Today we’d like to introduce you to Gloria Obayan.
Hi Gloria, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Between 2002 and 2003, when I was in college, I received a revelation from the Lord on catering food for African college students. I did not start then because of my school workload. The idea, however, kept coming back to me so I tried to nurture it by making food for individuals and families in my church community. Back then, I did this for free. A couple of years later, when my family moved to the DFW area in 2006, before I started working a full-time job as an auditor, I consulted with some experts on my restaurant idea, which discouraged me. However, I did not give up on the vision. Over the years, I kept revisiting the idea and also continued to do small-scale catering for my family and friends. July 2018 was a turning point for me because that’s when I officially decided to start Golden Hot Pot. Subsequently, we started looking for a location and found one later in 2018. And by December 1st, 2019, we officially opened the restaurant to the glory of God!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As the Bible says, in all things, give thanks. The journey has not been easy except for God’s help. .
Besides the negative impact of the coronavirus, I suddenly lost my dear husband after 30 years of marriage during the pandemic but not due to COVID. During that period, I actually had to close the restaurant for some time to mourn my husband. It’s only by the grace of God that I am still standing. However, these personal and professional challenges have made Golden Hot Pot into what it is today.
We’ve been impressed with Golden Hot Pot, 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?
Golden Hot Pot is an African restaurant based in Arlington, Texas. We serve authentic African food in a friendly atmosphere. Our mission is to serve timeless African cuisines with warmth and dignity and our vision is to give the world a taste of West Africa one pot at a time. Our services include dine-in, to-go, and catering. We are open Monday thru Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm. One thing that sets us apart from others is our core values of respect, integrity, consistency, hospitality, and excellence.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Two or three months after we started, the covid-19 pandemic greatly impacted the business in every way. With reduced sales, we could not afford an employee, and paying our overhead costs was a struggle. In fact, for almost three years, I was the only employee although my family was extremely supportive. Inadequate staffing in turn has greatly limited our growth because we simply cannot take as many orders and reach as many people as necessary.
A couple lessons I learned during the crisis was the following:
1. Minimize costs by reducing inventory and utilities cost management
2. Efficiency in food preparation and production (since I was the sole employee)
3. Taking customer feedback seriously
4. Social media marketing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goldenhotpot.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhotpots
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldenhotpot/
Image Credits
Dapsen Clement Photography
