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ST. GEORGE —From making 300 pies of their dwelling kitchen to serving recent fruit kabobs on the Tremendous Bowl, this St. George enterprise might have began small, however they’re doing it huge.
“For the final 12 years, we’ve executed this 24/7,” Todd Mizukawa stated about Kabob Shack. “The enterprise has allowed us to be round for our kids’s adolescence and given us the liberty to do issues that many individuals don’t have the chance to do.”
Kabob Shack is a specialised meals stand that options 4 flagship merchandise: recent strawberries and bananas on a skewer, strawberry brownie bites on a skewer with drizzled white and milk chocolate, frozen cheesecake on a stick drizzled with chocolate and apple blossoms with caramel, white chocolate and nuts.
Stacia Mizukawa, who initially began Kabob Shack in 2007, stated her Greek mother and father have been entrepreneurs who owned a number of eating places. At age 13, she and her household moved to Arizona the place her dad added a gyro sandwich stand to his checklist of meals companies.
After her mother and father divorced, Mizukawa’s mother determined to begin her personal meals enterprise. Because the household sat down and mentioned meals enterprise sorts, they got here up with the joint thought of a recent tackle kabobs.
Her mother started her kabob enterprise first, then she and her sister adopted. Whereas their particular person companies present the identical meals, they every have their very own territories – her mother covers Colorado, Arkansas and components of Texas, her sister covers Arizona and Kabob Shack covers “the whole lot else.”
Mizukawa stated she didn’t comply with in her household’s footprints instantly. After seven years of working 70-plus hours every week as a financial institution supervisor whereas taking good care of two younger children at dwelling, she and her husband filed for divorce. With a purpose to focus extra on spending time together with her children, she stop the banking trade in 2007 and commenced bringing Kabob Shack to particular occasions full-time.
“It actually began out as desperation,” Muzukawa stated about beginning the enterprise. “I actually don’t know the way it labored out as a result of on paper it mustn’t have labored out. I’d prefer to say it was an enormous success in a single day, but it surely wasn’t.”
A 12 months after she began her enterprise, she met her now-husband, Todd Mizukawa, who was the president of worldwide gross sales for a corporation in Orem. His profession required him to journey all around the nation three weeks a month.
When the couple married in 2008, he moved to Arizona to start their new life collectively. The transfer meant leaving an ideal profession throughout the recession and he was unable to seek out employment upon arrival. On the weekends, he helped his spouse together with her kabob enterprise, attending native festivals and festivals.
“We simply thought, OK, properly, we’ll simply maintain doing extra of no matter I’m doing, as a result of that’ll pay extra payments till he discovered one thing,” Stacia Mizukawa stated. “So, I’m considering, it’s a method to an finish, proper?”
As a two-person workforce, they have been capable of develop Kabob Shack and increase to attending festivals and occasions in different states. Starting with motor speedways in California and Las Vegas, every occasion led them to greater alternatives.
They bought their kabob treats on the Arizona Coyotes hockey enviornment, which led them to their first Kentucky Derby. The derby led to their first NFL stadium expertise with the Arizona Cardinals – a contract that included the Last 4 and even the Tremendous Bowl. The Cardinals’ contract additionally led to serving on the Phoenix Suns NBA video games.
Exterior the Cardinals’ enviornment contract, Todd Mizukawa stated the NFL additionally employed Kabob Shack for his or her official tailgate social gathering. Star attendees included NFL gamers and their wives, brokers and extra. The couple stated that the “NFL actually is aware of easy methods to throw a celebration,” and it was in contrast to something they’d seen earlier than. Kabob Shack has been on the 2015 and 2016 Tremendous Bowl, and also will be on the upcoming 2023 Tremendous Bowl in February.
The couple moved to St. George six years in the past and has been seen at many native festivals such because the Washington County Honest, the St. George Artwork Pageant, the Kanab Balloons and Tunes Roundup and the Dixie Energy Kite Pageant.
“It’s really been a exceptional journey,” Stacia Mizukawa stated. “I by no means would have thought 15 years in the past after I began this that I’d be doing this longer than till I acquired married once more. However anybody that is aware of me is aware of I can’t be stagnant.”
Todd Mizukawa stated proudly owning and working Kabob Shack has afforded them the uncommon alternative to incorporate their children of their enterprise, taking them on journeys all around the nation which can be equal components enjoyable and play, reminiscent of staying further days to go to Disneyland whereas in California. They’re proud to point out their children the entrepreneurial life-style and instill a powerful work ethic.
“We inform our children management will not be about what you get, it’s about what you possibly can empower others to get, so if our enterprise is ready to empower others to seek out monetary freedom, then we take a look at it that means,” Stacia Mizukawa stated about copy-cat companies which have since come to market.
Kabob Shack is a seasonal enterprise, which permits the couple to dive into different food-related tasks. Stacia’s Kitchen, a enterprise Stacia Mizukawa additionally began in Arizona, gives home-cooked meals and baked treats.
By means of Stacia’s Kitchen, the couple now bakes desserts from scratch in mass portions, reminiscent of specialty pies for Thanksgiving. They bought virtually 300 pies final season with choices reminiscent of strawberry, french silk, banana cream, pumpkin and blueberry. Stacia’s Kitchen additionally gives catering for company occasions, weddings, retirement events and extra.
“We have now by no means marketed a little bit of it,” Todd Mizukawa stated about Stacia’s Kitchen. “And but, we’ve got individuals contacting us left and proper. Fairly loopy. It’s all been phrase of mouth.”
The couple’s success, nonetheless, has not come with out trials. Simply as they have been about to do their first occasion of the season in March 2019, COVID caught. As previous occasions continued to be canceled, they started to panic in regards to the monetary toll it may tackle their household. The couple every took part-time jobs as a method of economic help throughout the two-year pandemic shutdowns.
Getting inventive in determined instances, Stacia Mizukawa stated the couple additionally did many off-the-wall food-related aspect companies. Whereas watching the information in the future, she noticed a restaurant proprietor with entry to meals suppliers flip their restaurant right into a grocery retailer and was immediately impressed.
With entry to their very own meals suppliers, she was capable of top off on a lot of substances that have been in brief provide to most of the people.
“I drove to Vegas, loaded up my automobile,” she stated. “I believe I had 400 kilos of beans, like, it was loopy. The again of my automobile was weighed down from the quantity I introduced again. Our ideas have been: Who can we assist? What can we do? What expertise do we’ve got? What can we contribute to assist different individuals get via?”
The Mizukawa household arrange tables and used luggage to repackage gadgets reminiscent of flour, beans and yeast and commenced promoting them to the group. Stacia’s Kitchen was additionally capable of supply freezer meals for households to help within the meals scarcity.
“None of our success has come with out struggles, however the perfect half is that we get to do it collectively,” Todd Mizukawa stated.
For extra data on Kabob Shack, discover them on Fb. To order straight from their dwelling kitchen or inquire about catering choices, go to Stacia’s Kitchen on Instagram or Fb.
Picture Gallery
The Kabob Shack meals stand is proven, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Strawberry and Banana kabobs from Kabob Shack are proven, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa
Strawberry and Banana kabobs from Kabob Shack are proven, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa
The Kabob Shack sales space is lit up as fireworks are seen overhead, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa
Strawberry and Banana kabobs from Kabob Shack are proven, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa
A Valentine’s Day rose and strawberry bouquet from Stacia’s Kitchen is proven, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa pose collectively throughout the NFL tailgate social gathering, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Todd Mizukawa, St. George Information
Stacia and Todd Mizukawa pose collectively contained in the Arizona Cardinals stadium, Glendale, Arizona, date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Stacia Mizukawa smiles on the Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Kentucky, date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd Mizukawa takes a photograph on the Tremendous Bowl tailgate social gathering, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa pose collectively of their kitchen, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2022 | Picture by Jessi Bang, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa take household images throughout a flour combat, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa pose collectively of their kitchen, St. George, Utah, Sept. 8, 2022 | Picture by Jessi Bang, St. George Information
Stacia Mizukawa smiles for a photograph together with her dad, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa pose collectively at Tremendous Bowl 50, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Stacia and Todd Mizukawa pose collectively throughout an occasion, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
Todd and Stacia Mizukawa take a photograph throughout a Kabob Shack occasion, location and date unspecified | Picture courtesy of Stacia Mizukawa, St. George Information
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