We were lucky to catch up with Roxana Pavel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Roxana, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

allmine started as my love project but I knew that I must surround myself with the right people in order to build the restaurant I envisioned. First I had to look for a chef, and being a pizza restaurant, I looked for someone who understood dough, who was able to develop the perfect recipe and who wanted to get nerdy about it! And I found him. And then the rest of the team, that we’re continuously building is made of good people. That’s what we are looking for. Just good people who are passionate about food, about being kind, about having a good time and not taking themselves too seriously.

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

I wanted to build a neighborhood pizza place, where folks just wanted to come hang out and create memories. It is primarily a pizza place, we make everything in house .. our dough, our sauce, pasta, ravioli, dressings, pickles, and sausage. We even make burrata from scratch!
The food we make definitely stands out in our community, primarily because we put so much care in sourcing our ingredients, preparing and plating each dish. An effort maybe not always met at a pizza joint…
And we wanted the service to match the food and elevate the experience. Our staff is knowledgeable and kind and always looking to create connections with our staff.
The intention starts at hiring and we make sure each person who wants to be part of our team has the same drive and compassion. And that’s what I am the most proud of! My team …

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I was born in Eastern Europe, in Romania and moved to the US in my early twenties. Hospitality was in my blood, was how I was raised, etiquette was instilled in me since I was a child… nevertheless the warmth and the constant smiles of the American people were something new to someone born behind the Iron Curtain. The pleasantries seemed excessive and took quite a while to learn or rather to unlearn old habits. What to me seemed to be a direct form of communication, sometimes it was interpreted as offensive or tactless. But with a lot of work, love and support, I feel like I am on the other side of this cultural dilemma.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like in the restaurant business we always have to pivot and adjust. That’s the beauty of it. Every day is the same and I am constantly challenged to think outside the box!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.allmineoceanside.com
• Instagram: allmine.oceanside
• Facebook: allmine oceanside
• Youtube: allmine.oceanside
• Yelp: allmine oceanside

Image Credits

Becka Vance Photography