Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Tallungan.
Hi Dominique, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Josephine’s Special Empanadas was created by our mom, Josephine, in 2002. It started off as a fun snack that she would make for friends and family, but little did we realize that this creation would completely change our lives forever. I like to say that her empanadas were created our leisure but thrived out of desperation. In 2005, our mom was laid off from her job. Me and my two older siblings were still in school at the time, to young understand the gravity of our situation. Her fight or flight mode kicked in: desperate to make ends meet and keep food on our table, she started selling her empanadas (at the time, it was just the chicken empanadas) in parking lots: our school, her job. After the afternoons of selling and finally having enough money for dinner, she would take us to get our favorite luxurious meal – $1.50 Costco hotdogs.
My mom knew she had something special. But being a first-generation Filipino immigrant coming to the States at age 33 and a complete novice to the complexities of business, she had to figure it out on her own. And being the fearless woman she was, she did. At the age of 51, my mom started her career, opening Josephine’s Special Empanadas inside Island Pacific Supermarket in West Covina.
My mom took care of her business on her own for 14 years. My siblings and I explored our own aspirations during this time, finishing college and starting our careers. However, in 2021, after our mom turned 65, my older sister and I contemplated what her business meant to us the next coming years. Our mom was getting older, and she wouldn’t be able to sustain this by herself much longer. That same year, we made the scariest decision to leave our careers and focus on our mom’s American dream full-time.
Since then, we opened a second brick-and-mortar location, along with doing different food festivals and markets to get our business out there. We hope to inspire other children of immigrants to recognize the sacrifices of our parents and the gravity of their love, and become fearless, strong leaders for our communities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. For me, coming from the social work/psychology field, business was a complete 360. I had to figure out so many aspects of running a business – the logistics, operations, finances, marketing, HR, and permitting (to name a few), all on my own. It’s not like we have different departments for all those things, so most of the time, I’m juggling 4-5 different hats at the same time. I even still struggle at times to make sure everything I’m doing is right. You would think my mom would be a bit of help since she’s been in this for 15 years, but she seems to know just as little as I do! Working with your family also comes with its fair share of arguments and disagreements, but at the end of the day, we’re all working toward the same goal. I make a joke to my friends that I quit my 40-hour, 5-day a week job for a 24-hour, 7- day a week job, haha, but I don’t regret a thing.
We’ve been impressed with Josephine’s Special Empanadas, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are an immigrant-owned, women-owned business in the City of Industry/Rowland Heights area. Even though Rowland Heights/City of Industry is a well-known area for Asian restaurants and eateries, we’re actually the first Filipino business to be in the area, which is very important to us. We’ve had so many Filipino customers come and tell us, “Finally! A Filipino business has finally set up shop here.” and we’re so proud to have made that milestone. We hope to establish Filipino flavors as part of the Asian-American food culture and hope to see more Filipino businesses open in our area!
We specialize in Filipino-American inspired baked goods and are known for our empanadas. With our cross-cultural blend of flavors, we’ve created something that not only coincides with tradition but also invites others of different backgrounds to appreciate Filipino cuisine.
How do you define success?
I believe success is defined by your impact. How much of a difference are you making in your local communities? We aren’t a multi-million dollar company raking in tons of money per month. But I think our success comes from our communities, who make it a point to tell their family and friends to come to patronize our business. To our customers that come in and tell us that the empanadas brought to a party were a hit. To companies that think of us when they’re booking caterers for their events or work parties. To those who rush from work at 530pm just to grab something before we close at 6. To those who choose our empanadas to serve at a viewing when their loved ones pass. To those who drive 6+ hours to come down to see us. To those who are from out of state but fly back with boxes of empanadas so they can share them with their friends and family back home. To those who come and pick up boxes of empanadas for their neighbors, their kids’ teachers. It’s this type of love from our customers and our community; not any monetary measure, that has kept my mom going, and that has kept my family going. This is our success.
Contact Info:
- Website: jsempanadas.com
- Instagram: @jsempanada
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/josephines-special-empanadas-city-of-industry?osq=Josephine%27s+special+empanadas
