A home-grown entrepreneur is thriving
Although she has spent time in Austin, Allison Seideman is Wimberley through and through. A Wimberley ISD graduate, she is making a name for herself and in a good way. The array of food she is helping provide in Wimberley is making residents sit up and take notice.
It all started years ago when Seideman was working part time in the summers at Wimberley Shave Ice, which at that time located near Brookshire Bros. When the opportunity arose to buy the local institution, Seideman jumped at the chance. She already had a complete understanding of the business. But it really only filled up the summers.
Then it was on to the Airstream Boutique. Working in Austin, cleaning cabins, an old Airstream travel trailer was found in Cherokee Texas.
“It was sitting behind an old barn and I purchased it for $200 and then it was gutted. She bought a house in Austin and had her Airstream jewelry business located on South Congress at a food court. But the food court was not open enough to help the jewelry business to make it profitable.
And then, boom it happened. Sideman’s life would soon change. A baby, marriage and a move back to Wimberley. Now living in town, the shave ice business was in need of something to turn a profit when it wasn’t 100 degrees outside.
“I toyed with the idea of a food truck in the winter, soups and salads would be great, but I needed a truck.”
That is how the idea of Wimberley Subs and Salads was born.
Sideman’s husband Michael and her brother-inlaw came to the rescue with a reconditioned food truck. In December, the baby came, Ruby. Meanwhile Odie’s Food Court opened anchored by the shave ice business and Subs and Salads.
The owners of the land that Odie’s Food Court is on were impressed with Seideman. “They (the previous owners the Kellys) were impressed with my work ethic and sold the land to me. They did everything and handed over ownership. When they offered to sell, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Seideman said.
“It all kind of worked out. I was back in Wimberley where I met my husband; I bought the sno-cone stand that was my first job. I gained so much in buying that stand.” As for her work ethic, it’s unbelievable.
“I work seven days a week. The Airstream Boutique has random hours and I’m building two other businesses, Shave Ice and Subs and Salads.” She also has a small home cleaning business.
Asked how she does all she does all she does in a limited time frame, her answer isn’t so surprising. “I have no television.”
She does love living in Wimberley. “We support one another at the food court, and we have our local supporters.”
A big smile crosses her face when discussing her businesses and new family. “My whole life is here.” And Allison Seideman couldn’t be happier.