Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Scott.
Hi Patrice, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well, initially I moved to Macon with no plans on starting a business. That was the furthest thing from my mind. I had hit a crucial hard patch in life. I had three kids at the time and I relocated from Marietta, GA to Macon to get myself together. I experienced homelessness and due to little support and a bad background, it was hard to find employment to sustain myself and my kids. I ended up signing up for a program called Lifesprings and began to work through my issues. I stayed in this program for about 18 months and decided to go back to college to obtain the Business degree I had begun years before. I graduated with an Associate in Business. I worked at McAlisters in Management for a few months. I was then offered a position with another local restaurant and due to a bad employment experience, I decided to start making Salads. I started out doing this out of the trunk of my car. My customer base grew as I got better with my product. The Sheriffs Dept in Forsyth started ordering so regularly that I designated a day out of the week just for Forsyth. They loved it.
Actually, my Forsyth clientele was the reason I decided to open there. I was still living in housing through the program and once they found out I was running a business from home, they told me that was not allowed. So I moved into my own place at this time, continued to work on my business and decided to open up in Forsyth. We were a hit!:)) The original Salad Spot didn’t last long though, I’ll say maybe 7 or 8 months. I went through a real bad separation and had to shut down. When I tell you I was defeated! I felt like a failure at something I truly loved doing and without any income, I ended up right back at square one. I packed my kids up, moved back to Marietta and ended up in a hotel, working at Wendy’s. This was one of the most humbling experiences of my life because how do you go from owning a restaurant to working at one making $9.00 an hour? I had to do what I had to do for a while. I still made Salads here and there but my customer base was in Middle GA, Forsyth and Macon. I wasn’t flourishing the way I did at first partly due to the fact that I offer delivery and the Atlanta area was so much bigger than Middle Georgia, the traffic was awful sometimes making it not worth what I was making. I stayed in Marietta for about 2 1/2 years and I would come down to Middle Georgia and stay a few days and make Salads in her kitchen, Lol:)) I didn’t let up once I started back full fledge. I ended up meeting my now fiancé, who lived in Macon. She convinced me to move back which I did. I worked a few jobs when I first got back but I could never find anywhere near the satisfaction working these jobs and not making much, making my own food is my passion.
I had been back in Macon for about six months and my goal was to buy a food truck, I started a GoFundMe and everything! I raised a good $50, Lol!!!! :)) I was looking at options to raise money and nothing was working because on top of me trying to put aside for a food truck which isn’t cheap, I still had to provide for my two little ones with only the help of my fiancé. It was rough some days! 🙂 Right by our house, there’s this plaza we passed by every day and my fiancé kept saying that would be a good location for The Salad Spot. She passed by there one day and just so happened to see the owners outside one day. She stopped and called me (I was leaving Walmart) and I pulled up. We talked, he researched my business page and my following on FB and the owner said he needed me to bring business to his plaza, Lol :)) We worked out a really good deal on rent for the space and it just so happens to be an old Subway, perfect for Salads and I decided to add Subs to the menu as well!:)) So here we are just a few short weeks out from Grand Opening 🙂 I’m still offering deliveries. I don’t think I’ll ever stop actually going to my customers because some are immobile, some just simply don’t drive and the repore I’ve established with my customers is unmatched. They are truly like family for real. I look forward to each and every delivery and most importantly the way they respond to that first taste :)) It truly brings me joy to see the way they rally behind me and refer me to other businesses. My goal is to expand, I want to get to a place where I can start feeding the homeless a few times a month and bring jobs to Macon. I’ve enjoyed being back so far and I look forward to opening and serving the community! :))
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Plenty! :)) It’s taken me a bit longer than expected to actually open because you have to remember I’m doing this all out of pocket! :)) The signage needed on the top of the building is expensive! :)) I don’t want to make the same mistakes I made with the original Salad Spot so yes, it’s not easy!:)) But I’m passionate about what I do, so I stay positive about everything concerning my business! :)) And I refuse to give up, that’s one of my best traits. No matter what’s going on, I always keep going :))
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What sets me apart from other businesses similar to mine is I put my love into each and every Salad and I season my meat, Lol ;)) I’m especially happy about my brand because I don’t care whether you go to Zaybys or Subway or anywhere else, you aren’t going to find A Salad Spot Salad anywhere! :)) I crave my own Salads, that’s just how good they are and I’m not just saying this because I make them:) I enjoy the reactions I get when I do my deliveries, and I try to follow up with all my first-time customers :)) I ask them how was their food and let them know that they have just been Salad Spotted! :))
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Although I’m not centered out of Atlanta, I grew up in Marietta and the outskirts. I attended Osborne High School and I love the city of Atlanta as a whole :)) It’s where I’m from :))
Contact Info:
- Instagram: the_salad_spot2
- Facebook: The Salad Spot Atlanta
Image Credits
Michael Martin did my headshot
