Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Mangiduyos.
Andy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have worked in the hotel industry for over 14 years and became an Executive Chef prior to starting Kalei’s Kitchenette. My experience working in hotels in Hawaii, Santa Clara, and San Diego strengthened my culinary creativity as well as business management.
We moved from Santa Clara back to San Diego because our family is starting to grow and that’s when we also decided to start our own business. I was heavily influenced by my family (Gabina’s Cuisine) who has been running food service for more than 15 years. Our nanay (mother) has been extreme support when we first started and has continuously shared her knowledge and experience as we hit our first year anniversary (May 2019).
Growing up in Maui, I have always envisioned to put Lahaina in the map as we continuously grow our business.
Has it been a smooth road?
When we first started, we did not necessarily want to target the entire San Diego, rather would just like to take a piece of the market who would patronize our product and service. With that being said, I believe that every start up business experience this challenge — building clientele.
After the first three months of our business, we have received loyal customers visiting us in farmers market. On our 6th month, we booked our first catering business and the word just spread like fire.
Our weekly farmers market business relies on foot traffic, therefore our other challenge we face is the weather. San Diego people are a little spoiled that they tend to not go outdoors when the temperature is low. This past winter, we entice our customers by adding a soup dish which was accepted positively.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kalei’s Kitchenette story. Tell us more about the business.
We specialize in Pacific Rim cuisine, so you can start imagining dishes coming from the islands of the Pacific. We focus our business towards catering corporate and social events from a small group of 50 to as big as 250 people. With both me and my wife’s hotel background, we pride ourselves with extreme professionalism, high customer service, and amazing food quality.
Our flagship product is the Guava BBQ Crispy Chicken Wings which we offer during our weekly farmers market. From our catering menu, we have received feedback from previous customers that Crab Salmon Dynamite is always the first one that ran out from their spread.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Though I do not carry a crystal ball and can predict the future, I see that consumers will continuously be healthy eaters and a lot more conscious of where their food is being sourced. I also see that dietary restrictions is no longer a unique concern, but rather a common ideology for businesses.
I am very excited about these shifts because it challenges me to create items on my menu.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaleiskitchenette.com
- Phone: 6197384731
- Email: info@kaleiskitchenette.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaleiskitchenette/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaleiskitchenette
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kaleis-kitchenette-san-diego
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