Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefan Calvaruso.
Hi Stefan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been in and out of the hospitality and small business industries since I was 13 when I got my first job as a dishwasher to buy a pair of Jordan 1 sneakers. Coming from a family of chefs and restaurant owners, I learned the ins and outs of the industry very well doing everything from being a dishwasher, food runner, busser, server and even bartending throughout high school and into college at New York University. After college, I wanted to be the next Gorden Gekko, while still working at restaurants and bars. I graduated in 2009 which was a terrible time to be on Wallstreet and added to that I had a very big life crisis when my finance passed away right before our wedding when I was on the plane on my way to Ecuador due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning, (if you want, I can go deeper I was in multiple newspapers on talk shows, etc.) which lead me to starting my own Non-Profit Organization. That is when I knew I loved small business. While still working at restaurants at night, I moved to Denver in 2011 for about a year finally arriving in San Diego in 2012. Up in till 2022 I worked in various startups in all different types of industries from software, to finance, to pharmaceuticals, and finally to education.
However, while the startups were great and I was learning so much on how to start a company and while in San Diego still working for the startups until 2021, in 2014 I decided I needed to get back into the industry once or twice a week at night just to feel the energy. This lead me to finding a tour company, and that is when it I realized how much that industry fit all my talents. I was great with people, I had no problem speaking in public to large groups due to my nonprofit, I knew so much about food and booze to my family of chefs and travels around the world, I knew the ins and outs of the restaurant industry, and history was actually one of my majors in college. And due to the fact, I was still working full time, because it was only half in the restaurant, I was able to be home by 9:00 pm rather than 3:00 am and I gave it a shot. I loved it, it was the perfect fit and it was an amazing side hustle that allowed me to get my mind off of my full-time job, meet some very interesting people, and have some fun. I did 2-3 tours a week for this tour company (let me know if you need the name) up until the pandemic hit and due to the industry basically closing the tour company shut down as well. I was lucky and kept my full-time job at a up English Language School and both the manager and teaching business for entrepreneurship on Zoom both day and night.
Everything changed in July 2021, when I got a call from the owner on my previous tour company, asking my feelings on starting up the company again. I immediately asked to learn more and that is when I took off. I left the school and began working full time for this tour company learning more and more and using my start-up knowledge to really start making moves to get back into the game. I will always be forever grateful to the owner of that tour company. Without her, I would not have ever gotten the drive to do what I am doing now, nor the knowledge to succeed in the future.
I was the only guide willing to come back and begin working again and we started getting really really busy by September. I was connecting with restaurants, doing numerous tours a week, interviewing other guides, and loving every minute of it.
By December 2021, I had the feeling, I can do this on my own, and do it my way. I was back in the industry and I saw how much these local businesses were hurting due to the pandemic and trying to get back into doing business. How a lot of them did NOT get funding and needed support not from both locals and tourists alike to not only get back on their feet but to grow and prosper and make sure San Diego does not turn into a massive corporate playground. Both this and my love for food, family, and culture pushed my to create Foodelicious Tours and at the end of the year December 2021 I left the managerial side of the tour company I was working at and began only doing one or two tours a week. When creating Foodelicious Tours, I began reaching out to restaurants in neighborhoods not known by tourists and even some locals, designing tours that are so different than all that is out there now.
Instead of doing just a beer tour, after getting my cicerone certificate in 2019 and seeing how many people wherein the class, I wanted to do a beer Education tour in North Park and I created North Park Beerucation. Instead of doing a Gaslamp tour, show how much the East Village is growing and slowly becoming the new downtown tasting an eclectic style of food, delicious cocktails, beer, and deep history called Libations on the East Side, instead of doing your Normal Little Italy tour focusing on Italian, focus on how Little Italy has Italian roots but transition to a foodie paradise and finally allowing both tourists and locals to discover an area with some of the best food and stellar art in a neighborhood called Barrio Logan, all while focusing primarily with restaurants that are truly San Diego born and bread both new and young and always delicious.
To give you an idea Foodelicious Tours is not just your normal tour company that is trying to capitalize on the market. We go way deeper than that. At Foodelicious we believe food and drinks are an art. Food is family, friends both new and old, happiness and fun. We understand tasting an extraordinary dish or drinking a great beer can bring a smile to your face. Food is not survival, sharing food is part of human history.
San Diego is filled with unique neighborhoods with a multitude of great restaurants, bars, breweries, and distilleries. We believe in supporting local business on every tour, because without local business where is our history.
Today my company is only a little over 2 months old, but are growing. In an industry that is all about reviews, reviews, reviews things take time but with enough passion and drive to succeed, good things will happen the future.
Foodelicious Tours was my goal and will be my future, working with local restaurants and working together as partners as well as loving every minute of what I do always puts a smile on my face.
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 went through so many steps until I stepped into the tour industry. Working in startups in industries from software to pharma and many more it was a struggle finding what I truly wanted to do for my life.
Although my company is very very young (a little over 2 months) I am learning it IS NOT easy. It is all about reviews, reviews, reviews, and as a new company you are never going to be able to compete with the big boys without patience and never stop working. Unlike most tour companies, I am now doing tours with groups of 2 and although a basically break even that review is just as important.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As you can see my knowledge from all my past jobs throughout my career really helped me in the present and will continue to help me grow in the future.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I created my own Non-Profit at 24 years old after my fiancé died the night before our wedding while I was in the plane going to see her in Ecuador of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning at. I create a Non-Profit called the Maria Jose Crusellas Foundation after her name supporting carbon monoxide safety in the USA and throughout South America.
Pricing:
- 75.00
Contact Info:
- Email: info@foodelicioustours.com
- Website: www.foodelicioustours.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodelicioustours/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodelicioustours
