We were lucky to catch up with Michael Chanthanark recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, appreciate you joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
It was a freezing day in Houston. Bone chilling, like 60 degrees. In Texas that is basically an ice age. It was early on in my pop-up career, I was still learning how to develop my routine. Me being me, I have to show up late to the event. I promise I’m only slightly late present day. I joined in with my now business partners in their tent to sell some fried chicken sandwiches and try to grow my Oohmamipapi brand. The wind was roaring that day. The tent flew around every five minutes and the weights never stayed on. When I finished setting up I looked to find electricity to power my fryer. Luckily the restaurant had plenty of outlets to choose from. After weaving my extension cord around the mass of people, I taped it to the ground so no one would injure them self and fall into my fryer. I was open for business. Or so I thought. Like a piece of general tso chicken at the mall food court, the electricity provided to me was just a sample. My fryer had gone out and I was left out to dry. Literally, outside and in the wind air drying. My friend and I scrambled to every outlet, plugging in and out trying desperately to find some source of power. With the constant shuffle and wind, the tape holding the extension cord stated to fly off. People starting to trip over the cord and I just pictured in my mind, someone is going to fall and I am going to run away. Luckily everyone had the balance of a ballerina. After about half a dozen outlets I tried one of my life lines and phoned for help. I called my girlfriend to bring me a pot and burner. As I stood there in purgatory the worst thing happened to me. My nose started running. I hate having a runny nose. I was closed for business for about forty five minutes, but it felt like eternity. Then my friend had the bright idea to ask the boba shop next door. Thank the universe they were all teens because they just said, “yeah, sure.” It was like Zeus flew down from Mount Olympus and struck my fryer with his lightning bolt. I was back in business. Almost back in business, I had to heat up my oil for 15 minutes. Then I was back in business. To help boost sales I let people pet my dog if they bought food, it worked. The wind kept blowing the tent, my extension cord stayed flopping around, it got colder as the night went on, and the electricity stayed strong. After all the chaos I learned that even after all that, I had fun. I also learned that I will use butane from now on.
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 was a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to the industry. I knew I wanted to cook but didn’t pursue it until about my mid-twenties. Before I started I had an idea of what I wanted to learn and what type of places I wanted to work at. I told myself no hotels and no fancy places that use tweezers to pick up tiny herbs. Most of my culinary career has been at a hotel or a place that uses tweezers to pick up tiny herbs. As I learned and grew, I started to birth this idea of the type of place I would want to work in. It changed throughout my years but I knew eventually I would want to work for myself. I also knew I wanted to work with friends I thought were creative and fun to be around. I eventually met those people and throughout the years I would go from doing private dinners, to cooking at a popup, to catering birthdays, to whatever our team was capable of. Being able to work alongside them as well as the support from friends and family, it lead to the creation of Oohmamipapi. I dug back into my culture and started focusing on the unique Laos cuisine I grew up on. Being a first generation Laotian American I wanted to do my own takes on the food. It’s my idea of modern Laos food with some inspiration from my home state Texas. Laos food is fairly uncommon, so it is pretty cool for me to be able to showcase my culture at dinners and events. It’s been challenging trying to sell but the challenge is what’s most fun. Getting a seven year old child to try my shrimp ice cream and her liking it was one of my prouder moments. I enjoy being able to offer something strange like shrimp ice cream and then something familiar like a fried chicken sandwich. Even though my business is extremely young I’m most proud that it exists. It could be a tent at a market or become a fortune 500 company, whatever it becomes I’m happy it’s real. Life is too short is cliché for a reason. I’m proud I worked on something for myself before I got too old. To the potential clients, Laos food will seem familiar and new at the same time. It’s just a bit spicier and funky.
Have you ever had to pivot?
A few months ago I decided that growing my own business was more important to me than my full time job. I bounced around quite a bit but wherever it was, my own business started to mean more to me. Before this I was only focused on paying my bills and stability. My business seemed more of a hobby than something real. I treated it as a getaway from my normal day to day. Whether sales were low or high, I enjoyed every minute. Then I would go back to work and just think about the next one. I started to realize that working for someone else didn’t give me any satisfaction. I felt like I was only helping the company I worked for and in the end I’d have nothing of value to me. So at my newest job, I put in my two weeks’ notice after a month of working. I decided to take the risk and bet on myself. Luckily it worked out for me to stay but have the freedom to focus on my business when needed. My business is young but it’s more fulfilling than anything I’ve done in the past. Whether it becomes a success or failure, the journey is the reward right. Follow your dreams, motivational posters and all.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
If you go by the numbers than social media is probably the best source. It gives people a chance to check out pictures and videos of the different events and items we serve. Social media is extremely helpful but to be honest extremely boring for me. My favorite way is to meet people at public markets or events. The interactions I have are much more enjoyable then responding to a comment on instagram. People also get to try samples and receive more personality. Selling a bottle of hot sauce is much easier in person than online. Everyone is a different character. You can meet some really interesting people while you’re covered in sweat in the Texas sun. One of the best moments is when a guest told me to give her my sample bottle with her new bottle. Naturally I did, she came with confidence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://oohmamipapi.square.site/
- Instagram: oohmamipapi
- Facebook: oohmamipapi
Image Credits
Tracy Ngo Billy Mounchan Talha Khawaja Chris Kennedy