Episode 37 | She Bet on Herself and Built Zule Eats | Chef Zule

In this episode of Cracking the Success Vault, Sean Penhale sits down with Chef Zule, founder of Zule Eats, to share a powerful story of resilience, faith, and entrepreneurship.

From her roots in Ghana to building a growing food business in Windsor, Ontario, Chef Zule’s journey is a testament to taking chances, trusting the process, and leaning on community.

Zule Eats was born during the uncertainty of COVID-19 — not as a long-term plan, but as a response to necessity. What started as small orders quickly turned into sold-out events, farmers market success, and a thriving catering business bringing authentic West African cuisine to the local community.

In this episode, Chef Zule shares:
 • Her transition from working at Caesars Windsor to entrepreneurship
 • How she launched and grew a business during the pandemic
 • The importance of community, networking, and asking for help
 • Navigating pricing, growth, and financial decisions
 • Expanding into catering, festivals, and new opportunities
 • Why taking action matters just as much as having faith

Chef Zule also opens up about the realities of building a business as an immigrant entrepreneur, balancing family life, and staying grounded through both growth and challenges.

At the core of her story is a simple but powerful belief:

Success is making people happy — and building something you genuinely love.

If you’re an entrepreneur, creative, or someone thinking about starting something of your own, this episode is packed with inspiration and real-world lessons.

🔑 Topics Covered

🍲 From Ghana to Canada and building Zule Eats
🚀 Starting a business during COVID-19
🤝 The power of community and collaboration
📈 Growing a food brand through markets and catering
💰 Pricing, scaling, and financial decisions
🙏 Faith, action, and resilience in entrepreneurship

⏱ Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Chef Zule and Zule Eats
03:08 – Journey from Ghana to Canada
06:14 – Career at Caesars Windsor
11:58 – Starting Zule Eats During COVID
14:52 – Growth Through Markets and Events
21:06 – Challenges in the Food Industry
27:00 – Catering and Expansion Plans
30:11 – Business Growth and Strategy
32:26 – Financial Decisions and Doubts
35:53 – Family and Support System
39:29 – Understanding Business Metrics
42:36 – Adapting to Market Changes
44:33 – Pricing Strategy
46:45 – Passion for the Business
50:12 – Community and Mentorship
51:06 – Defining Success

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I do what I'm told to do. I come in here and I do my stuff and then I leave. I said, you know what? I said, and if that should happen, then that's what it's meant to be. Like, but I I was done dealing. I was done dealing. I'm going, I'm doing something else. Benefits until it cuts off. So everybody. Everybody go go use it all.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Go use it all. Get glasses. Get two pairs each.

SPEAKER_04 0:21

You know, get all those things done and out of the way. I mean, Zuli Eats is on Howard Avenue, 2760 Howard, uh, which is right on Howard and Edinburgh. I mean, everybody goes to Devil Sharmall. And if you're on Howard, you cannot miss us.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Chef Zuli is a Windsor-based entrepreneur, community advocate, and the visionary behind Zool Eats, a well-loved food brand bringing the rich flavors of West Africa to Windsor, Essex. Originally from Ghana and a proud Windsor resident for over 25 years, Zool sees food as a powerful way to bring people together and create meaningful connections. Her contributions have been recognized nationally, including being named one of Canada's top hundred black women to watch. Above all, Zool is a dedicated mother, business owner, and storyteller using food to unite cultures and create a sense of belonging. All right, welcome back to another episode of Cracking the Success Vault here with Spectre Group. Uh today we are joined by Chef Zuli Ankama. Uh thank you very much for your time uh today. Uh I'm really excited to talk about this. I love food. Uh, we're gonna talk a little bit about business, about food and everything else. But uh uh before we kind of dive too deep into it, uh why don't you tell all the listeners um a little bit about yourself? You're originally from Ghana, which is West Africa. And when did you come here?

SPEAKER_04 1:52

Why did you come for having me? And um I am born and raised in Ghana. I came to Canada in the early 90s, so 91 to be specific. Okay. And um, like I said, born and raised, both paternal, maternal, um, grandmothers were all food preneurs. So um, food has always been in my background. Right now, Zulie is in Windsor Interior. I'm a mother of four, two boys and two girls. Um did almost everything being an immigrant, you know, to just survive. But I did um my last employment was with Caesars Windsor when we started in 94 or 95. Well, I started with 95 and um 25 years in. Then uh it became Zulitz with COVID um being laid off. Um, I kind of figured I gotta find another way of making a living. So um this became the baby, which was the brain work of my children, believe it or not. They they started this mom, you gotta, you know, why don't you do this? Why don't you yeah?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

I mean, listening to your story when we chatted was was so so unique to like just take advantage of an opportunity when one presented itself, and it wasn't something that you were wanting to do or truly desire to do. It was more of uh circumstances, and then your kids just kind of were like, listen, like you're you're good at this, yeah, and everybody loves it, so why don't you just try to do it, right? Um, so let's let's let's back up a little bit. So you you come here in 91, um and when you moved here, sort of did you move here by yourself? Was it with your parents? And and why did you guys come here?

SPEAKER_04 3:44

I'm assuming typical typical, typical, uh typical meeting a man and then and then moving together. Yeah, yeah. So so yeah, um uh my ex-husband, yeah, he was already here in Windsor for about 10 years, a little over 10 years, and um, and we met, and that's how I migrated knew each other beforehand. He went no no no he yeah, he did he did come home, and then that's when we met, and then we started dating long distance, yeah. But eventually we decided to get married, came back home, got married, and then and then I followed suit later to come start our family and um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

And so once you get here, what was the sort of what was the expectation? What was the uh you know, just find a good job, make a living, take care of family. And I know you got into Caesars through uh the fun the story was funny um about how you got into Caesars and what you thought you were applying for. Um so let's let's talk a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Yeah, well, did I mean coming into Canada for the first time, I mean living here migrating, it's a bit of a cultural shock, you know. And we'd intend that, and it was like, okay, you go in, you're going to school because he was already at the university, almost done. And it goes, okay, and then it's gonna be your turn. But I had a baby, I had a baby, this life, life happened. So, you know, it's work, work, and then and school, you know, doing the did my um uh pastries in St. Clair, you know, just just and then doing stuff on the side and just working and going along with it. And um, I mean, I worked at the Holiday Inn Select, which on Huron Church. Back then it was called the Comfort Inn. It wasn't called so Comfort Inn, and then um Windsor got approved to have a casino. So here all year, HR work was being done at the hotel at Holiday Inn. That was when they were training people and all that stuff. So I was like, hmm, I think I want to do this switch. I'm getting really interested in this casino thing. So postings came up and they wanted a porter, and I'm going, hmm. I'm thinking a porter, because here Ghana used to be a British colony, like I was telling you. So a porter meant something different from what I mean. Those people from Vegas brought to Windsor. I mean, then a porter was a janitor, which I didn't know then. So I'm going for an interview, all dressed up, scheduled suit, all ready for it, and looking at you don't know what a porter is. Nope. And I was honest, I said, no, I didn't know what a porter was. It wasn't back then where I mean you have Google and everything, and you could go search the company and find out what things are. No, it wasn't like that. So I just went in blindly. But you know what? They were very gracious. They told me, you know what, you could go this way. That is what not what it is, but once you get in the company, you can move to any department that you want. Yeah, and that's what I did, and um, just went into table games. I like tables, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Yeah, I mean, that that that's an interesting story in and of itself. But I like the fact that you went to apply for something that you didn't really truly know what it was. You thought you knew what it was, but it wasn't. But you took the opportunity anyways, yes, right? Uh, which I find a lot of people don't do, they don't take the opportunities that are in front of them because uh it's not what they thought, or it doesn't pay them enough, or uh whatever the case may be, when in reality it's a foot in the door to something bigger down the road. Exactly, right? Uh, and so you took this opportunity, and they basically said once you get through the 90 days, you can apply for anywhere. Uh, and so you started looking. Uh, the moment you got hired, you were like, I'm gonna make it 90 days. This is not a problem. What do I want to do? Uh, and what made you want to choose tables?

SPEAKER_04 7:51

I talked to because they already had dealers in there, they had all the different sections. I looked at slots, I looked at tables. I'm like, you know, that is what I want to do. I took this, I mean, spoke to some managers, some of the dealers. It was just fascinating. I just love it. And I love to interact with people. I I don't think I'll be good in an office. I think I'm gonna go crazy. I always want to interact with people. So right away I signed up for a dealer's course, uh, which was right on Olay Avenue. So I was going to work or going early to school, then do my afternoon shift. And as soon as I was done school, the the um Northern Bell, I don't, I think, I don't know if you're old enough to remember the Northern Bell. Okay, so we had the Northern Bell, which was a riverboat casino. It was right on the river, Detroit River. So, with that coming in, they needed even more employees for every department. So it was like boom, boom, got into Porter's, just passed it, and then here comes table games. My certificate was ready, and I applied for it, and I got right into it. And again, talking about opportunities, getting into it, it was only part-time. And here I was leaving a full-time position with benefits to go part-time. But I was like, you know what? I know it's not gonna last. I'm gonna get full, and sure enough, I was part-time for about three months when full-time opportunities opened up and I jumped right in.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

And so, did you do anything else during that part-time opportunity, knowing that you were going from full-time to part-time, uh, not knowing how long this was gonna last? Yeah, uh, did you decide to do anything else during that time, or was it just strictly that?

SPEAKER_04 9:29

No, it was although it's part-time and you were not getting benefits, you could pay, I think it's 50 cents an hour to get partial benefits. And then on top of that, although you are scheduled, they call you part-time, but they'll schedule you three or four days a week, and then you could pick up the rest. The rest, so part-time, but I was working five days a week. Right, I could work six if I wanted to, yeah. So that's what I did. Yeah, and then you stayed there for how long? I was I was part-time for maybe three months. Yeah, it didn't, it things were moving for. I mean, the casino was crazy busy. We were the only casino in this whole area, yeah. No Detroit, no Ohio. We were busy, so they were constantly hiring more people, so yeah. It didn't work.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

And so then you got full-time games. I got full-time table games, yeah. Uh, and how long did you stay full-time tables?

SPEAKER_04 10:24

Full-time tables, I was there till I left in 2020. Wow, yeah. So I stayed in that department, and so I dealt for I dealt for 20 years, and then again I was like, oh, it's time to move on. So I applied for management, and I've got to be a supervisor, and then a year later, a pit manager position opened up. I'm going, yeah, go for it, girl. And then again, I did that. So I left there as a dual pit manager.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Yeah, interesting. Yeah, and so were there any ever like doubts or fears about getting the management position or getting the pit boss position, like any of that kind of stuff? Or was it just ah, you know what, it's an opportunity, I'll just put my name forward.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

It is, and I know like a lot of people, oh, you're good getting out of the union, they co-fire you whenever they want. You need the union to buck you'll go. I never do anything wrong, I've never used the union, like I do what I'm told to do. I come in here and I do my stuff and then I leave. I said, you know, I said, and if that should happen, then that's what it's meant to be. Like, but I I was done dealing. I was done dealing. I'm doing no, I'm doing something else.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah, it's interesting that that's a a big mentality here. Um, and I don't really know it. I don't uh coming from Alberta, we don't really have unions for the most part. I mean, you do in you know healthcare uh and some trades, but they're not as big uh as they are here in Ontario.

SPEAKER_04 11:57

Um Windsor, especially Windsor, Detroit, that that's it's it's uh union cities, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Yeah, and I don't really understand it, I guess, because I I'm very similar to you. Is like I'm not gonna do anything wrong, I'm not gonna jeopardize anything. I feel like, and maybe this is just my own kind of like naivety, I guess, is uh I feel like the union is not there sometimes to protect the person, as sometimes it's the company, sometimes it's both, and sometimes it's like what are they even doing? But for like what you're paying for, it doesn't seem like there's as many benefits, and maybe it's just because I've been self-employed for so long. Like I have no idea. Um, you know, I deal with the goods and the bad, and they all teach me something regardless, but that's that's that's just learning from them, yeah. And so this whole time that you're working at the casino, basically 25 years.

SPEAKER_04 12:53

25 years, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Um where did the idea to start Zulites come from?

SPEAKER_04 13:00

Well, I have always loved cooking, and because I oh going somewhere and bringing something, and then eventually people go, Oh, can you make this or so? I had a side hustle of doing cakes, dessert tables, you know, stuff like that. And the the idea of Zulitz came from my kids because I was bored staying at home. I have always been on the go. And then here COVID happened, and we thought it was just gonna be a couple of weeks, and then it kept driving. And the casino was the first place to shut down, yeah, the very first place to go down. So here I'm like, okay, and um and serve kicks in and I'm going. This doesn't cut it, it doesn't even pay my mortgage. Yeah, so I gotta do something. I'm going. I said, Yeah, the banks are calling, but I don't want to defer my mortgage. Yeah, that is something that I don't want to do at all. So I'm gonna pay my mortgage and won't figure it out. And that is when you know, having this conversation with the case, my daughter's going, Mom. People love your phone. Yeah, when they were little, we had their birthday parties. Kate still talk about that. They'll come and go, Zulie, remember me with the birthday or this person's birthday? Because I still remember this. I'm like, oh my god. So I'm like, okay, you know what? Let's do it. Yeah, and and my daughter then had moved out young professional, and she goes, Mom, like her husband now. She goes, We order out once a week, and among our friends, it's like we don't even order enough. I said, I know a lot of people who order in a lot, so yeah, you could make you know some side hustle from this. It's like, okay, go well, you know the people right now. I don't know anybody. Yeah, she goes, okay, we'll do this. I'll make the food, she gets to run everything else. And and that was it, just by word of mouth. Yeah, and then I was like, you know what, let me call the health unit. I work with AGCO, and um I mean their screening is tough, and we did that every every every year you did, but every four years you did the whole thing, fingerprints, you name it, background check. Yeah, so I was like, you know what, let me because even a parking ticket could hinder your gaming license. Right. Yes. So I'm like, let me call the health unit, find out how the rules are, and they were like, No, it got there's meat product, no, you cannot. Oh no, you can't. Um, you need a commercial kitchen, or you just you could build a kitchen, you could build a separate kitchen in your house, yeah, but you cannot use your family kitchen for that. But I'm laid off. Who's how am I gonna get money to do any renovations to put a kitchen in my house? So I I always say things were lined up. I am a person of faith, and and uh things were lined up because okay, we knew a few people who owned restaurants go, called Tina and a couple of friends of ours who own the Mamma Burger, go to call Tina and Ryan to see if you could use their kitchen. We called and looked up, oh sure, you could use our kitchen. And at that same moment, another um group had started, it was a new business, a food incubator. That's what's called it's called Cookup Inc. And they're a food incubator. So we happened to find them too, and they go, Oh, yeah, we do, we do that, you know, we could help grow each other's business. Sure, let's do this. Yeah, so that that was it. And then well, I didn't know anything about social media. Yeah, my daughter's like, I would make you an Instagram account, a Facebook account, you name this account, that account, and it just blew up just word of mouth. And back then, too, we had to do the deliveries. I got to know Windsor a lot more because there were streets I've never had, but the order will come in, and so you have to go drop it off.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Yeah, so you were doing everything, you were making food, making food, you were delivering food when needed, everything and delivering for free, like those during COVID, that was lockdown.

SPEAKER_04 17:01

Yeah, you had to do what you need to do, yeah. But I had I had, I mean the kitchen, they only served dinner. So the head cook comes in at two o'clock and the chef two. So from that time to two o'clock, I had the whole kitchen to myself, and all they needed is we were gone by four because by 3:40, the rest of the staff keeps coming in and it gets kind of chaotic. Yeah, so so I had all that time for the kitchen. I mean, it was great. The only thing with using a ghost kitchen is you can't leave stuff there, yeah. So you're loading and unloaded and loaded and yeah, that that was a little tough. But we started that and that was 2020.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Yeah, and I mean it's really interesting to see. I I love the fact that you're that that you say that you're a person of faith. Yeah, because I think for a lot of people, they don't understand that through difficult times, through uncertain times, there's also sometimes like a light at the end of the tunnel if you're willing to look for it. If you're looking, yeah, right. You can't just be like, uh, it's really hard, we'll figure it out, and then you know, go sit on the couch, go sit and do nothing. Do nothing. You get to be able to talk to people and figure it out and problem solve and maybe you know put yourself in uncomfortable positions of asking people that you don't know what to do and what not to do, and asking for advice. Um, and I find it with anything, whether it's whether it's a person's finances aren't in the right place, or um, you know, their their their business acumen isn't there, or they're struggling in their business, growing it. If you just ask for help, there's uh so many beneficial things that can come from it, but you have to be willing to ask for it. Put your hand up, right? Have a little bit of faith, but at the same time go work for it.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

Is that and that's the thing. I well, and especially like where I'm from in Ghana. Um, people just want to pray and don't do anything about it. I go, no, it says prayer faith and action. You gotta take action. You can't just pray and wait for stuff to drop from above. You gotta take action, you gotta do your part. Yeah, you know, you pray. I say you pray, you pray for wisdom, you pray for clarity, you know, to see the things around you and what you need to do, right? Right, but don't just pray and and sit there and do nothing. You have to, and it's not easy. I keep telling people I go, it's not easy.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

No, that's the faith part though. Yeah, you know, that's the faith part. You have to like, yeah, it's not working out right now, but if I just keep going, it will work itself out sooner or later. Yes, right.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

So long as you don't give up, you gotta keep going, you know. I said you you get if you get knocked down, you gotta get back up. Yeah, if you stay down there, so when you're up and you get knocked down, don't think that's the end because you were able to get up. So keep getting up, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah, get up as many times as you have to, right? And so how's the business going now? So you started in 2020, uh, a little bit more of a side hustle project to make some money during COVID. Um, now you guys have a location, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:15

Just the one, just the one on Walker Road. She's like just one. You don't want another one, she says. On Howard. Um Howard Howard, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Howard, not Walker, Howard. Um and um and you and you mentioned that one of your children actually works for you full-time. Full time. Um, and how is how's that been going since 2020, expanding to where you are today?

SPEAKER_04 20:39

It is going good because 2020. So we started 2020, 2021, we got into the downtown Windsor Farmers Market. That was where we got the biggest exposure, and that was when I said, Whoa, okay, this is it. I'm I'm not going back to the casino like this. Is it I'm gonna put both foot in this and keep going. I'm I'm not, yeah. The farmers market, it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Yeah, there's a lot of exposure that happens down at the farmer's market. And my wife and I go quite often, always see some new pop-ups. Um, you know, typically we go to get March 21. Ooh, aren't they?

SPEAKER_04 21:18

Oh, they're such an awesome family. Love up, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

Ben's great. Yeah, yeah, we always see everything and then we go and stop in for food and go home. Um but uh so so why why was the the the food market, why was the downtown market uh such an exposure for you guys?

SPEAKER_04 21:35

Well, because especially for me, I had working midnight. I mean, the last 18 years out of that 25 years, I went grave shift. Wow. Straight grave shift. So I mean, getting off and going to the I never went to the farmers market, didn't even know what was going on down there. And then this happened, and then we are there. It's it brings people from all over. And during COVID, that was the Only gathering probably that was happening because it opened and people were coming from the county everywhere. So that really helped us. And of course, we got a great product. Like I put everything in that product product. So I mean, you try that pie, there is no way you're not coming back.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:19

You know, it was funny. You see somebody, and it's okay because it's a product, people don't know about it. It's new, it's foreign, I would say. So we do, and we still do a lot of educating when it comes to our products because people don't know it. Yeah. And they go, Oh, okay, maybe I'll just take one to try. They don't even go a hundred feet, they come right back. Oh my god, give me three more. Oh my god. So I was like, that like this is it.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

Yeah. And so sold out the first time.

SPEAKER_04 22:50

Oh my god, the first day we were sold out in no time.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah. Wasn't expecting.

SPEAKER_04 22:56

Nope. Although, like cookup ink, although those guys were like, you know what? You got be prepared for the farmer's market. It gets very busy, but you still don't know how much preparation. So I was like, okay, these are frozen products. And that's the good thing about frozen product. Well, let's take whatever we have. If we don't, you know, it's coming back. Then cool us with ice. And it blew us away. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

And then and then since then, so 2020, start 2021, farmers market with a big kind of growth expansion, more people knowing about you. When did you guys get your location on Howard? 2022. Oh, okay. Yeah. The following year. Yeah, the following right away.

SPEAKER_04 23:36

Yeah, because um we needed more product, we needed a permanent space because again, we're using the ghost kitchen back and forth. But then since we're opening up, right? So the restaurants were getting busy as well. So we're like, okay, we got we gotta find our own space and um and then do that. And then we had just we started with just the meat pies, and then we added our snacks, which we call chips back home, but they are snacks, they're made out of pastry, and then we seasoned it, and that also came. I wasn't even thinking about that. We got invited to a bar that was on Druid. It doesn't exist anymore, but I think it was called Pressure Drop.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yes, I remember I recognize the name.

SPEAKER_04 24:21

Yeah, it was called Pressure Drop, and they invited us. They go, you know, we need a food vendor, we think you're proud of it's great. It's like sure. She goes, Oh, do you have anything else besides the pies? Something I'm like, oh, you know what? Yeah, we do have like we have munchies that you know we use, so I could bring some to go, okay. That would be great. So then I was working with Chef Ryan because I was using his kitchen. So he came back and go, hey Chef, I go, I don't go to bars. I go, what are bar food? What are typical bar flavors? He goes, Oh, bar flavors is spicy, salty, vinegar. I'm going, okay, great. He goes, Why? I go, this is what's going on. So, but back home we have the traditional one, it's just plain. But they want the product at the bar, and I want to make it bar food. Bar food.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

Right.

SPEAKER_04 25:05

So he goes, Well, then you're looking spicy, vinegar, salty. I'm like, okay, so then I started playing around with some of the recipes, and I came up with jalapeno cheddar, which is got a little bit of a kick to it. And then at that time I did uh salt and vinegar. And I didn't like it, so that didn't last long. I took it back out because I have to like something to put it out there. For I was like, nah, the case where like, mom, people like vinegar. People actually open such as vinegar and put on their chips.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

I'm I'm that guy.

SPEAKER_04 25:40

Oh, you're not? I'm that guy. I was like, nah, I can't, I can't. So so I took that out. Okay. But then over the years, we've had cinnamon sugar, we've had garlic parmesan, and so we do what we do is we'll do a trial and see how people respond to it. And cinnamon sugar took out. And we did a garlic palm, we brought it in, we took it out. People kept asking, we brought it in, we took it, and they kept asking, we go, okay, let's bring it back, let us stay. And so those are the flavors that are doing very, very good, very, very good. So, so bringing me back to our storefront. So we finally found a space of our own, which also gave us the opportunity to introduce more of our flavors. Like we have our rice dishes now, which is jalof rice. Rice cooked. Have you tried jalof rice? Not yet. Oh, Sean, I should have brought you. Well, we don't open today. I should have brought you jalof rice. I was planning on sometime this week coming by. Yeah, so jalof rice is rice, but instead of being cooked in water, it's cooked in a tomato-based steel. Okay. So it's got a lot of flavor. So we we brought that in, we brought our fufu, we got soups. Like, I mean, so having our own space gave us even a lot, and then now we could even do catering, we do corporate and private catering.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Right.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Which uh and and that's something that so it's I'm assuming it's sort of the natural progression of a business, right? You got to start somewhere, get in your door, stay profitable, yeah, make sure that you get past you know the first three years because most businesses fail by then and then keep going. Especially food foods, especially food business.

SPEAKER_04 27:21

Food they said, five to six, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

And so the general progression was you know, side business. Yeah, then it went to markets, bigger audience, audience, yeah. Your own space. Uh, once you get your own space, it's now opening new products, yeah, still doing the markets. Um, and then you pushed into corporate events and stuff like that. So that was was that just your next level of okay, I think we can handle more, or we need to find more ways for revenue. Like, what was the reason for the corporate stuff? Just more revenue?

SPEAKER_04 27:57

More revenue because with food, I mean, with any business, you don't just want one source of revenue, you have to have multiple sources of revenue. So you say, you know how we're doing this. Um, I think Hiram Walker was the first company to approach us to see, and that was actually even during COVID. And they wanted something for their employees, and mom's like, sure, yes, we can do it. And and then we pulled it off. That was her first big and Harem Walker is a big company, yeah. And we did, and they all had to be individually bagged and everything, and wow, and yeah, and and we did that, and then they came up back to us a few times, so which is the we started with Harem Walker.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

If someone's listening to this and they want uh a corporate event, they want to try the food. Uh, what's like what size of an event, what type of an event are you kind of trying to go after? I mean, uh are you trying to do the 200 people type events and weddings, or are you just sticking to more 30, 50 kind of people corporate type events?

SPEAKER_04 28:58

Oh no, we've done we've done the 200.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 29:00

Yeah, we've done we've d all sizes. So it's all sizes, and then we've done the uh girls getting together in in somebody's house, just bringing a few things to, you know, so we go from there to a big to medium size, yeah. Right. Yeah, we have and then we do festivals, right? Yeah, so so we uh we host, we organize and host the Ghanaian village, Curous of the Nations. Yeah, we've done it. Um, this will be our fourth year. So yeah, doing that. So we do that, and yeah, and we supply all the food and everything.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

And so what's and so what's next for you guys then? So now you've you've grown, you've technically been in business for five years, going on six now. Um, you've got your own space, you've got your own product, you're doing events. What's next? How are you gonna grow this bigger? Are you thinking second location? Are you thinking just more uh options for people? Is it more of uh trying to get my revenue to a certain place first? Like from a business perspective, uh you're not gonna try to go too quickly. That can hurt a business, but what sort of your what are you thinking the next few options are for you?

SPEAKER_04 30:11

Well, a few options um it's other because right now we do like I don't do it as big, but I have a few clients that um we cater their meals by the week. So they bring in their order for the week and then we prep it and we portion it and they pick it up. So oh wow. By Thursday, this Thursday, I should get their orders in for next week. So but right now we only got five of them, and we kept it that way. But I'm looking to because we've outgrown our space, honestly. We are like pushing. So I'll probably need a little bigger place, get a couple more help, and uh and then expand that part, uh, meal prep to to add that to meal prepping. Interesting. So that that is gonna be, you know, we're doing it at a small scale, but we wanna actually drive that into so that is my nest.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

Right. So now you're looking for a new space, a little bit bigger. Hopefully you're gonna hire maybe another person or two to help. Oh, two to help, yeah. Oh, we're gonna need more help, yeah. And so what was it like then? Because I know that uh obviously I've been in business for myself for 15 years. I've had friends both in Alberta and here. Uh, they love us, they care about us, they also don't want to see us fail. Um, but also people not that they're trying to hold us back, but they just don't want to see us hurt. And so a lot of the time people are like, Well, don't do that. Why? You know, when you were starting this out, you mentioned to me that there were quite a number of people either at Cesrus that you were working with being like, Are you are you really sure that you want to do this? Yeah, um, how was that like, how did you take it from them? Was it more of like a ah, I'll just forget about them, or did you really take consider that maybe what they're saying is true? Like, how did you kind of deal with that? Because I know that you know, part of the problem with starting the business or the challenge with starting a business is is profitability. Can I pay my bills? Can I pay my staff? Can I do all those things? Um, what was that like for you in this process of expanding, going from what you were making to running a business?

SPEAKER_04 32:26

Yeah, I know, like I honestly understood where they were coming from, right? Anyone will say that, you know what, you have you're at this position at the casino, you're gonna lose all this income, your benefits, your pension, all that stuff. But I would already done. I I always want to, I always like you say, ask for help, talk to people. I already discussed this with my financial advisor. That was something that we sat down to do. She knows the numbers, you know. So she pulled it out and said, you know what? Yeah, I think you can do this. You know, you can do this. Go. You might not be able to go on a lot of vacations, but maybe one or two. I'm going right now, I only get one, sometimes none. So if I can get two, I'll take it. Yeah, yeah. I had already done the work. Um, the kids, I mean, first of all, is the kids. I go, you know what? This is what I'm thinking. I want to quit my job, but if I quit, this is what's gonna happen. We don't have benefits. We don't have we are a very healthy bunch. All that I know, even with the casino, and the casino had great benefits. I think all that we ever used were glasses and dental. You know, we never really use anything. So I'm like, okay, then it's not a huge loss. It is not a huge loss. And then I and then I spoke to my dentist, and he goes, you know what? He goes, you don't have any problems with your teeth. He goes, all you might need is two cleanings a year. And I had already looked into Costco, uh insurance. So I was like, Do you think I should buy it? He goes, You really don't need it. He goes, It's only gonna cost you about $2,250 each cleaning. And I mean, it's two cleanings a year. So, you know, I I did talk to people that I needed to talk to, you know, the case were on board. They were like, Mom, benefits until it cuts off. So you can do this, let's do it. Everybody go go use it all.

SPEAKER_03 34:13

Get glasses, get two pairs each, you know, get all those things done and out of the way.

SPEAKER_04 34:18

Benefits until it cuts off. So everybody everybody go go use it all. Go use it all, get glasses, get two pairs each, you know, get all those things done and out of the way, and and and we have been, but like you know, and I always I said that little bit time of being uh in during COVID also thought me that I could live on very little. We made all this money before, yeah, but we could live on very little, and we change our lifestyle the way we lived and the way we and besides, I go, you know what, I'm gonna be in polo shirts, I'm not gonna need dry cleaning for my suit. Though it's funny that even some of our co-workers during COVID will go, Oh, I'm saving on lip gloss, I'm saving on this, I'm saying because you don't have to make, we're home, right? Yeah, so I think yeah, and that's what I'm saying. But you know what? I don't need all those things, and you know, so I'm saving here, I'm saving there, I'm saving there. You know, and and we made it. I said, I promise I told them, I said, I promise you, we never be homeless and we never go hungry. Yeah, and um, and they were on board.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

There's such kids that came right on board, and uh I mean that's I didn't have a family when I started. For me, it was like uh if I if I have to live in my car for what I will, like I just don't care. Uh it's just me. Um, that was kind of the mentality I had is I'm just gonna keep doing it till I till I win.

SPEAKER_04 35:45

Till you win.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Um, but having you know, single mom, four kids, it's gotta feel pretty good to know that they were on board with you as well.

SPEAKER_04 35:53

Yeah, very, very much on board. And I told them too, I go, this is a lot of work. I'm gonna need all your help. And every one of them, every one of them. Like I was telling my oldest daughter, she works full-time. But she calls every evening, like it's funny, every evening. Okay, so how was your day? But and we have a little bit of time to talk about Zulu Eats, and then we cut it off. And then after that, if we talk, it doesn't have to do with work, right? It's just about she will check in every day.

SPEAKER_01 36:24

So, what is she when you guys talk about the business then? It's really my business partner and I are like that. Is like every day, it's like we can there's got to be at least a little bit of time where we talk about just the things that are going on, yeah. Uh the stokes that everybody has in the fire. Yeah. Uh, and when we don't do that, because either he's busy or I'm busy, we're both busy, for a few days, it's like, okay, we need to actually sit down like an hour and be like, okay, what happened in the last five days? Because we haven't seen each other. Yeah. Um, what kind of things do you and your daughter then talk about from the business perspective of like she's obviously helping you manage things and she's the one that was doing the social media for you and all that. So what are the kind of things that you guys talk about then?

SPEAKER_04 37:05

Well, we talk we talk about just about everything. Um, you know, if it if there are emails that had to be answered, you know, you know, she'll go, did you do it? Because we all get to go in the email. Um, my son checks it because I'm in the kitchen and I always tell people, I go, You send me emails, you gotta wait till the next days to get a reply. Yeah, because it's not me, because I can, I gotta be in the kitchen. So he'll check, he will go through it, I think in the middle of the day, just if something is very, very important and I have to hit it right away, then he'll start it and go, Mom, you gotta, and if there's something that he could answer, somebody ask him for a catering, whatever, then he can take care of it. Right. And if not, then it waits for me to and certain things too. My daughter can answer them, she'll go ahead on her time and do it. And then it's like, just how is the day? How are sales? But again, with sales, she could go in in square and pull the report and and look at everything. But we'll talk, oh no, so how was your day? Anything. Yeah, I mean, you deal with people, right? So sometimes things happen. Sometimes she'll even see something before I do, because it, you know, she goes, Oh, there is a Google review, you gotta check. I'm going, well, she's on her break or something, she already checked it. Okay, mom, there's a Google review, I think you gotta go check it out. She would do that. So we talk about all that, uh, her siblings, you know. Um, if um anything, like I always say she's in HR, so she keeps me incomplete, you know, something goes, hey, this came up. Yeah. Okay, wages are going up, you know, all those information she will let me know right away. Right away before I even get to anything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:46

And is it something that for for people who run similar businesses, you know, I'll call them either retail or food and all those kinds of things that uh it's very business to consumer. Um you need to kind of know your numbers, right? You need to know what the cost of things are, you need to know how many you have to sell every day. You need to know are these things that like you're constantly thinking about every day? Um, obviously the business can have the ebbs and the flows. You know, my business partner and I are the same. What's our what's our bottom line? What do we have to do every month? What do we have to do to get everybody paid, etc.? Um, so we talk a lot about numbers. Is that something that you and your daughter then talk a lot about most of the time?

SPEAKER_04 39:29

We do. We we talk about that. Um, and the one one thing along the way is once I decided to do this full-time, I also signed up with a small business center. Because, like I said, I love cooking and but I never run a business. So I wanted to learn more about the side of that. So um, some of our courses, you know, knowing your break-evens, and and actually I always said that really helped me in getting the spot that I got before going to break and mortar because it was always in my head, like, so that you're not going for something that you can't pay for it. So, you know, learning all that through the small business and entrepreneurship center did help me in knowing that okay, I can this is the square footage that I am looking at. That's where I feel comfortable as we're moving in now. So, so that has always been there. And I think at one point I was getting too much into it because then I'll I'll talk to some of my mentors and go, oh, but this they only got to go, okay, looking at it daily is really gonna drive you nuts. Well, why don't you wait and look at it weekly? Right, you know, because and and that helped because sometimes the foot traffic is not there, and then we do the markets and the events, and and that cut so I was like, but honestly, it took me a while to uh bring that in and go because you know, learning in class that no, you had gotta have this much every day to make it, and I wasn't making it. But then, like you said, and then another day it's like, oh, I mean, like triple that day like that.

SPEAKER_01 41:05

Yeah, I mean, that's the interesting part about business, right? Is it's so like you can't look at one day and say, Oh, we're gonna have a bad year, because you could go Monday, Tuesday, not sell something, Wednesday, sell something, Thursday, Friday, not sell anything, Saturday, sell enough to cover the entire week. Exactly, right? So I think every business has to find their own um call it uh uh schedule their numbers, yeah, knowing the numbers, whatever. You need to know your numbers, but you also need to not be so tied to the numbers on a daily basis that you're hurting yourself.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

Yeah, because a daily basis will drive you nuts.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

Then you're not focused on the product, you're not focused on your customers, you're not focused on anything but the numbers, and that will drive you crazy. Exactly. Um, and if you just put the people first and the product first, the numbers will come. The number is you know over the course of time.

SPEAKER_04 42:03

It will, it will. And and um uh what was I gonna do? Something else I was gonna mention, it just skipped me. I mean, learn it as you go. Like, I still I think I have a class today, an online class today. Like, I'm constantly because you have to you can feel comfortable and go, I know it or no, and especially food, like yeah, things change so quickly. Things that they love this month, next month they move on to the trends. Keep, I mean, you go right now this day and it's keeping up with those trends, yeah, and then of course we the cost of our roster and everything, yeah, it's changing constantly.

SPEAKER_02 42:43

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:44

You go to the wholesale club, something that you bought yesterday is up three dollars the following week. You go to Costco, and it's hard for our small businesses because and it's food. You can't keep you can't you can't keep changing your prices. Correct. Nobody's gonna show up. Right.

SPEAKER_01 42:59

You you can so every day if it's a different price, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:02

Yeah, so this particular time, honestly, March, April, it's it's been a juggle, right?

SPEAKER_01 43:09

Like, wow.

SPEAKER_04 43:12

Just because of cost of things, just cost of things, just cost of because everything, I mean, and it's from packaging to everybody, all all these uh suppliers are sending in new prices, and you're looking at them and you're going, yeah, okay, how am I gonna get that out of the food?

SPEAKER_01 43:30

Yeah, so and yeah, so what's the idea then? So the so obviously things change, you know, the the war that's going on and the global conflict that will, you know, it ebbs and flows, and it will always go every other year if something happens somewhere, and that causes prices to go up and and stuff. Like as a small business, where are you finding what are what are mentors talking about where you can make up that price because it's not just as easy as go sell more stuff. Almost no. It's not that easy.

SPEAKER_04 44:01

No.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Right. Um, and I'm in a business where I don't have that problem. Um, I don't have a uh a tangible product per se. Yeah. You know, financial services is helping people, you know, save money and get insurance, and the price is the price, and it doesn't get changed based on global conflict, right? It's just it is what it is. Um what are you guys seeing as as the restaurant world, as the small business? Where are you able to make that up when things change so drastically so quickly?

SPEAKER_04 44:32

You know what? And and that is the thing, right? You cannot. So what most of us like I spoke to some of my friends too is you have to just some items have to stay the same. Some items you just cannot put it up any higher. Right. Right. And then just little increases, it has to be little, but they have to be an increase. Right. You cannot just not, and then we can do that every month. So if this month maybe I'm gonna raise the chips, and then next month maybe I'm gonna raise the soup a lot a little. Right. So just different items and different times, right? Not everything all at once, not everything at once, just make it gradually and you know, and then and then do that. But for me in particular, uh the events like uh outdoor events, the festivals and stuff, and I and I realized people didn't even know that we pay for those events, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:32

Yeah, most people who go to them, if they don't run a business, they don't realize that yeah, you have to pay to put up a booth. So you have to be able to sell enough to get that back first, and that's the hope. Exactly. Yeah before you even make anything.

SPEAKER_04 45:46

Exactly. You are already down. So for our events, the pricing for our events are different than the pricing for the storefront. Okay. Because we gotta make up for that money, right? Right. So that is what I do to kind of yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01 46:03

I never actually really thought about it that. Yeah, I knew that that I knew that the vendors pay to be at the events, yeah. But I never really thought that the price at the event would be actually different than the storefront price.

SPEAKER_04 46:12

Yeah, well, they should and those who don't, they're gonna then you're losing a lot of money, yeah. Right, because you have to make up for it. You have to make up for it. And some of these events, they're seven, eight hundred dollars. Yeah, you know, so it's a lot, yeah. It is a lot, crazy. So you have to you have to adjust your pricing to to make some money, and then of course, it's a festival too, so you have more employees out there. I mean, it's cost, cost, cost, cost, cost, right? But it's fun. Like, I love being out there, love doing it.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

So yeah, I was gonna say the the thing that I after having coffee, the thing that I really loved about your story is like you uh absolutely look like you just absolutely love what you're doing, regardless of the fact that prices change and there, you know, there's challenges and problems that come with running a business, but you love it. Yeah. Um, did you always love what you did, like even at Caesars? Because you have a you have a high energy about you.

SPEAKER_04 47:17

Yeah, if if you're not Caesars, I honestly, honestly enjoyed my job and and made a lot of connections out there. I really enjoyed it. And and here is the thing I always tell people, I mean, why are you gonna go to work? Because we spend a lot more time with our co-workers than we did with our families. Right. So you are there 10 hours, although you think you're awaken eight hours because you got how many breaks all in between. You might as well have fun. Have to have fun. And when you have fun, and that's the thing with the casino, it is an entertainment industry. Somebody's there, they've brought their hard-earned money to have fun, although they want to make money. But but at least let them have fun. And and I used to hear that go, oh, Julie always takes my money, but I have fun playing with her. Let them have fun. That's what we're there for, to entertain them. Yeah, you know, so I always had a ball. I always had a ball.

SPEAKER_01 48:16

That's interesting. Uh well, we're we're we're getting near near time. Um, before I ask my our final question, is there anything that you want to sort of tell anybody about where you are, what you do, where they can find you?

SPEAKER_04 48:30

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, so we are, I mean, Zuli Eats is on Howard Avenue, 2760 Howard, uh, which is right on Howard and Edinburgh. I mean, everybody goes to Devon Sharmall. And if you're on Howard, you cannot miss us. We are there, we are open Tuesdays to Fridays, 11 to 6 p.m., Saturday, 10 to 5, Sunday, noon to 5. You can also uh order online at zuleeat.ca. We are on Instagram, Facebook at ZuliEats. We are at festivals and events. Castle of the Nation is coming up, art in the park. Next weekend, we're at um Denver's Farmhouse. We're having a better chart festival. Gonna be it's crazy, it's gonna be fun. Um, Team Goran is having a Mother's Day market. We're gonna be there, which is all on May 9th, and also at the Downtown Farmers Market. We're at the market all season. Okay, all season, every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Um, another thing that I want your listeners to know if there are any um small businesses there that which is very, very important, and I always tell people, and you did mention it earlier, reaching out for help. You need a community. You need a community around you. You cannot do it, it is your business, but you cannot run it by yourself. You need people around you, you need help, you need mentors. So you have to make sure that you have your tribe. Sometimes I call it, you have to have your tribe. And um, and getting out there and going to networking events and giving back to the community. It is a community that is helping us grow our business, and we have to also give back by by being there, getting out there and doing all these things. So it's very, very important for that community.

SPEAKER_01 50:18

Yeah, I would agree 100%. Having having a tribe around you, having mentors, having people in your corner that you can turn to for help, ask questions, uh, is huge for any business. It is.

SPEAKER_03 50:30

It is.

SPEAKER_01 50:31

Um, no, I I I love that. And uh, I'm gonna have to come and try the food at some point.

SPEAKER_04 50:36

Yes, you should.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Yeah, I gotta I gotta make some time. Um, my schedule is just crazy.

SPEAKER_04 50:41

It's just crazy, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:42

Um, I'm sure yours is too, but um uh well, yeah. So final question. Uh so Chef Zulie, uh, we always end the podcast asking people, uh, what does success mean to you?

SPEAKER_04 50:56

To me, success. What it means to me is making my customer happy. Whatever we do, like you said, I said customer service is paramount, and and you mentioned that earlier, it's not about the money, it's taking care of our customers first, right? Building those relationships, the trust that can oh I just just this week. No, it's a new week, isn't it? Last week today's Monday, it's a Monday, last week, and this like it blew my mind. So we had we post we put a new item out. Um, I brought you some to try. So we posted it on Facebook, and so we're looking at the comments, and there was a comment that goes, start the car now. Like, so we're there the next day, the first day we brought it out. This woman shows up. He goes, hi, he goes, I came to see you guys. Like, oh hi. When was the last time you were here? I don't like to ask people, is this your first time here? Yeah, that is not good because sometimes we forget faces, correct, and you don't want that at all. When was the last time? He goes, that's my first time here, that's my first time in winter. I was like, Oh, where are you from? Probably thinking they say no, she was like, Oh, I'm I'm from London. I go, Oh, London? She goes, Oh, um, actually Woodstock. I go, Oh, Woodstock, it's even further. She goes, and I go and she goes, Yeah, I just came to see you guys. I came for that butter chat pie and to wish Jasmine, my daughter, was celebrating her birthday, and to wish a happy birthday. She came all the way from Woodstock. Wow. For us.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

That's gonna feel pretty good. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04 52:49

I'm like, what? Yeah, and it's somebody we've never met. Uh she says, I've been following you, I've been watching you guys. So we even build trust long distance without even knowing this person.

SPEAKER_03 53:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:06

So for us, our customers, number one. Number one. Yeah. So that is successful. That like taking care of your customer. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Yeah. If every customer gets taken care of, yeah, you would call the business a success. Very successful. No matter what. Yes. Yeah. I can get behind it. So yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where when you get to take care of your customer, uh, they're going to be your number one uh source of a referral of business of anything. Because if you you take care of them, they're gonna let people know. And word of mouth is better than any kind of paid advertising, marketing, you could name it.

SPEAKER_04 53:49

Tell people that it's still the number one. It's still number one.

SPEAKER_01 53:53

I can I love that. I can easily get behind that. Yeah, um, that's fantastic. Uh, is there anything else you want to mention before we wrap up?

SPEAKER_04 54:01

Oh, well, everybody have fun this summer, come to see us. We're all over. I mean, we're like follow us on Instagram and Facebook, you know where we're going to be because we're always somewhere. All right. Somewhere, and everybody have a safe and wonderful summer.

SPEAKER_02 54:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:16

And if you have an idea, don't sit on it. Don't sit on a small business center could help you from idea to whatever. So people should get out there and do, I mean, take chance. Take chance, take a chance. Take a chance. I mean, if you don't, you're just gonna sit in one spot. You gotta take a chance. And so some people go, hmm. I said, don't let your age stop you. I tell people, I go, this is a second career for me. Yeah, don't let your age stop you. Whatever it is that you think you want to do, you're passionate about do it. But you have to be very passionate about it, or else you're gonna you're gonna get stuck and stop halfway. You should really, really, really love it. Yeah, and do it. So yeah. Hopefully, people get out there and do it.

SPEAKER_01 55:00

I love that. I love ending on that. That's great. I mean, people need to take action, right? I mean, uh, sitting in one spot is not gonna get you anywhere farther. No, um, it's not gonna change your life, it's not gonna make things better. You gotta get out there and and do something different.

SPEAKER_04 55:13

And do something different. I said, I always say, you know what? We were made for more. We were made for more than what we think we're doing. We're made for more. So get out there and do it.

SPEAKER_01 55:23

I would 100% agree. Yes. Awesome. Well, Chef Sully, thank you very much for taking the time out of your day today to chat with me a little bit about what you got, what you got going on, how you built your business. Uh, and I think there's a lot of little success nuggets in there that people can take uh from this uh you know hour-long podcast because uh more people need to have the excitement and energy that you have and the passion, but they need to go do something about it. So I appreciate you coming in and chatting with me. Welcome. You're welcome. Thank you. Everybody, that's another episode of Cracking the Success Vault here with Spectre Group. Uh, as always, you can find us on all of your streaming platforms, whether it's uh, you know, Spotify, YouTube, uh, Apple Music, you name it, you know where to find us. Uh, until next time.