Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Gilliam.
Hi Patrick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2017 after spending 26 years in retail Operations I decided to change careers. We were in our pool in May 2017 in Myrtle Beach and I told my wife, “We should start a food truck”. She said you’re crazy but if you get the loan go ahead and do it. I left the pool wet in the house and called USAA bank. In 12 minutes I had a personal loan for 25k. After many initial bumps in the road we opened the fook truck November of 2017. Wow what a crazy ride it was. A lot of lessons learned over the first year. Good and Bad! We were able to stay open through Covid (Barely). I then stepped away for a few months to go open Zinchouse Winery in Durham. After helping to hire the staff, write the SOP’s and help the owners get the operations off the ground I returned back to the food truck business. In December of 2024 we shut the truck down and moved the business to brick and mortar at Lake Gaston. We now just received or 65th 5 Star review since our opening December 12th 2024
𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑜
PATRICK & CHRISTINA
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?
Yes and Know. My self taught chef skills has been some of the most rewarding times in the journey. Some of our business struggle when Covid hit were almost insurmountable. We had to become innovative in our business approach. My wife has juggles a career as an executive in operations and fought her/out toughest battle of her life with Breast cancer. After 11 surgeries at Duke I now know who the strongest person Ive ever seen in my life is…Her battle is my battle. So being able to somehow maintain Gettin’ Sauced and watching her continue to battle has motivated me to do what ever it takes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are an Italian Takeout restaurant in Lake Gaston. We specialize in authentic Italian cuisine, Catering and Charcuterie. As mentioned previously our proudest accomplishment since being here in Henrico is our 65 Five star reviews. It truly is a vote from our customers. These ratings are a testament of the quality of food when send out of the building. We offer complete catering from 5-700 people. All meatballs are hand-rolled daily and all of our sandwich meats are hand sliced.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Don’t be lazy. What I mean is you have to put the time in to find someone or something to follow, talk to and believe in. No one will do it for you. I have consulted new food trucks to help them get off the ground. I’ve also watched some of those same people shut down. I hear..”It was harder than I thought” The restaurant/food truck business is tough but can also be rewarding.
Networking is a must in the business. I always try to attend Chamber of commerce events, community events and volunteer when possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https:gettinsaucedinthecity.com
- Instagram: gtnsauced
- Facebook: gettinsaucedinthecity
- Twitter: #gtnsauced
