We were lucky to catch up with Matai Steen recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Matai, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Tai’s Kitchen started as a way to make some friends in college while bringing them a home-cooked meal. I had nothing but a small dorm kitchen with a barely functioning stove, and some basic cooking utensils like one pot, one pan, and one knife- that kind of vibe! I bought some cute reusable bags from the dollar store to make the food I was giving my newly acquired friends more personable and I guess, professional. I did not have any concept of the business at the time and just wanted to bring college students together with a home-cooked meal since many of the students around me were a long way from home. I wanted to bring a sense of relaxation to them and provide food that was cooked with love and passion. I had no idea of how to make a profit from what I was doing, I was focused more on bringing the community together through food.
As I continued, I learned more about how scarce it was to see a college student eat a balanced, home-cooked meal. With the amount of fast food within walking distance of the campus- I wanted to cause a change. I began offering fuller meals, from sandwiches and chips to baked chicken with a vegetable and carbs. This caused what I consider the chain reaction into what the business has become now. I paid more attention to the food I was delivering as well and came up with the concept of a rotating menu *this proved to be harder than having a set menu* and used the profit I made to donate to local food banks and women’s shelters. Once I moved out of the dorm I was able to branch out more and use rental kitchens to prepare these meals as well as develop a team of motivated individuals that saw the same dream I did.
After having the business for around 2 years I saw where I wanted it to go. Seeing as my focus was to bring the community together through nutrition, I was able to build the business around the idea of becoming a non-profit. I wanted to provide to the many communities in Louisville KY that suffer from food insecurity such as the Russell neighborhood, Park Hill, and the surrounding areas. It became my main focus- instead of making a profit, I wanted to make smiles. I wanted to fill the bellies of those who are not as fortunate to afford a typical grocery trip. But I also wanted to be different in the type of food I was preparing, thus came the idea of “soulful Asian”. I was creating flavor mash-ups at home and realized that the flavors of African American food pair well with those of Asian cuisine. Combining both made such a beautiful flavor palate that attracted the public as well as gave a different flavor to those who partook in the business.
I came up with the idea of “Thankful Thursdays” and “Supportive Sundays” which is built around the idea of fighting food insecurity while also giving discounts to the traditional menu. Thankful Thursdays are every Thursday where customers can buy a meal and donate one for 50% off or buy one for a friend in need and get the plate for 25% off. I have seen many of my customers do this and it has proven to be helpful for those friends and proven to be helpful to the community I have been donating plates to! Supportive Sundays are every two weeks on Sundays when I give away free meals to both customers and communities to bring them together in a form of support!
Having the business has been nothing but a blessing and the fact that I can confidently call the business a non-profit has shown significant growth behind the scenes. Tai’s Kitchen, although a very common business name, in Louisville KY, is a non-profit run by a social worker who wants to continue to fight the food desserts, the redlining in western areas of Louisville, and connect members of the community. It is more than buying a plate, it’s saving someone from starvation, it’s putting food on the table of a family that didn’t get stamps this month, it’s donating to a cause! Tai’s Kitchen wouldn’t be in the place it is in without the support of the community and I, Matai Steen, couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to use my education and my skills to fight for the communities in Louisville KY.
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?
Hi! Im Matai and I like to go by Tai. I am the founder and owner of Tai’s Kitchen in Louisville KY. This lovely business came to surface in the recent years and has been attempting to fight the battle of food insecurity in Louisville’s western neighborhoods. The business has slowly become a non-profit and came from the dream of wanting to feed the world and bring everyone together doing so. There is one thing we all have in common as humans, we all gotta eat! Tai’s Kitchen’s goal is to promote the well-being of community members and customers by providing nutritious and balanced meals at a low cost that are both diet-friendly and flavorful. We provide a menu with a combination of African American soul food mixed with those of Asian cuisine. Creating things like the Soul (food) Roll and the Smashburger Eggroll. Tai’s Kitchen offers a variety of mixed flavors and services such as catering, vending, meal prep, and baked goods!
At Tai’s Kitchen, we are most proud of our drive to continue working in our community regardless of the situation. Being a social worker, I have learned many skills that can be used for both social work and in the business. Creating problem-solving strategies with the community and alleviating any stressors behind the next meal. What sets us apart from our successful counterparts is the compassion we bring to the community on more than a feeding basis. We bring hope for change, hope for the better, hope for a future, and resources that can alter one’s life for good. Of course, food is the idea, but livelihood is the goal.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building an audience on social media is very strategic. Don’t believe anyone that says it’s easy because it simply is not! When I first started using social media to promote Tai’s Kitchen I was using a group on Facebook. The group had over 5k people in it but even then my post only got a few likes and comments. I made an Instagram and a Snapchat for the business and had no idea where to go from there. I followed what other creators were doing with posting every day- that failed. I tried to post once every other day- but that failed. I even tried to post multiple times a day-even that FAILED! I took a moment to re-evaluate my approach to using social media to promote and then started the increase in views.
The first few things I did was remove the “street talk” from my posts. At the time of posting, I wanted to seem like a typical Instagram user and not a business. Once I changed my language I was able to get some more views. Those views and likes/comments increased once I began adding more lighting and scenery to my posts. Many businesses tend to take pictures with a white background or something plain to bring out what’s in front but I learned that adding a background and natural lighting brought more interactions as well. Instagram also allows users to use analytics to see when people interact with their accounts the most and using these methods I was able to create a healthy, non-time-consuming method to increase my audience on social media. I am someone who enjoys word of mouth and also handing out business cards so I also created a QR code using LinkTree to quickly access my social media and contact information from anywhere! This seems to be the most engaging since having a cute business card with a QR code is what most people prefer when wanting to engage with a business.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The genre of books that I have read are all from the point of view of changing your perspective and learning what you truly want to do in business and life. The Body Keeps the Score is one of my favorite books that I have read. It shows you where trauma can be stored and how one can react to their past traumas and can create boundaries around them, preventing any growth or healing. It showed me a lot about myself and it aided me in learning about the triggers I have and how to better manage them so that I can heal. I also have read many articles about business management and methods on how to keep your business from falling. There are many articles, books, biographies, and more that are out there that can help any entrepreneur grow! I’ve used Google Scholar to help find helpful case studies and research projects that have led to business success and that is where I suggest any first time business owner to start!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tais-kitchen.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tais_kitxhen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tais.skincare?mibextid=LQQJ4d
