Meet Greg Golden

Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Golden.

Greg, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Here’s a quick rundown of how we got to where we are:
2010 – While working on a project in business school with his then-girlfriend (now wife) Amanda, Greg suggests they should sell pretzels shaped like mustaches. Amanda laughs. Greg goes to work at PwC and Amanda takes a job with General Mills.
2011-2013 – Greg’s go-to bit at work happy hours is telling co-workers that he’s going to quit the exciting world of forensic accounting to sell pretzels shaped like mustaches. Co-workers laugh.
2013 – Amanda’s job moves the couple to Arizona. Greg tests pretzel recipes and quits the exciting world of forensic accounting to start a food truck that sells pretzels shaped like mustaches. Co-workers grimace.
Mar 2014 – Mustache Pretzels food truck launches at A’s spring training in Phoenix!
Nov 2014 – Greg quits side-hustle accounting gig to focus on Mustache Pretzels full time. Five days later, the truck’s engine and transmission need to be replaced, leaving the business with $0.57 in its checking account.
2015 – Business booms! Mustache Pretzels attains #1 “Most Loved” Arizona food truck ranking on Roaming Hunger.
Mar 2016 – 2nd Mustache Pretzels truck opens!
June 2016 – 1st indoor Mustache Pretzels location opens in the Phoenix Convention Center!
Sept 2016 – Mustache Pretzels wins its first Phoenix Magazine “Best of the Valley” Award
March 2017 – The shape of our Mustache Pretzel becomes a registered US Trademark!
April 2017 – Mustache Pretzels is named the SCORE Organization’s Arizona Small Business Champion of the year
May 2017 – Greg brings Mustache Pretzels truck #2 to his hometown of Philly for the summer! Mustache Pretzels makes Mental Floss’ list of Top 50 Food Trucks in the United States!
Feb 2018 – Mustache Pretzels secures contract with HMSHost to open a storefront in Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport
June 2018 – Mustache Pretzels becomes EatThis.com’s #1 “Must Try” food truck in Arizona
Jan 2019 – Mustache Pretzels opens in Terminal 3 at Sky Harbor

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road–and that’s not just because our food truck’s faulty plumbing causes the right-rear suspension to rust through every 18 months or so. Aside from the garden-variety, unfortunate-but-to-be-expected small business struggles of being undermanned, underprepared, and underfunded, the biggest struggles have come from dealing with the fallout of my initial failures on the home front.

My wife has been incredibly supportive, but I just didn’t fully understand (or even really think about, at all) at first how disruptive it would be to have an unpredictable, unreliable income to say nothing of the workload that doesn’t necessarily correspond with the amount of money I’m able to pay myself. It’s tough to run a business, but it’s probably just as tough to be married to somebody who runs a business.

Please tell us about your business.
My business is called Mustache Pretzels because that’s exactly what we do:  Sell hand rolled soft pretzels shaped like handlebar mustaches.  We use local, non GMO flour, we bake everything fresh on board, and we’re proud to be one of the Top 50 food trucks in the United States.   Oh – and we also have a killer scratch made beverage menu, headlined by our signature agave-sweetened organic lemonade

We’re proud to be one of America’s Top 50 food trucks, one of the Valley’s most loved small businesses, and generally one of a kind.

Why? Because great mustaches aren’t born – they’re bread.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have done a much better job listening to my wife’s concerns early on. It’s easy to brush anybody’s concerns aside when you’re blinded by the excitement of starting a new business. It’s exciting, and it should be. But, a dash of reality early on would’ve saved a bunch of heartache along the way.

Aside from that, I’d have started with a pop-up instead of a food truck. I would’ve let the pop-up throw off cash flow until I could afford a proper, new (ish) food truck rather than the jalopy we wound up purchasing, and I would’ve taken the time to learn basic electrical, plumbing, and auto maintenance best practices before spending the money on a truck.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9393 N 90th St
  #102-601
  Scottsdale, AZ85258
• Website: www.mustachepretzels.com
• Phone: 4807440372
• Email: greg@mustachepretzels.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mustachepretzels/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mustachepretzel/
• Twitter: twitter.com/mustachepretzel
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mustache-pretzels-scottsdale

Image Credit:
@thesentimentalmama

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