger. And I had my ragou sauce. That
was so. I was an entrepreneur back then, but I
didn't take it to the next level. You took an
idea of tacos. You put a nice catchy name to it,
pretty little Tacos. How did you knew this was working
(08:13):
in the height of the pandemic.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Well, I didn't know it would work, and I think
that that was the reason why I was able to
do it. I really didn't have a choice. I didn't
get any assistance or any help. Women and everything, you know,
shut down. So for me it was like survival. So
when I was able to take out the fear and
just know that I had to do it, it made
(08:36):
it easier for me. I didn't really have a choice.
And you know, going into it, my expectations were very low.
I just expected to pay my bills and you know,
and very quickly, like I was, I got there. I
was a little afraid because I had done so much research.
I did so much research that it scared me and
it told me that I wouldn't be able to afford
to hire anybody. So I was like, Okay, I have
to do everything myself. So at the beginning, I was
(08:57):
cooking everything, I was loading it up, and I was
putting on the truck and I was selling everything. My
mom was helping me, my brother was helping me, and
you know, we were making things work. But what I
started to realize, you know, that people really liked it,
was when I got to Triting Yards. And once I
got there, I started to have like really long lines,
like crazy lines, and it was just very humbling, you know,
(09:18):
and it took a lot of time.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
How many how many varieties of tacos that you have then,
because now you have a big menu. We're going to
get to the menu in the next break, But how
many variations of tacos that you have at the start?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
At the beginning, I only had chicken steak and oxtails.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Chicken steak and ox tail lying around the box.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yes, the street corn, that's it.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And now now street tacos are smaller, correct, if I'm
not mistaken, they're smaller versus other tacos. Now do you
do you still do just street tacos or do you
do the other version of tacos at your current locations?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I pretty much always have used the full sized taco.
I don't believe in sping the meat that the tacos
are pretty feeling like for me, I probably could eat
three and then I'm four, So I put a lot
of meat on them. You know, I make sure that
we're not stingy. You know that's my biggest You got
(10:23):
your you.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I'm a fan already because I hate people. I never understand.
I go into restaurants, people be you know, they be
counting the meat they putting on your plate. It's this
one restaurant I go, I'm not gonna name the name,
and I can they just count the amount of meat
they put on a plate. I'm going, like, really, come
about to put some meat on that? And I come back.
But now you're already frustrating me because I'm down two,
(10:45):
I'm counting why you're counting.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And you're still hungry.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
I'm still hungry. So now there were a lot of
roadblocks and licensing and because with the kitchens you were using.
Can you run us through that before we go to
the break that some of the frustration because we're all
dreamers and when you dream, the reality is is not
as comfortable or as easy as the dream makes it
(11:09):
out to be. What were some of the roadblocks you
got before you really start seeing your life shine.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Well, the biggest thing was obviously I started it with
you know, a little to no money, so it was
literally like I was reinvesting every day, you know, and
eventually I started to get to the point to work.
It made sense. But the biggest thing that I had
a problem with was like, obviously I started during the
pandemic and all the government was shut down. I couldn't
(11:36):
call the Health Department and say, hey, you know, am
I doing this right? You know, I don't want like
I did call, but I couldn't get I couldn't get through.
So I emailed and that ended up saving me. So
when they did open back up, they did see that
I had been reaching out to them. So I wasn't
like in trouble or anything. But I found out that
there were so many things that I had been misinformed about,
and the number one thing was commissary kitchens. Commisary kitchens.
(11:59):
There are some good commentary kitchens, don't get me wrong,
but a lot of them. If you don't know what
you're looking for, they will scam you. You will be
paying for a permit that they don't have the qualifications
to get you. And so that happened to me twice.
I lost a lot of money thinking that, you know,
I was doing the right thing, not you know, while
the health department was closed, and when they opened they
(12:20):
informed me, oh, well, you know, these people don't even
have a permit for you to get your food truck permanent.
So once I found that out, it was like, okay,
back to square one. And then it ended up making
me park my truck, you know, and then ultimately because
it was parked, someone did fill my first food truck.
But I have since got a new food truck and
so that's why now you know, we're getting back outside.
(12:43):
But that was the biggest thing for me. It's kind
of not really knowing the ins and outs, and a
lot of people, a lot of gatekeeping people weren't really
helpful to people, the other people in the food truck parks.
So I had to figure it out on my own.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Okay, I wanted to slow it down a little bit
because some things you said, I don't know, and I
think that a lot of people they hear you said
permit like permit licensee A commisary kitchen. What are commissary kitchens?
What is that?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Well, you need a commissary kitchen because you can't cook
your you can't cook your food out of your house.
You need to be able to have a space where
you have the designated area to where you can cook,
store and prepare your food, and then also be able
to pull your food truck in, clean your food truck
out properly according to the health you know, department standards,
and you have to have a base it's like your
(13:27):
base of operations. Like you can't just have your food
truck part in front of your house, like, you have
to have a base of operations. And so that's what
that is supposed to serve as. But a lot of
people get it confused if there's another there's like a
a permit that's for caterers, right, So a lot of
these these commisary kitchens they go through the Department of Agriculture,
(13:49):
you know, as opposed to the Department of Health. So
they're not even the right type of you know, permit.
So once you get in there, they don't tell you that.
They just take your money, you know, and then once
you go down to the health for me, they're like,
we don't you know, you can't use that. So that's
the you know, that's what I mean when I say
that cool.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I'm talking to the owner of Pretty Little Tacos. This
is a Creole Mexican street taco concept founded by the
person I'm talking to, michaeleab Merrick in May of twenty twenty.
The COVID didn't mean nothing to Hu. She jumped out
there and did her thing, and she is telling her
story on Money Making Conversations Master collect If you want
to talk to her, please call at four zero four
(14:25):
eight eight zero nine two five five four zero four
eight eight zero nine two five five. We were right
back to continuous conversation because we want to say the
next step. And she's in her third year. She's doing
the thing. But more important, I want you guys to
hear that you can make it happen too, but you
gotta do it the right way. You gotta follow the rules,
and you got to listen to her story. We were
right back with more Pretty Little Tacos.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass
with Rushawn McDonald. You are now tuned into the Money
Making Conversations Minute of Inspiration with Rashawn McDonald.
Speaker 7 (15:04):
Michelle Williams is a Grammy Award winning recording artists and actress.
She rose to start him as a member of the
Omega group Destiny's Child in her new book Checking In
How Getting Real about Depression save my life and can
save yours. This book will help you see the science
to overcome depression, to.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
Go into counseling.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I really want to help people in entertainment and sports
because I don't feel like we have to live these
lives with dysfunction or not identifying hurts that trigger certain
behaviors and responses. Because just because I was hurt in
my childhood does not give me the right to go
(15:42):
hurting people as an adult. And then I really feel
like we can go on to be more whole and
have great quality relationships.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Michelle Williams full interview.
Speaker 7 (15:53):
It's available at Moneymaking Conversation dot com. Keep winning.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Now, let's return to money Making coveras Masterclass with Rashawn McDonald.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Welcome back to Money Making Conversations Master Class. I'm talking
to the owner, creator, CEO, president, do it all a
pretty Little Tacos. We have a caller on the call, Sarah.
How are you doing? Sarah, Welcome to the show. You're
speaking to Rashon McDonald and michaelam Merrick what is your question.
Speaker 8 (16:20):
Well, it's more of a comment. I just want to say, like,
you're honestly a huge, huge inspiration to somebody like me.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
I'm not in the food.
Speaker 8 (16:29):
Industry, but I am a new business owner and just
to hear your story, how like you didn't give up
and you had all these obstacles and still have a
successful business. I definitely went there the one downtown Colony
Square and it was an amazing experience. So I just
wanted to say, like, you're a huge, huge inspiration and
(16:50):
I'm so proud of you, and just keep going. I
guess firing up there so much.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Sarah.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Well, Sarah, thank you for ma in their phone call.
And I want to turn my question back to you.
This is not this is normal for you. You are an inspiration.
Your story. I wanted to tell you a story because
you know, you know, I tried to do my homework
and I knew first of all the fact that you
opened your business in the middle of COVID. That was like,
because I know you was a you know, a separation.
(17:18):
You could get close to each other, you had business,
had the hours they had to operate, and there's so
many rules that were in place and then you I
didn't know the fact that you really couldn't get your
your licenses because basically nobody was in offices and when
they when they got back, they had to do catch up.
And then you was out there trying to go to
these little commissary kitchens and they were just abusing the
(17:40):
relationship because they know you didn't know. But all that
was it your parents, which is your brother, who kept
you focused, who kept saying, don't give up, don't give up,
you can do it. This is your dream. Keep your
prayers strong. What was it?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
My daughter's channing. She's seven now, but you know when
I started the business, she was four. She always been
very proud of me. You know, every school she goes to,
she brags about me so much, like I'm always doing
events at her schools or you know, catering her friend's
birthday parties because she's my biggest fan. So that is
(18:14):
that's my biggest insoration. That's what keeps me going. I
just want her to have a head start. I want
her to understand that, you know, she can she can
do anything she wants to like, and I'm going to
show her how. So that's you know, I do that
and then also for my family, like I like, my
dad had a restaurant in the past, but you know
he didn't really, it didn't last. So for him and
(18:35):
for everybody in my family, like, they're really proud of me.
So that pushes me and keeps me.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Going, Wow, you know, now what are what are there?
What are their specialties? Okay? Because you say, your father's
a chef and your brother's a chef, and then you've
opened this very popular creole mexicanan street taco concept. Whereould
where were these skills trained in?
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Well? My dad like, well, we're creole. So my dad,
he's he's a creole. He's that's Creole cuisine. His favorite
dish line is a seafood pot pie. It's really good,
crop fish, crab, shrimp, really good. So I really like that.
My brother, he's a little bit he can do it all.
He's very well rounded. He can do anything when it
(19:19):
comes to food. He's like one of my biggest inspirations.
He's very smart. He knows his stuff. You know a
lot of the things that I've learned along the way
are just from listening to him or being around him.
You know, I've learned a lot of things and he
doesn't even realize it. So you know, I listen to
absorb and I pay attention to him. He's very well
around it. He does caterings. He was probably one of
(19:41):
the first Instagram celebrity chefs. He's cooked for everybody. He's
done a lot of things. He fas a lot to
be proud of.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
And hey, who's your brother? Now you tell me some information.
I need to know your brother. Who is your brother?
Speaker 3 (19:53):
My brother's name is chef Mike Ballely, My little brother.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Out there on Instagram, out there just blowing up doing
his own thing too. So you know, so you got
like a social media celebrity chef brother, and then you
got a creole Mexican street taco concept that is blowing
up all over the city. And then you want to
put it in every every gas station around the country. Really,
(20:18):
that's what you want to do. You know, now, what
what what starts to elevating that dream? Like you said,
because it's all about food quality. You know what they
get over here, they get over there. How do you
maintain that.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
I have all my prep in one space, I have
everything cooked in one kitchen by the same prep team,
and I just divvy it out. That's the easiest way
for me to do it. I am going to for
some copacking option soon, which will be like, you know,
I send my recipe to a company and they make it,
you know, in mass production, they send it back to me.
(20:53):
But for right now, I like to keep the fresh
and authentic. I like to keep you know, keep it
where it feels like someone put a lot of love
into it. So I haven't really you know, wanted to
pass it over just shit. But for now that's what
I do. I have the same prep ladies that I've
always started with, and yeah, they know the recipes and
they do they do pretty good.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Okay, cool, so do that you know like they like, now,
are your recipes like secret recipes? You know? With they
you know, they have to sign n DA's and all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, everyone has to sign NDAs. I
just actually updated everybody's NDA last week.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
So yes, they go in their kitchen, they can't go
around there trying to make their own little street tacos.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Even the cashiers. Everybody has to sign an NDA.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
There you go. Everybody listen to this now because.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
I keep it equal opportunity, you know, And don't get
me wrong. I do have a lot of people that
work with me that want to have their own companies,
and like, you know, that's why I'm here, you know,
on this journey together. I mean, I feel like they're
learning if they're paying attention to me and they're learning so.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Well, you know that's important because I want to I
want people to hear this, like Shareer heard you, Sharah
is seeing you. Because there's business and there is relationships
in business superseded relationship. Business superseded love. Business supersedes family
because it's business. And I've been there. No, I've hired
(22:18):
my family and kept it emotional. And guess what I
lost because I forgot the power and the rules of business.
And it's important. So if you got to get people
this side of the NBA, sign it otherwise you will
pay a price for that later on. Am I right?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
You have to make sure you protect yourself always. It
also keeps it honest and you know, keeps the integrity. Hi,
No one is, you know, trying to steal anything from you.
So it works out.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Now, what makes food truck business so competitive and so cutthroat?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
There's so many new food truck owners like your.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Voice, your voice dropping so many there.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Theory, if you do research right, like you'll see like
there's I don't know the exact numbers, but I'm pretty
sure there's like been an influx of like food trucks
that came in after the pandemic during the pandemic, So
it's very competitive. When I was at Triton Yards, I
had a standing spot, so it was like no other
(23:20):
taco people really wanted to come into the parking lot
when we were there, you know, And I didn't have
a problem with them coming, you know, welcome. I like
to I'll go try and I like tacos, but it
was just kind of like they really didn't want to
be there. But it's very competitive. I but I thrive
off of that. You know. I like to study and
see the best of the best, and you know, I
just level up every time. So you know, it doesn't
(23:43):
it doesn't intimidate me.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
You know, I feel like I'm talking to the Tupac
of tacos here. Keep your head up, keep your head up.
You're coming over here. Messing with my tacos. Gonna be
a problem. I love talking to you. I loved I
loved I love them, your family, your moms or flight attendant.
She's out there told let's go get a food truck.
She's inspiration. Your daughter is so proud of you. She
(24:07):
talks about you that gives you inspiration, that let you
know that you're making the difference. You're inspiring future entrepreneur
and your daughter. She's seeing that you don't have to
do an eight to five, that you can believe in
your own dreams. She's also saying that you don't have
to go to college to be successful, which is what
this new generation is telling us. And we're starting to
see there are different rules. Allow those different rules to happen.
(24:28):
But Pretty Little Tacos is your brand, is your baby. Again,
before we wrap up, tell everybody in Atlanta, Georgia and
around the country, because everybody listening to that they gonna
nobody Pretty Little Tacos now how they can find your
locations in the city of Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
You can follow us on Instagram at pretty Little Tacos
atl You can also go to our website at www
dot Prettylttle Tacos dot com and that will have all
of our social media handles on there. You can send
us an email, do a catering inquiry, whatever you would
like to do. Our location is in Quality Square and
Politan Road Food Hall, and then we also have one
(25:03):
on forty three fifty Jones Borrow Road in Union City.
It's located inside of the gas station Morelands. I will
announce that opening day very soon.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Ninety days, right, and you're coming back, right, Mikayl.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, I'll be back, and then it's available to be
booked if you have an event that you want us
to pull up to. Any festivals. We are looking for
you guys. We really want to get our trucks back
outside and we're ready to go, you know, fully staffed,
fully loaded, and ready to go.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, I want to thank you for taking the time
pretty little Tacos, and I am a text ma nex nut.
I'm telling you so so the fact that you have
a business out there that's thriving. I can't you know,
I'm on NPR, so I just can't say I'm gonna
come by, but let me know that thank you for
giving me the location. I guess I could say that again.
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation master Class.
(25:53):
You are an inspiration. You are very unique in what
you're doing. I say that because of the fact that
you're following your dreams and a lot of people don't
and don't think they're passing our dreams every day and
you're doing it. Thank you for coming on Money Making
Conversations Master Class.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Thank you so much for having me. I have a
good day.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Bye bye. Well she's so busy, so professional. Thank you, y,
thank you for coming on my show. I want to
thank you guys for listening to my show again. I'd
be back next week as I am every week with
a new set of people who are going to make
a difference in your life. Talk to you soon. Money
Making Conversation Master Class Roushawn McDonald, I'm out.
Speaker 6 (26:33):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with through Shan
McDonald is produced by thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. Is available at
thirty eight fifteen media dot com. And always remember to
lead with your guests.
Speaker 5 (27:04):
HBCUs represent Black excellence. If you attend or are an
alumnus of an HBCU, we want to hear about your story.
The MYHBCU Story Digital Library will allow current HBCU students
and alumni to share their stories. Registration is open to everyone.
More information is available at HBCU college day dot com.
(27:25):
Click my HBCU story. Next, you can upload a photo.
The photo can be recent or from when you attended
your HBCU. Then share your academic or social experience at
your HBCU, which can be your favorite class, hangout, joint,
homecoming game, student center, honor, off campus party, greek show,
and how attending an HBCU changed your life. We also
(27:48):
want to hear stories if you pleasure a fraternity or sorority.
The goal is to use your my HBCU story to
promote and uplift the HBCU brand. Your HBCU prepared you
success and now we want everyone to read about your
black excellence. More information is available at HBCU college day
(28:08):
dot com. You can click my HBCU story to share
your story.
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