Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Gordon.
Hi Jacob, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2018, I was just a 25 years old trying to figure out my life. Partying and drinking every weekend, living check to check, working at Mi Amore Pizza and Pasta here in Lompoc, and was not worried about a thing except having fun. I had an apartment with one of my best friends Nikko and he runs and operates Bubba’s Chicken and Waffles. He was at his beginning stages of his business operating from home and working at SpaceX at the time and I was short on rent and he had to cover the rest for me. At that time my Mother recently had a stroke and was taken to LA for rehab so it was hard financially for my family and I to go out and see her… I told him I needed to find a way to make some more money and he mentioned to try and cook some food and sell it on Instagram; so that night I made an Instagram called “Big Jayke’s” and the grocery stores around town to see what I wanted to make. I would eat Top Ramen a lot but I knew I couldn’t serve Top Ramen so I thought, “Hey I should do some type of noodles” so I I found a pack of Yakisoba noodles at Walmart and made it the way I would fix up my Top Ramen when I ate it, posted it with my first caption saying “would you try this?” and people said they would… So the next day I went to the store and grabbed supplies and posted “Giving away 15 free plates to people who like and share this post so you can try these noodles” and the post went crazy! Ended up giving away 25 plates for free that day. I got food feedback and word started getting out about the noodles. I would start serving out of my friend Chris’ house because the kitchen in our apartment was just too small…
At times we would have 40-70 people pre-ordering and lining up at the house. Once it started getting popular, the local Health Department caught on and ended up sending me a warning letter to stop operating from home or I would have to pay ridiculous fine. I brushed it off and kept serving until they tracked me down at my day job and had a word with me and gave me one more warning before they fined me… My bosses and owners Cliff and Stacy Smith from Mi Amore Pizza and Pasta were there at the time and seen what was going on so we ended up talking and they gave me the opportunity to start serving the public after hours from their restaurant after they closed. That’s when we started “Big Jayke’s Late Night Munchies” the first day we served over 100 people in 2 hours! They seen the traction that it brings in and how popular it was getting fairly quickly so that’s when we started talking about a food truck. Cliff, Stacy, and another best friend of mine Chris ended up helping me invest into getting the food trailer and the rest was history. Everything was going great!
Up until a couple of months after that, my Mother was not getting better from the stroke… she was in LA for a year and was not improving so my family and I made the decision to bring her home, put her on comfort care, and ended up passing away peacefully with us finally at home… It devastated us as a family and me seeing how it broke everyone down I know I couldn’t stop there. I had to be strong because she was the reason why I started the journey so I couldn’t let being upset from her passing be the reason why I stopped. I wanted to show myself, my family, and people in my city that you can turn a negative into a positive. By doing that I kept working hard and by doing that I inspired other people to start cooking from home and they all have food trucks now! It’s beautiful! We have a lot of great food and the whole food truck community is like a family. It’s a beautiful movement that came to this small town of Lompoc and gave it some light..
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all! Getting shut down by the Health Dept. My mother having a stroke and passing away. Figuring out the business side of cooking realizing it’s not just cooking.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am the owner and operator of Big Jayke’s. I specialize in Asian fusion food, being creative, and being a good and supporting person. I am most proud of inspiring others to go out and chase the dream they’ve always wanted and to not give up!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you have an idea, run with it and don’t stop! If you don’t, it will just stay as an idea and it will never become real. Don’t do that. Work hard and stay HUMBLE.
Pricing:
- 15.00
- 16.00
- 17.00
- 18.00
- 20.00
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/BigJaykes
Image Credits
Max Janatsch
