Meet Jared Thomas | Owner & Entrepeneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jared Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It honestly started with a dream of owning a restaurant/music venue years ago. Being a singer/songwriter myself, I have had this idea of owning a place where musicians could come & share their gifts with others. Add in that I have a genuine desire of feeding people, it just made sense to give it a shot.

What should our readers know about your business?
There is so much to say about Roadies. When we launched the idea, we got hit with the “Oh, another BBQ truck or oh, another Taco truck.” comments left and right. We strive to NOT be your typical Texas food trailer. We want to stand out and be bold.

With Ponder growing at such a fast pace and not having many options to choose from, we are constantly challenging ourselves to create new menus and bring unexpected, new flavors to our small town. We may go from American to Asian, from German to Italian, to Mexican and the list goes on. The love and respect I have for the heritage & food from these amazing countries drives me to want to share them with everyone I meet. By varying our menu, we are bringing so much more to the table. And when you bring more food to the table, you bring more people who may become friends or even family.

I know that it’s not easy to do, but it definitely feels like it’s the right thing to do.

I read a quote one time when I was traveling the country playing music. It read, “It is your responsibility to write the best songs you can for Texas.” I try to carry that motto into everything I do. It is my responsibility to do the best I can for myself, my family, and my community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hands down first thing we have to do is get to Martha’s Taco Shop and get our hands on some breakfast. If you’re lucky, you can catch them Friday morning wrapping up their famous tamales. Heck, they may even throw one on a plate for ya. I tell you; this is one great family.

Ponder is true Texas sports town & we love to support our athletes from the pee-wee leagues to varsity. So, you have got to stop at Rivers Rustic Designs to grab some killer digs to fit in with locals and root for the home team. And while you’re there you can also get your hands on some amazing items for the man or woman in your life. I’m not kidding, Tasha has a taste for bringing some really great clothes & apparel to this town.

After the game, we would make a stop at Bev’s Convenient store for that perfectly seasoned ol’ greasy burger that will bring back memories of that favorite burger joint you went to with your parents on a Sunday afternoon.

I’d hope that for dinner, they would swing by Roadies with their ice chest to grab dinner and catch some great live music from a local hard-working singer/songwriter.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think the biggest shoutout would be to my friends and family! It’s not easy to jump onto a dream that someone has and try to chase it with them. Taking such a huge risk requires so much love and support. Owning a food trailer or any small business in today’s world is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of passion to get up every day and make the choice to work harder than you did yesterday. My wife & two daughters work just as hard, if not harder than I do day in & day out. From menu ideas, to cooking, setting up tables and chairs, to even doing the dishes. They do an amazing job, and I am thankful!

The support from all of our friends means so much as well. The way they spread the word and share our place on social media to folks. Friends like Stephanie Guyer at Simply Life Photography who came out and snapped these amazing photos. There are so many we owe gratitude towards.

Another big shoutout goes to the great folks in my community. They have been good to us here at Roadies. Our grand opening night we had over 300 people standing in line to order. It was AMAZING! We couldn’t have imagined having that many folks gathered at our place and loving the food. I know that it doesn’t happen every night, but they show up no matter the weather and how busy their lives are. It means a lot to me when I get to hear the feedback from them as. We wouldn’t exist without them.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoadiesPonder/

Other: You can Google us at Roadies Ponder.

Image Credits
Stephanie Guyer – Simply Life Photography