Hollister
– You might not know Tricia Anderson, but chances are you know
her cooking.
Hollister – You might not know Tricia Anderson, but chances are you know her cooking.
Co-owner of Maverick’s BBQ with her husband, Joel, this local woman never even intended to bring ribs and baked beans to Hollister – but we’re glad she did all the same.
Anderson, 35, was born into a Navy family, and as a result spent portions of her childhood in exotic locales all over the world – she was born in Japan and, though she is unable to remember anything about the country, has dual citizenship.
“I’ve never had a chance to take advantage of that,” she said. “But I’m hoping I’ll be able to. It’s on the ‘someday’ list.”
Other places she has made her home include Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee and Guam. Anderson is proud of her wandering youth and feels it has afforded her certain advantages as an adult.
“I think that’s where I get my ability to adapt to different situations from,” she said.
While attending college in Montana, Anderson met her future husband, Joel, and while it may not have been love at first sight, it certainly didn’t take very long.
“A friend of mine wanted to introduce me to her brother, and I didn’t even know she had a brother,” she said. “But when we shook hands everything seemed to kind of slow down. It was definitely one of those moments.”
The two were married and decided to come to California to help with Joel’s father’s construction company, O.E. Anderson & Sons, which had been in the family for upwards of 40 years.
“After we moved here, the stock market didn’t crash, but it did take a dive,” she said. “And it seemed like all the construction just stopped. So we had to totally switch up our lives.”
The Andersons had befriended a pair of barbecue masters in Morgan Hill, and asked if they would be willing to share their secrets.
“They had kids, but they had already gone on to college and careers and were all grown up,” Anderson said. “So they were happy when we asked because they had all this information they wanted to pass on.”
Joel and Tricia’s decision to start a barbecue restaurant in Hollister surprised their family and friends. Many said it simply could not be done.
“We didn’t know what we were doing and we didn’t have any training, and people thought we were crazy,” said Anderson, who had originally gone to school to become a teacher. “We just sort of jumped into it, but sometimes that’s the best way to do this sort of thing.”
At first, running Maverick’s proved to be a “major challenge” for the Anderson family – including their two sons, Canyon and Colby, who are paid to help out around the restaurant. Thanks to some quick thinking and perseverance, however, they were able to stick it out and today Maverick’s has been open for five years.
“The first year is always the hardest,” Anderson said. “You need about twice as much money as you think you do to even start the business, but if you’re good about reacting quickly and solving problems, it’s very rewarding. … It’s like how you’re proud of your children when they grow and accomplish something. You get very attached.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
