Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Faz.
Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story is not my own. I grew up in a home that was never short on love, strong family values and the American Dream. Thoughts of being our own boss, owning land together and building houses next to each other became just as much mine and my sisters dream as it was my parents. Even through their struggles whether it was financial from being laid off work, physical from working through a shattered body, mental from working at a job you hated or all of the above from losing everything including our childhood home in the flood of ‘98, their doors always remained open to those that needed a space, time always remained available for volunteer work and their money continued to support everything my sister and I loved. My parents had to guide us through being bullied at school and making light of harsh jokes. They learned right beside us every emotion and hence every answer for us to succeed. Through miscarriages, sexual assault, depression, severe anxiety, and my ever noted ADHD, they were there every step of the way as well as our husbands. This is why my story is just as much theirs as it is mine. My parents opened MAAR’s Pizza in 2011 on a very small budget, which included their life savings, and a large amount of faith. Because of that gesture and their confidence in myself, my sister and our husbands, we have created a welcoming family friendly pizzeria that is loved in San Antonio. That one gesture became a domino effect for us all. At 30 years old I am the proud co-owner of MAAR’s Pizza, Lonestar Finds and former founder of a nonprofit called Mission To Education with more ventures in the works and on the rise. I do not know where I would be if it wasn’t for their push and love for us and I do not think they realize how far that love has gone for me. Remember I said domino effect; I am happily married to a man that has been with us since before opening and is an integral part of our kitchen, have a beautiful home right next door to my sister and brother in law (gasp), a loving little family and never ending confidence that I can conquer the world. I am only just getting started.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I do not like to dwell on the negative aspects of life or work but if truth be told, it has absolutely not been an easy road. In addition to personal aspects of life that we have gone through and come out of, owning any business is never short on a few bumps in the road especially that of a family business. There has been a few times we have had to step back and contemplate the pros and cons of staying open or if we should close. The first couple of years was always about us getting a long and learning to work with each other. Especially my sister and I with our husbands whom were our boyfriends at the time. It was a whole new world loving one another, working with each other and then going to the same home at the end of the day. We all had to take a crash course in “church and state”. I would love to say we have perfected this by now, but we are all still learning to deal with emotions of the day to day. My parents always said they would rather lose money and the restaurant than to lose our family which ended up becoming our strength. It was not until about 4-5 years ago that we finally started to fully mesh and learn where each of us fits best within the business. It was a job in itself learning our strengths and accepting our weaknesses. MAARs became a whole new place and atmosphere when we finally understood how important this was for us all.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about MAAR’s Pizza & More and Lonestar Finds?
The name MAAR’s is actually an acronym for our family, my mother Martha, sister Ali, myself Ashley, and my father Rene. Since opening we have coined the ‘s to stand for Son in Laws as both my sister and I have married our significant other whom have been working alongside the family since opening. I think our biggest asset is having 6 different views that are constantly bringing new ideas to the table. Whether it has to do with charity work, new pizza ideas, new recipes, marketing, how to run the day to day or simply making a vision board, we are constantly evolving and stepping back to reassess what meshed and what didn’t. It can get very overwhelming but that’s where working with your family helps because we are each there to lift each other up when things get tough. That blessing was never more evident than it was these past two years. Covid brought on a constant bombardment of hurdles, hard choices and increase in prices so having the support from each other and knowing we are not alone in this really pushed us through. Where MAAR’s struggled my brother-in-law, Nick, and my online retail business, Lonestar Finds, flourished. Nick and I created Lonestar Finds in 2016 and has evolved from reselling to retail of selling pop culture collectibles such as Funko Pops and Loungefly bags and providing our community discounted brand new items through our liquidation side of the business. We are even partnering up with a friend for a new business venture in the near future.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking is a huge part of our success. We strongly believe in building not just a good rapport but a solid relationship with our customers, businesses in and around our community and other restaurants, and yes that includes other pizzerias! We had and plan to pick back up a series called “Can We Pizza That?” in which we partnered with another local restaurant in our city, such as The Jerk Shack, PB&J With Tay and Trevinos Barbacoa, and created a pizza out of one of their popular dishes. It was a huge month-long success for both businesses involved. It helped both of us get our name out in different ways and different parts of town. It also pushed us to work together and make a pizza both of our loyal customers would love. We have also partnered with numerous nonprofits whether it was us donating pizzas or having a giveback night and donate a portion of the proceeds. Most recently we partnered with Green Carpet Company by joining them at their red carpet rollout in recognizing distinguished local teachers and providing pizzas for the event.
Pricing:
- 10 Garlic Knots – $5.49
- 14” Area 51 – $13.19
- 12” Half Moon Calzone – $10.99
- MAAR’s Italian Rolls – $6.49
- Funko Pops! – $15
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.maarspizzaandmore.com www.lonestarfinds.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MAARsPizza/
