We were lucky to catch up with Jason Rodriguez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jason, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

For my family and me, this was a big risk. I wanted to start small by bringing just one product from Camden, New Jersey, hoping to introduce something special. Our goal was to bring joy to the South Jersey community and encourage more people to try our food. However, we took the risk without knowing whether those outside our community would be open to something new.

I’m happy to say that we’ve gained a strong following in Florida, where we introduced the Tarantini Panzarotti® and our Philly Cheesesteak. It has had a significant impact, allowing us to share our food with more people and bring in new customers.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I used to work in restaurants when I was younger, and I always knew I wanted my own business. I’ve always loved being in the kitchen, trying new things, and getting creative with food. Seeing people enjoy what I made is the best feeling and it’s what keeps me going.

Twelve years ago, I moved from New Jersey for a better life, and I knew I had to bring the best of what I grew up with to Florida. I want to share a little piece of South Jersey with everyone.

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

No, this is our first time buying a business. We spent months researching, reading up on different options, and figuring out where to get everything we needed. It was a long process, lots of questions, doubts, and second-guessing, but we got through it. My family was a huge help; we all pitched in, gathered info, and went with what made the most sense for us. This business means a lot to us. We’re excited to grow, meet more people, bring in new customers, and build strong, lasting relationships with them.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Setting prices is always tricky for us. At first, we got a lot of questions from customers about why our prices were what they were. But over time, we’ve gotten used to explaining it. We have to cover shipping from New Jersey, but we do our best to keep prices fair and run plenty of sales to keep our customers happy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atouchofsouthjersey?igsh=ZHFmbjk4bWt4enp4&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16J12Bnpqf/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@southjersey23?_t=ZP-8u1R90g8sLH&_r=1

Image Credits

Genesis Fargas