Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paolo Andino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Paolo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I started baking cookies in NYC about 20 years ago. As a new actor in the city you’re always working a side hustle and I was seeing all the cookie places pop up but they all were missing something. One was too oily, the other didn’t have enough chocolate chips, and another was a dry cookie and overly sweet. So I set out to make a perfect dough. Well, my version! And I did. I sold them to family and friends, but this was before the days of Instagram and I quickly ran out of customers after exhausting my closest circles. I gave up on the endeavour but still made the cookies for special occasions. Cut to years later, I’m living in LA and Covid hits. I am at a picnic with my cousin who is a producer and also on hiatus. She has always loved the cookies and right then and there decided I needed to sell them. She made an IG account, got the domain name and started to build a web site. We got permits, licenses and in no time we’re shipping nationwide and doing curbside pick up. After Covid we began selling at farmer’s markets. That’s when I found out that delicious mouthwatering crispy/chewy chocolate chip cookies are a hard sell in Southern California. :/ I looked around and saw how the vendors who sold lunch items always had the coveted “line” at their tents and I thought, “What could I make for lunch?” And that’s when it came to me… Cuban Sandwiches. I could bring a little of my culture to Los Angeles and sell my Cuban sandwiches with my succulent Cuban roast pork! So yummy. Another round of permits and kitchens and ingredient searches and El Sandwish Cubano was born. Now it’s been almost 2 years and I am in five markets a week selling my Cubanos & Cookies and also doing all kinds of catering events. Art galleries, theme parties, office lunch events. It’s been great fun doing the private event stuff.

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

I’m a Cuban American actor, a painter, a sandwich and cookie maker. I think that to be a successful business owner you have to roll with the punches and be flexible. That is what brought me to baking during Covid and made me pivot to Cuban sandwiches 2 years ago. There have been many challenges along the way. When you are the only one running the show it’s hard to keep the engine running all the time. Oftentimes it’s just plain tiring. When upsets come it can be disheartening. But something changed in me around 6 months ago. I had another upset with a market that was terrible. Instead of wanting to quit however, I was extra determined to get what I wanted and go after it. So with a fire lit under me I left the bad market, took the loss and researched other places that suited me better. I could feel something change in the way I approached my business. I went from “Oh, this is just too much!” to “Nothing is going to stop me!” And I’m still there in that place. Today I have 5 markets that I love. I work with companies that care about me as a vendor. And I get to serve Cuban food that is unique to LA and the farmers markets. I’m the only Cuban there. I’ve always been a good cook. So good that my foodie family has enlisted me to “cook to impress” their friends on several occasions. But I never thought that those skills would turn into a business, into a living. It’s been a surprising journey. My favorite things are putting out a quality product and building community. The roasted pulled pork is the star of the show and I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to have the occasional Cuban come around with initial apprehension and leave saying I brought them back home! That’s the sweet spot. That’s when I know I’m doing it right and it’s super authentic. But I knew it because I conferred with several Cuban aunties to perfect the recipe. The community building is the other part that is really gratifying. Having the opportunity to give a little girl a pack of cookies on the house when her mom says they can’t afford them. When the same little girl brings me a handwritten thank you card the following week and that card goes on my table forever more. It says “thank you”so it is now my thank you to everyone who gets a sandwich. And the regulars! The folks who never miss a market and we share our lives. I have known some of these people when they were dating, had my cookies be a feature in their grab bags at their wedding and we continue to share our stories week after week. It’s a beautiful thing. And all from cookies and sandwiches!!!

Any advice for managing a team?

My team has recently grown from just me to me and my boyfriend. And I am happy to report that we are good in both the personal and the professional. I think one of the things that have made it successful is giving him autonomy. After his initial training he set about doing things in a way that suited him best and even suggested changes in some of the ways I do things. I was never put off by this. I liked that he was making it his own. Everyone is different. And if he feels good then it comes through to the customers and it’s good for business. I learned that in grad school while taking a class on directing. I wanted to micro manage the actors at first because I didn’t know I could trust them. I didn’t know that the biggest part of the job was casting the right people. Working with the right people. Allowing them to bring themselves and their ideas to the table. That makes it a positive place for everyone.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My greatest pivot was going from cookies to Cubans. I had been in the farmers market game for about two years and it was becoming clear that selling cookies to southern Californians was a tall order. Especially because my cookies are not vegan, are not gluten free, are not sugar free, are not dairy free. “It’s a cookie people!” I would think. So I started to notice all the hot food vendors who were serving lunch items. They all had lines. So it got me thinking about what I could serve for lunch. The only difference was that this time I didn’t have my cousin. I was on my own. So I had that dark moment when I felt that I couldn’t do it alone. After dragging my feet I decided to get started in spite of my doubts and found that I had the experience to know what came next. It gave me the drive to keep going just one step at a time. I got the new business license, the DBA, the domain name and more all in one day! That was big. Proving to myself I could. The sandwiches instantly did well. As I suspected lunch was a smart move. I still offer the cookies (my regulars would kill me if I didn’t) and now I give a free guava chocolate chip with every sandwich. That’s the bond between the two companies. And it’s very sweet indeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elsandwishcubano.com www.donttouchmycookies.com
• Instagram: @elsandwishcubano.com @dont_touchmycookies @paoloandino
• Facebook: Paolo Andino
• Yelp: Don’t Touch My Cookies

Image Credits

All taken with my iphone