Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After being together, we quickly realized that we both loved entertaining and crowd-pleasing. Anytime we had friends or family over, we would put together a charcuterie board as an appetizer. Soon enough, our charcuterie boards became a must-have at every gathering. Our friends and family encouraged us to start a business, and after some thought, we decided to go for it and share our delicious boards with our favorite city. Nick is the mastermind behind the boards. He has curated our signature cheese and meat pairings and assembles the boards. He was part of the culinary team in high school and proceeded to follow his love for the kitchen by attending The Culinary Institute of America in NY.
Like a true Miami boy, he decided to come back home and continue his culinary endeavors working at Barton G. in South Beach. After a few years in the industry, he decided his love for cooking was more of a hobby and is currently attending school and working full time. Although he has never fully abandoned the kitchen, he is excited about being able to use his skills to make people’s gatherings extra special. Giselle is the brains behind the business. She handles orders, billing, and marketing. Giselle discovered her love for startups after competing in a business competition during her freshman year of high school. She then participated in a similar competition focusing on restaurant management that led her to become involved as the Team Manager for her school’s culinary team – where she met Nick.
Being the team manager, Giselle was introduced to the world of hospitality, where she participated in caterings and other events. Giselle decided to fuel her passion for business and attended FIU, where she graduated with a dual degree in International Business and Public Relations and is currently working full-time while pursuing an MBA. She loves providing that picture-perfect touch that every event needs. We are where we are today thanks to the support of our family, friends, and of course, the community. Since the day we launched, we have been blessed to have countless support from everyone and we know we would not be where we are today if it wasn’t for them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like anything new, you are likely to face some obstacles. The start of a new business definitely has a learning curve. We’ve had to learn about our customer base, their likes, and dislikes. Understand what the fluxation of orders looks like so we can project for busier seasons. Find vendors that we feel comfortable working with. Take care of all the little details that come with opening a business, from incorporating to determining what policies are right for you. The list goes on and on. At times it can feel overwhelming since we both work full-time and go to school but, we have been lucky enough to not have faced anything out of this world that has truly set us back. Of course, we are not perfect and have had the occasional hiccup where a shipment runs behind or inventory is not available but we have been able to pivot quickly and make things happen, always keeping our quality and customers top of mind.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Both being born and raised in Miami, we are pretty much obsessed with the culture here. We decided that Miami’s culture would be the foundation of our brand. From the name of our business to the names of our menu items, we made sure to incorporate some 305 flavor wherever we could. We want our customers to have a connection with our brand and get a kick out of our creativity along the way. We felt that adding little sayings here and there and items that connect with the community was the perfect way to combine our love for this city with our business.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We all have learned from this crisis. It’s something new for all of us, and it changes every day. As it pertains to our business, we have taken measures to make sure people feel safe. We take the necessary precautions and follow guidelines to maintain cleanliness. We ensure to wear masks while building the boards, and during delivery and pick-ups, etc. One thing we did learn was that our boards bring joy! Cheese really makes people cheese. When everything was shut down back in the summer, people were running out of things to do and to try. Our boards let people break their routines and try something new. We could see the excitement on customers’ faces when they received their boards. Seeing those smiles was very rewarding and inspired us to keep this going and provide the community with something to help them not worry about all the things the world is throwing at them.
Contact Info:
- Email: papicarmiami@gmail.com
- Website: papicarmiami.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papicarmiami
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/papicarmiami
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/papicarmiami
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pa-picar-miami-miami?osq=pa+picar+miami
Image Credits
SoFlo Branding Gflims Production Jose Musa Karina Moenck Carolina Rodiguez
