We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Pastones Smelser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I moved to this small town in Eastern Montana back in 2008 and although there were 2 Chinese restaurants, there wasn’t much more of an option outside of pizza, burgers and bar food. I always had to go out of town to get any kind of variety, or get things shipped in so I could make something that I was wanting to eat from back home in Guam. I was always saying that I should just open a restaurant and offer the missing variety our town needed. I was always hosting barbeques, making different kinds of food for my coworkers to try. Everyone always loved it, I don’t even know how many food license application I have filled out over the years. I finally woke up one day and got the courage to turn one in.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My dad has been in the restaurant business my whole life. He started as a dishwasher and now is part owner of 12 restaurants back home. I am the oldest of 7 children and have always been the one who cooks in the family. For a year before I started my first pop up, I researched, measured and weighed every ounce and wrote down every recipe I cooked for my family. My menu contains flavors from all over Asia. I take special pride in being able to customize certain things for my customers with special food allergies. I do what I can for the people in our community. My customers are family and I make their food with love, always.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I have always had a dream of having my own restaurant. I have always hosted our barbeques and took special orders for friends and family. As I worked in the Emergency Department at our local hospital, I started doing pop ups one weekend a month at our local Community Kitchen in Dec of 2022. It grew so fast that after 6 months, I was able to purchase a food truck and by Feb of 2024, I finally put in my notice to quit the hospital all together to do this full time and haven’t looked back.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I have never been one for micromanaging. I give my team room to work to the best of their ability and always involve them in major decisions. We trust each other and maintain open communication with each other, always. Our number one rule is if there is something that bothers you, address it right away so we can fix it and move on from it. I always show my tribe how grateful I am for them for all they do because without them, this really wouldn’t be possible to execute.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://easyeats.xyz/crazyasiansmt
- Instagram: @crazyasiansmt
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/crazyasiansmt
