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

Hi Nina, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Everyone starts with a dream. A vision of a happy life that you want to wake up everyday. I can say that my life is not the same vision I had before, but it’s a vision that changes from all the experiences happens to me. I know when I was young and still and school everyone’s dream is to have their own restaurant. From that dream, I know I have to work hard, learn all the techniques to be a great chef. Next thing that I need is to have money. I need a capital to be able to start a restaurant or investors to finance the business. After all working in different jobs and not saving enough money, that dream is kinda impossible for me to start right away. In life things happened and we grow. I learned I don’t need to have an actual restaurant to start doing something that will make me happy. I learned in life that my Ikigai is to cook and share my Filipino culture to the people. I started by doing small orders for friends and family. Then I created a business page on Instagram and starts posting online and getting orders around the city. It opens up a lot of opportunities for the business. I was given a chance to do pop ups at small business around the city which I am so thankful for. I also do caterings for special events and private dinners. I work along side with my husband and our family and friends help us to be successful. Along this journey we met so many incredible people that wake up everyday to do the same passion that we all share. It’s amazing to see how we grow (always growing) and so different on that dream I had before. As long as you’re happy with what you are doing, you are already living the dream life that you always ask for.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! I am Nina Fonte. I am a Chef. I moved from Philippines to Houston in 2015. I work from different hotels to restaurants and met a lot of talented Chefs that helped me grow to be a better cook. I am very passionate at sharing my Filipino culture through cooking and feeding people. I started my business Aleng Nina’s as a passion project to share my love for cooking and my culture. ‘Ale’ means older lady in Tagalog and my inspiration for the name is an older lady like your mom, grandma or aunty cooking food for their love ones. Where you will feel at home and nostalgic with the food we offer in our own way.

We offer Filipino desserts, hot foods for online orders for pick up or delivery. We also do pop-ups around the city. Also, we do Kamayan Catering which is a traditional method of eating where people gather to eat boodle fight and eat ‘Kamayan’ meaning to eat with your hands. We are happy to go around the city and cater to different people, organizations, event etc.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This one was actually a sweet story. One of the backbones of my life and my business is my now husband. He was actually the one who gave me the push and the confidence to start Aleng Nina’s. COVID affected everybody and I was not unique to the situation. At that time I have lost my job and was just cooking at home will my husband worked in the hospital as a frontline worker. One day he gave me $300 and told me to use it for ingredients for the goodies I have always wanted to bake and then try to sell. That initial $300 investment, thought it may be small, is the best capital this business has ever gotten. It just shows that it takes one person believing in your skills to make something wonderful happen.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

For us at Aleng Nina’s, creating a connection with the community is the most important thing. Every customer/client we interact with will always be received with the most upmost respect. They are what makes our business continue and without them, we wouldn’t be what we are today. Its not so much as brand loyalty, but its fostering a community. Our motto will always be quality. Wether that’s the quality of interactions, quality of our food, quality of experience curated. Create the relationships first and foremost and let the money follow second.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @alengninas
• Facebook: Aleng Nina’s

Image Credits
Michael Ma (photos from ANAK premier)