We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joel Orellana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joel, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I have always enjoyed the meaning behind words. Etymology of everything, even the mundane. When it came time to label this new business, this new step in my life, I knew it had to look back to where we started. Before getting into food as a profession, I had always experienced excellent food at home. Home, for years, changed often. Good food was a constant. As my family traveled from Mexico to Florida to Texas and finally to Ohio, they picked up some new flavors along the way. Even with trying new things, Latin American food stood out as something special. I knew this was the core of what I wanted my food to be but couldn’t resist incorporating some favorites like BBQ and soul food. To best reflect that openness, I had to think of a name that wasn’t locked to 1 cuisine. Geographically speaking, the 28th parallel (running east to west) ran through the states I was born and raised in. And “South” of that line was the history of family. Where we are from, where we are, and where we want to go, all in one: 28th And South

Joel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are a food truck and caterer that that specializes in Latin American Cuisine, albeit inspired by the diverse cuisine of the local kitchens we have been a part of over the last 10 years. The idea for this business came after a few pop-ups that were extremely well received. We have had the opportunity to do a wide range of events from 20 to 200 people ranging from casual to weddings and public events as well. Our #1 priority is giving our clients exactly what they want, and maybe a bit more. Excellent service with an excellent product.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn how to “order” someone to do something and learn how to make a cohesive team. Being a leader is multi-faceted and the shift in service industry culture has forced growth in those roles. Simply put, people want to be treated fairly and teams need to feel supported. Without this, success is out of the question.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

In the catering/food service space, word-of-mouth is by far the best promotion that you can get. Executing a perfect event and providing excellent service speak volumes and creates its own promotion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://28thandsouth.com/
• Instagram: @28thandsouth
• Facebook: 28th and South

Image Credits
Joel Orellana