Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Cahill.
Hi Laura, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It’s funny, GEWL completely started out of the blue in April of 2020, an idea of selling food came to mind late at night and I just ran with it. Like so many people, I found myself out of work due to COVID and about three weeks into being unemployed and completely restless, I took a gamble and started selling my homemade sandwich creations and chips on Instagram. People have always told me for years, I should start a blog, sell my creations or get more involved in the food industry so I figured it couldn’t hurt, so I gave it a try.
I got started by going to the store one day, getting enough ingredients to make three different sandwiches, one vegan option and of course my famous homemade chips. I came home, went to town in the kitchen and made them as if they were already sold, photographed and posted it on my social media basically saying, “hey who’s hungry, I got food.” I sold out in an hour and there was a waitlist the next day. I couldn’t believe it, my heart was beating out of my chest, the excitement was like something I never felt before. I honestly had no idea what I started.
When we first started selling, we were only open every other week, orders had to be placed in advance via Instagram on a Sunday or Monday for a Wednesday or Thursday delivery; I started to realize quickly that I needed to move this to a more advanced platform. While building the sandwich shop, I was also taking some time to build out a website and finally have a space to host my recipes. Squarespace ended up being the perfect platform to move my sandwich business too. I have been able to grow GEWL from bi-weekly to weekly but keeping the same ordering schedule still to this day with hopes of expanding in 2021.
In late spring, we started to work on branding, coming from a marketing background every little detail mattered to me. I had to think of something to make the shop unique, fun and somehow different from our competitors. First thought was to name the sandwiches famous movie titles or quotes, but I finally ended on a music theme and ran with it. Our three original sandwich creations going from a Cali Club to “2Pac’s California Love” and our Italian Club is now known as “Big Poppa from Notorious BIG” and the list goes on and on. I honestly think naming is the best part of it, who else can call their chips “The Groupies” or vegan desserts “Blurred Limes.” It makes it a fun, enjoyable experience not only for me but for our customers too.
Social Media played a huge role in keeping GEWL alive, we are so thankful people started to order, share and repost. While the food is excellent, knowing people kept coming back and telling their family has brought us to the level we are today. We have gotten noticed by some amazing brands and have been able to cater for Whole Foods Market, MeUndies, & Live Nation to just name a few. I started Good Eats with Laura just as a passion project with no real intention on it being where it is today and while we shorten the name to GEWL, got ourselves a catchy tagline, “because good food deserves a soundtrack” and added some amazing people to the crew, we are still a small business, creating art through sandwiches and enjoying every minute of it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have faced so many obstacles especially starting a restaurant concept in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic. Gosh, I can’t even begin with all the problems we faced just finding groceries, supplies or even bread throughout this whole time. I would find that one week, lunchmeat was in stock and the next it was completely gone and I would have to drive around town for hours finding the proper number of supplies to fill the orders that came in each week. I mean at one point I was borrowing materials such as paper towels from family just so I could dry my potatoes to make chips each week. I always knew I could and would make it work, failing was never in my vocabulary when it came to building this dream. This year has taught me to be resilient and has given me the ability to consistently grow.
One obstacle I faced almost immediately was even the growth of GEWL and trying to manage the quality of the food and delivery of all orders in a timely manner. After doing everything nearly solo for two months, I quickly realized I can’t do this alone and started to bring on a crew who are still with me to this day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
GEWL… “Because Good Food Deserves a Soundtrack” is a woman-owned and operated sandwich shop in Orange County. I saw there was a need for healthy, good food in the area and with so many places closed due to COVID and grocery stores bare, I decided to start selling food on social media. We specialize in sandwiches, baked goods and desserts, our plant-based offerings have a cult-like following in Orange county but mainly everyone knows GEWL for the Black Hole Sun, an Egg-in-a-Hole BLT sandwich creation. While so many items on the menu are fan favorites, we rotate our playlist (menu) weekly only highlighting 4-5 sandwiches, one dessert (usually picked by fan votes) and always our homemade chips (The Groupies) and the famous White Rabbit Jalapeno Ranch Sauce. GEWL wouldn’t be here without our loyal fans, we may be a small business but there are real people behind GEWL. We care about our community, giving great customer service and quality products, and our authenticity and creativity will keep you coming back for more.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I did a podcast last month and we spoke about this. It’s funny, I never considered myself a risk-taker, I normally follow standard protocol. When I first started selling sandwiches, I was taking a huge risk, its pandemic primetime, shelves are empty, people are told to stay home and here I am delivering, shopping and selling food out of my home. It’s like I jumped into this crazy idea as if I was 15 years old with not a care in the world and just kept telling myself “just say yes, just say yes.” I have learned by saying yes it has opened so many doors not only for me but the business as well, it has given me the ability to take risks beyond what I ever thought I was capable of. Seems crazy but everything I have ever done has honestly built me for this moment. I never realized how much I have started to “awaken” during this time and started to remember who I am and why I am here. I reconnected with parts of myself that were creatively muted for so long and started to find my true passion just by making sandwiches.
It can be so hard to take that leap of faith such as building a brand, business or even a restaurant concept in a pandemic but one thing I have learned is that I’m glad I did. It has provided me with the ability to see how strong I can really be and understand what I’m and the GEWL team are capable of. As we always say this is just the beginning.
Pricing:
- Sandwiches – $15+
- Salads – $12+
- The Groupies – $3
- Desserts – $3+
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.goodeatswithlaura.com/shop
- Instagram: @goodeatswithlaura
- Facebook: @goodeatswithlauracahill
- Twitter: @gewl18
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gewl-tustin-2
Image Credits
All Images captured by Aubrey Lao
