Meet Ervin Williams of AM:PM BURRITOS

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ervin Williams.  

Hi Ervin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
AM:PM BURRITOS was created out of the idea of spending more time back home with my family. Prior to, I was a defense contractor that deployed 6 months at a time, and after so many, I decided to venture into the entrepreneur world (a place I always wanted to be anyway). Before “contracting,” I was in the Navy and use to patron a breakfast burrito food truck on base every so often before work. I would see a long line for the food and instantly had my entrepreneurial idea in mind for when my military career is over. I use to trade stocks as well, so this type of business and the time of day it was in operation was idea for me (morning). I decided I’d franchise the establishment and grow it as far as it could go, however, the more I dove into the project the more my own vision came to light. And thus, I went a different route, and as a result, AM:PM was created. Initially, we wanted to operate as a food truck, so we pursued that avenue, but funding rejection after funding rejection led us to begin as a pop-up. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. The bumpiest of road. We wanted to launch as a food truck but was turned away at every point: bank, private lending, seller financing, insurance companies lol; we even email a few angel investors and venture capitalist, one responded but said they normally deal with companies grossing a specific dollar amount. I ran the numbers; we could actually do that. I hit him back and showed him our numbers, but nothing came back YET. Furthermore, because we are a pop and not a fully operational food truck, we’ve had to get creative with transportation. Instead of an actual food truck, we’ve had to rent a U-Haul for our mode of transportation, which limited our reach and growth significantly. 

As you know, we’re big fans of AM:PM BURRITOS. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
We are AM:PM BURRITOS Raleigh’s go-to mobile food vendor for delicious breakfast burritos by day and artisan burritos by night. We specialize in giving the citizens of Raleigh bellying filling meals without sacrificing time or money. Our meals also won’t weigh you down throughout the day. Our most proud accomplishment by far is making our customers smile through all of our interactions and vice versa; we especially love hyping up our customers and partners on IG, and we are honored they do the same to us and trust us with their taste buds. On a community level, we love to hear how we inspire others around our town (little do they know they inspire us more) 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Only advice I’d say is never ever ever ever give up. There’s never a perfect time to start. It was actually 5 mins ago, so you’re late and should’ve started already. Don’t try to be perfect starting out; whatever your customers are buying and praising is what they want, and what they are not is what they want you to replace. Do not shove products down your customers’ throat let them decide and create a niche from that. 

The food truck community in Raleigh was very helpful for me starting out. They told me hotspots, deadspots, hot seasons, cold season, and all kind of tips and tricks. So, getting a mentor is vital and easy to do. Just ask 1/10/100 people that are doing as well as you want to do in your space and connect with the one that gives you the most time and who you think is the coolest, and just copy their *ss lol. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ampmburritos/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmyQD1UZ1z4
• Website: Fundraiser by Erv Williams : Veteran & minority owned popup becomes food truck (gofundme.com)