We were lucky to catch up with Tonya Saidi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tonya , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My family owned restaurants when I was young, so food was always very important to me in many ways. My mother worked a lot and that left me and my sisters home without her most of the time so we ate TV dinners and frozen pot pies quite often. When my mother cooked a meal at home it was a very nurturing gesture. I felt loved when I was cooked for. I started baking pies in 1995 after my mother died. I worked in a Residential Care home as a nurses aid and made my first pie for the ladies I cared for. The nurse that worked with me couldn’t stop talking about how delicious the Raspberry pie was that I made and didn’t believe me when I told her it was my first time. The nurse I worked with gave me the confidence to continue baking pies for all my family and friends. I was only 24 years old when my mother passed away and I took on feeding people as a gesture of my love, my love for humanity.
I want to feed and nurture the world one dessert at a time.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After baking for family and friends for years, I made a decision in 2009 to start taking the steps to start my own business. By 2011 I had purchased a 1968 Chevy StepVan and participated in the very first Food Truck Festival in Phoenix with my cute lil Pie Truck. That Food Truck Festival got my business off and running. There have been many ups and downs throughout the years but we managed to thrive through COVID. I’m very grateful for my loyal customers as they are the reason I’ve made it this far!
I now have a successful pie shop and Pie Truck located in Moon Valley on 7th Street and Coral Gables. I bake sweet pies, savory pies, cheesecakes, cakes, chocolate eclairs and we serve breakfast. Everything is made from scratch and in small batches to keep the homemade taste that makes us so popular.
Our kitchen is very small and we have out grown it. This year we are expanding into the space next door to us to give us more production and storage space as well as an extra seating area for sit down dinning. We are excited to see what 2023 has in store for us.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Persistence, don’t give up no matter what.
2. Be solution oriented, don’t focus on the problem. Acknowledge the problem then get into action to find solutions.
3. Have a support system and use them. There will be times you want to quite or give up but the people that love you will help you keep going.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I’m overwhelmed I reach out and talk to a family member or friend. I also go hiking or to the gym to clear my mind. Once my mind is in a better space I’m capable of looking at the situation in a different light. I then make a plan of action and start moving into a solution.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mammatoledos.com
- Instagram: @mammatoledospiehole
- Facebook: @mammatoledos
- Twitter: @mammatoledos
