Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominic Blood.
Hi Dominic, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Back in 2019, it all started with my mother who loved cooking. Whether it was for family and friends or even as a side hustle. For years my mom expressed that it was always a dream of hers to start a food/Catering business and eventually open up her own restaurant. She used to buy Chicken Chops off the Schwanns food delivery truck in the early 90s. One day she came to me and pitched an idea to start selling plates of chicken chops which is a chicken breast with bone in shaped like a pork chop, with a Koolaid being the beverage of choice. From there, we went forward with the plan. She gathered up her pots, pans & utensils, loaded her portable burners, and headed to a local area in Lancaster, CA to setup and start serving plates. The plates consisted of a chicken chop, fries, sweet roll, sweet pickles and Koolaid. To our surprise, business did way better than we expected. As time went on, we continued to set up in various locations throughout the AV area.
Slowly but surely, our followers on social media began to rise. With the incoming flow of supporters, they wanted us to open up our availability, being that we were only out on weekends. We were limited on availability due to my regular work schedule but I still made time to help my mom fulfill her dream. We listened to our supporters and gave them what they asked for and opened up a 4-day schedule, Wednesday-Saturday. Since business had picked up over time, we started to evolve and expand our menu items, also upgrading from our household pots to buying a commercial fryer and Commercial griddle. Once that happened, we started offering our chicken chop sandwiches due to the sandwich craze that Popeyes had created. We decided to ride that wave as well but with our own twist. We have uniquely flavored sweet fire sauce that we dip our sandwiches in.
From there came loaded fries, Deep fried corn, wings and our Cajun Mac n Cheese. Making more food and gaining more supporters meant we needed more help from our family. We then started to hit the road, going to vendor pop-up events and catering events staffed with my sister Khadijah, my brother Herbert and the mother of my children Sheka, ultimately making this a family business. Things were going well, really well! We came to the conclusion that we needed to somehow get a food truck due to the workload we have created. We continued to work in the hot summers, loading up appliances and sometimes even setting up our canopy in front of my home. Late November 2021, we decided to take a small break since we were always at it consistently. We came back for a small time in the beginning of 2022. Due to my mother becoming ill and ultimately finding out she had cancer, we decided to put the business on hold to focus on my mother’s health.
Unfortunately, April of 2022 my mother passed away due to cancer but we decided to keep her legacy going and continuing our family business. Something she loved to do which made me love to do it as well and that’s cooking. Ultimately making this a full-time thing I’m proud to say we are heading in the right direction we are on a food truck courtesy of my good friend Mario of “Tipsy Moon “ who allowed us to rent one of his food trucks and keep the ball rolling for my mom. This has definitely been a marathon and challenging to say the least but when it’s something you love to do and you have a reason to be doing it, it’ll be worth in the end. We’re going to continue to pursue the goal and that’s to OWN our very first food truck and open up a Restaurant one day in honor of my mom Tracy Blood also known as “Mama Dukes”. – CCNK
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely was not a smooth road being a pop-up vendor financially; it was tough In the beginning being that it was our first rodeo. I think the hardest part was just loading everything up in the U-Haul van we would rent to get to a place and us battling the outside elements…
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have a background in federal corrections and currently active caseworker for the State of California. I’m most known for being a stand-out HS Football star at Palmdale High School. I specialize in making the best-tasting chicken ever, haha… My proudest moment was when I graduated college, walking across that stage and seeing my mom cry tears of joy. What sets me apart from others is that I’m going to go after what I believe and work hard for it. Playing sports all my life taught me to be disciplined and never give up. If you want something bad enough, you’ll get it that’s how I approach life.
What makes you happy?
Seeing my three girls Suraya, Londyn and Nalayah happy brings joy to my life watching them grow into little women every day it amazes me. Another thing that makes me happy is when we are on the food truck, it brings excitement because I know my mom is watching and smiling down on us. I know we are making her proud.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Chickenchopsn_koolaid
- Facebook: Chicken Chops N Koolaid
