Exploring Life & Business with Anita Stringfellow of Nita’s Farm Fresh Café

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anita Stringfellow.

Hi Anita, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi!
Well, I worked 35 years at UPS as a part-timer, and it was a great job for our farm and for our family, and I am very thankful for it.
When I retired in November of ’24, I was not sure what I wanted to do for the next chapter of my life. I really wanted to open a coffee trailer, but my husband did not think it was a good fit for me. So, after 3 months of back and forth discussions (because I REALLY wanted to do coffee!) it dawned on me that we have a non-GMO cattle farm, and I should probably have a burger truck!! As soon as we decided to go that route, everything just clicked into place, and Nita’s was born!
It has been on a fast track since very early on, and I am very much enjoying it!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I completely thought I could do everything by myself! All the cooking, cleaning stocking, prepping and shopping too, and for the first six weeks, that’s exactly what I did. Boy was I wrong! My husband kept saying, “I think you need some help, Nita”. I was a zombie, but still couldn’t really see that I indeed needed help. So, finally, I agreed and asked one of my Amish friends if she would like to work for me and she was really excited about it and gave me a resounding yes! Later on, her sister joined us, as well as her mother. As things went along, I learned that I needed to have two to three helpers at a time onboard with me, so that I can remain at the window taking orders and answering questions. Today, we have seven ladies on rotation. These ladies bless me so much. We are like a family.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We use only our farm’s non-GMO beef, and our fresh-cut fries are cooked in our own rendered beef tallow.

We raise the corn and hay that feed our cattle right here on the farm, giving our smash burgers their distinctive flavor.

We make homemade sauces.

We serve homemade sweet tea and fresh-squeezed lemonade, both sweetened with just sugar and honey.

Our milkshakes are made the old fashioned way, with hand-scooped, hard ice cream.

We try to keep everything as homemade and old-fashioned as possible, just like it used to be.

How do you think about luck?
I keep my focus on my faith, hard work, and treating people well, and the rest seems to fall into place. I believe the blessings in my life and business have come from God more than luck.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Nitas-Farm-Fresh-Cafe-61576014580621/