Rising Stars: Meet Suzy Phillips

Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzy Phillips.  

Hi Suzy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I first started Gypsy Queen Cuisine in 2009 after purchasing a food truck (Spartacus) that I raised money for through Kickstarter. I worked as a server at 2 popular restaurants and shared my dream with my customers for years, and when I got close to it, I had so much support from my community that I was able to raise $8K, and saved up an additional $8K from working 6 days a week, for 4 years at 2 restaurants at the same time. I would typically go in on a day shift at one, and go to my night shift at the other. I am an immigrant; we fled to America in 1988 from Lebanon with a suitcase and $3000. It was a struggle to living in poverty, but we were thankful we got out and alive.

In 2011, I gave myself 5 years to open a brick-and-mortar; if that failed, I could always go back to waiting tables. After my mother passed away in December 2014, I shifted my focus from the food truck to manifesting the brick-and-mortar; I tried the SBA to connect me with Angel Investors or lenders, and after two months of searching, I was finally paired up with a lender for $50K. As I was too poor and had no capital or collateral, no one would lend me money, except this one lender.

I started imagining where I wanted to be; one spot in my mind I focused on was the old Zingers on Patton, as it had become vacant. It already had a hood vent, which is a huge expense, so that was very beneficial.

The space had bad decor, no kitchen equipment, and just that hood vent. With only $50K to spend, it was not enough, but I was determined and stubborn. I turned to crowdfunding again, raised a bit over $8K, and kept plowing through. I reached out to the community and friends. We used scrap wood to build our tables. My husband and his stepfather painted the walls, and my friend Patrick Dempsey, who is very talented, helped with the design and mural paintings. We bought used equipment, minimal inventory, and worked with local farmers for my meat sourcing. We worked on the space for almost 6 months.

On October 28th, 2015, I opened the doors to Gypsy Queen Cuisine Deli & Market, with $37 in the bank.

3years later, August 22, 2018, Simple Cafe & Juice Bar was born and still running.

I have 2 restaurants, catering company, food truck, and no time to myself 

Trying to balance life, work, family, husband, and friends, is hard, but not impossible.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

When I purchased my food truck and started planning on the how’s and do’s of starting a business, I came across a huge obstacle that would really put a damper on my microbusiness. I discovered that Asheville had a 25-year-old ordinance that did not allow mobile food vending in the Central Business District. The only food that was allowed in the CBD was food you reheat and serve, like hot dogs and soup. I was devastated; working so hard and for so long to get this close and basically denied of starting my business was a big slap to the face. I started looking into what needs to be done to change this law, and I immediately contacted the local papers who ran a story on me. Soon, TV stations heard about my plan, and the battle began.

Being in the news brought out similar people that wanted to do the same thing I wanted and started supporting me by showing up to countless meetings, starting with the Asheville Downtown Association and the Downtown Commission (they choose if they want to take your case to City Hall). Then I had to go in front of City Hall and persuade them to change this old law. I had lots of resistance from brick-and-mortars, mainly 5 restaurants and AIR (Asheville Independent Restaurants); this went on for 18 months. It turns out the president of the Downtown Commission was the owner of one of the restaurants fighting back. These meetings took place only once a month, and he kept pushing me off the agenda.

In 2011, I changed the old ordinance, and food trucks were then allowed to vend inside the Asheville CBD, as long as it was private property and with a permit.

There were also some ridiculous things that had to accompany the property where you chose to park; it had to have a 10-foot sidewalk and certain trees planted next to that sidewalk. We could not set up seats or umbrellas for our customers because then we would be considered a restaurant and would require bathrooms on the premises. The city passed the law, but they pretty much set us up for failure with the “do’s and don’ts.”

It was hard to be consistent with the business; if it rained, no one came out; if it was cold, no one came out; if it was sunny and hot, no one came out. We relied on breweries and festivals, which made making a living food-trucking harder than I thought it would be. In the winter, it was an ice box on the truck, so working winters was not an option; in the summer, it would get to be 115 degrees in there when all the equipment was on, so the window of opportunity was very short.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?

I am a proud Lebanese woman, and I love to share my culture and tradition through food. I started cooking with my mother at a very young age; all I know, she taught me. She was magical with her food, and the reaction I saw and experienced from her hands and creations made people cry; it was so good! She was – and still is – my inspiration, and I want to be just like her.

I am extremely proud of my heritage. I don’t water any flavors down; my food is not Americanized to play it safe.

I serve it how we eat it back home, no fusion, no deconstruction, just pure, traditional Lebanese food.

I am so picky about my ingredients. I only serve local meats; I have fine dining ingredients in a casual restaurant. Also, for every meat dish, we have an equivalent vegan one. We make everything from scratch, except the pita, from our sauces to our housemade seitan, and this DIY mentality is what sets me apart from others.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?

It’s beautiful! I love the mountains; I love the farmer’s markets. I love having seasons, I love my community and how we are there for each other when we need help.

I dislike how expensive it has gotten. The cost of living is extreme, and some small businesses like mine outside of downtown can’t afford to pay $30/hour; we just don’t have that kind of volume. I am afraid it’s losing the charm and weirdness that brought me here in 2003 from Atlanta.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gypsyqueencuisine.com. www.simpleasheville.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/gypsyqueencuisine www.instagram.com/simplecafe
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/gypsyqueencuisine www.facebook.com/simplecafe