Meet Michael & Ange Hernandez | Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael & Ange Hernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael & Ange, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
My family has started our business because of where we are from in life. My father was an immigrant to this country and my mother is third generation. We spent a lifetime hearing of the American dream. All of our life, we heard, “as long as you work hard and believe you can do it…you can! We are in America, the land of opportunity.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Michael and I have never had much money. We both worked for someone for years…I was a teacher for over 20 years, and Michael worked in restaurant industry. Years ago, we decided to “own our own business.” We have tried lots of things: vacuum cleaners, cookware, cosmetics, small catering, BBQ restaurant, much much more. Finally, in 2018, we landed on salsa and dip mixes. We were working full time at our careers and part-time on our dream. The boys were helping and still going to school. Then, I took the plunge and left my teaching job.

Scary! Most of our events were outdoors, and it rained a lot that season. Scary! We stuck with it and our funds were running low. In March of 2019, we found our pickle recipe. Everything changed for us. People love pickles. We found a success that we had never experienced, but also a lot more work, time and space was being used. Our momentum was growing, we had Facebook and instgram followers. People were coming back for more. It was feeling like a dream come true.

Then, like so many others, we experienced the Pandemic. Scary! We stuck to it. We delivered to people’s homes, we set up on the side of the road, we went LIVE on Facebook. We did what ever we could to keep our dream from falling apart.

Was it easy? No. Does it get easier? Not really. We live in a pier and beam house that was built in 1953. The weight of the pickles were crushing our home…,literally. In 2022, we met with Craig Hughes realty and with little more than a handshake we signed a lease in Kennedale, Texas. We opened our store front in October, 2023, and we make pickles right there in the store.

The team has changed a little. Now, Martin and Samuel are serving in the USMC and Benjamin works the business full time with me. Our brand is Mr Wally’s Pickles. We hand cut and hand pack every jar. We love what we do and hope to deliver a quality product with excellent customer service every time.

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?
Great question. Our perspective has changed a little because we visit so many markets now. Mckinney Farmers Market or Keller Farmers Markets are a nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

Sunday would have to be in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Lots of great shops, history, and food not to mention the cattle drive. I love it down there. Lots of people like Joe T Garcias, but I LOVE Uncle Julios on I -30. It is beautiful, the food is delicious and the service is top notch.

My husband likes the horse races and I love the movies, but what we enjoy most is visiting family and friends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our Shoutout goes to our three boys. Michael and I are a “bootstrap business.” The business is growing because our three boys- Benjamin, Martin & Samuel got in there everyday to help..picking up supplies, packing pickles, making brine,loading cars, unloading cars and working a show or farmers market. These three boys are the strength that we needed to keep going.

Website: https://www.mrwallys.com

Instagram: @mrwallyspickles

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