Photos by Ralph Freso
There’s comfort food.
And then there’s rescue food.
Nineteen people were lined up before Tate Yamashita even opened his Island Munchies station at a recent student market on the Quad.
Yamashita, a native of Oahu, Hawaii, has provided a cure for Grand Canyon University students from Hawaii and the Pacific Rim who might be missing home, like he was. His goal: to satiate their stomachs and minds.
“Once I got here, I got homesick. I thought that was due mostly to the food, because, in Hawaii, we have a lot of cultural food. We don’t have that here,” said Yamashita, a senior majoring in business administration.
So he started to make food for his friends and took his venture for a test drive, selling snacks in student markets, which gained traction.
Welcome Week provided a spark, as Island Munchies served customers at six campus events.
In addition to church and private events, “We’re here serving at least five or six events a month on campus,” Yamashita said during an IDEA Club Marketplace in November at the Colangelo College of Business courtyard.
At the same time, he has not forgotten his Hawaiian roots. He donated a portion of his profits to those affected by the Maui fires in August and has partnered with clubs while trying to establish a working relationship with the Asian American and Pacific Islander clubs.
“We want to try and integrate the culture with other clubs trying to do the same thing,” Yamashita said. “We all have the same goal. We might as well help each other out.”
And it is not just helping those from Hawaii.
“We try to rotate our menu based on other islands, as well. We’ve (addressed) the Philippines. We’ve done Japan. We’ve done other islands, taken their cuisine and integrated it into here.
“Everyone gets homesick, and we’re trying to learn the authentic ways of cooking and bring the actual cultural experience to students.”
Sofia Rico, a physical therapy major from Clovis, New Mexico, was one of the first customers at the IDEA Marketplace event.
“You need to have a part of your culture here or anywhere you go,” said Rico, who liked everything on the Munchies’ menu.
Sandy Bran, a nursing student from Palmdale, California, said the Spam Musubis “is a classic for me.”
While growing up in Hawaii, Yamashita was assigned to bring his family’s dish to potluck events. As the son of Japanese and Chinese parents, he had a firm cooking base. But cooking for a larger and more diverse audience forced him to learn more cultural dishes.
He said he sticks to homestyle cooking while not getting too fancy.
“It’s just a lot easier when someone makes it for you,” Yamashita said. “You get the experience.”
He said he handles virtually all the cooking, which limits his menu, and has gone from taking 10 hours to prepare 75 to 100 dishes to three hours and producing 300 to 400.
“My pride and joy is making that process efficient so that we can serve as many people as possible,” Yamashita said.
The success of Island Munchies has caught the attention of Robert Vera, founding director of Canyon Ventures.
“He’s doing amazing work,” Vera said. “The point is that we have kids doing real business – pricing, selling, accounting, delivery, preparing. They're doing real business.”
And the opportunity to capitalize on an untapped market seems realistic after meeting so many students and University employees from Hawaii and other Pacific islands.
“As far as cultural food, we don't have anything good on campus,” Yamashita said. “So people are just like fiending to find something new ... something different is always good.”
Yamashita’s cooking skills are supplemented by the promotional skills of his girlfriend, Jeileen Iyoki, a senior graphic design major. Iyoki designed the business’ logo, and, according to Yamashita, possesses a knack for remembering customers’ names and their orders.
“We know what they’re going to order,” Yamashita said. “We know them. We build relationships with the customers because, once again, culture is about socializing, building connections. That’s what we’re trying to do, make it more than just food.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
***
Related content:
GCU News: Tribute to stricken cousin sparks winning product at Canyon Challenge
