Growth comes to small businesses in a market with room for diversity
by ALTHEA ENGMAN Journal Staff
Putting your imagination and dedication to the test is a common trend in small businesses in Guam that seek to offer the market new ideas.
Daddy Shane Raging Cajun is not only a catchy name but is one of the newest food trucks on island, specializing in infused Cajun flavors from America and Asia. The Daddy Shane Raging Cajun pop up at the Dededo Flea Market. Photo Courtesy of Shane Castro
Shane Castro, owner of Daddy Shane Raging Cajun, said the business came about during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, when people were online, watching videos on their phones and following trends on Tik Tok.
Castro had seafood boil videos popping up on his Instagram feed. He said he and his family “started looking up ingredients that were most common with seafood boils and from there we started incorporating our own, based on taste.
“During the same time, we created our Cajun butter to enhance the Cajun flavors based on our Cajun seasoning from the boil.”
After cooking for his family and friends, word got around. Castro said “People kept asking if we could make it for gatherings and it got so out of hand that the thought of starting a business crossed my mind but [we] never acted on it, until May of 2022.”
Castro and his wife, Jade Castro, decided to purchase a food truck and “once the truck was purchased there was no turning back,” he said.
Fast forward to today, Castro and his family can successfully say “they made a craving into what is now known as Daddy Shane Raging Cajun '' he said.
The food truck celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 31.
Daddy Shane Raging Cajun serves shrimp boil, prawn rolls, loaded seafood egg rolls, jalapeño lemonade, and the newest addition, Cajun ramen. The food items range from $9 to $27.
Castro told the Journal, “Customers should expect new items being added to the menu soon.”
Daddy Shane Raging Cajun can be found on Tuesdays at the Dededo farmers market from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. or until sold out, and customers can order through Quick Bites delivery service.
For more information, visit Instagram page @daddy_shane_s.
The Manang Pika storyboard featured at its restaurant location at the ITC building. Photo by Althea Engman
From selling homemade denanche hot sauce during the pandemic, siblings and co-owners Jessica Aninzo and Justin Aninzo expanded to the grand opening of Manang Pika restaurant at the ITC building in Tamuning on Jan. 27.
The pair grew the business from selling denanche to selling birria tacos and then to a food truck with lines that wrapped around the area, to opening a restaurant within a span of three years. Manang Pika can now be found in the ITC building in Tamuning.
Known now for its birria tacos, the demand has been high since the limited food truck schedule only allowed the food truck to be open on certain nights. Jessica Aninzo told the Journal that, “Customers constantly asked when we would open up a restaurant.”
After spending about 600 nights selling more than 200,000 tacos, she and her brother saved up enough to start the process of making a restaurant possible.
Aninzo said that “like most new businesses there were a few difficulties along the way delaying the original opening date.” That did not stop them, especially with “the help of trustworthy employees who managed the food truck as my brother and I focused on the restaurant,” she said. Fast forward to January, the Manang Pika restaurant is open and will continue to sell its fan favorite birria tacos and new birria items such birria fries, birria quesadillas, birria bowls and burritos as well as a Filipino favorite, sisig.
Food items range from $7 to $18.
Their goal for this new year is “to open a second location by the end of the year in the Tumon area to target the tourist market,” Aninzo said. She said the food truck will continue operations eventually. “But the focus now is the restaurant.”
For more information visit Instagram page @manangpika.
International brands, particularly those familiar to tourists, are also drawn to Guam.
Ediya Coffee is located at the Micronesia Mall.
Ediya coffee, a coffeehouse and chain based in Korea has called the Micronesia Mall its new home.
With more than 2000 locations in Korea, Guam is its first international location.
Ediya coffee was first projected to open at the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam according to the Yonhap News Agency, but instead opened at the mall in December.
Moon Chang-ki, chairman of Ediya Coffee said in early January the opening was “the first year of our full-fledged overseas expansion. We will open our first overseas location in Guam and promote the Ediya coffee brand abroad,” according to The Korean Economic Daily. “The company hopes the Guam store will serve as a steppingstone to entering the U.S. market, where it has recently started selling its instant coffee products,” the paper said.
Drinks can range from $3 to $8.
Ediya Coffee sells espresso coffee, shakes, bubbly tea, milk beverages, fruit tea, and Korean traditional tea and only available in Guam, flavored Kombu energy drinks.
A second Jollibee is due to open at the Agana Shopping Center Photo by Althea Engman After a break of some years, Jollibee reopened at the Micronesia Mall in 2019. Now the Heavenly Foods, the franchise holder, is due to open a second store in Guam at the Agana Shopping Center. Michael Klepp, consultant for the shopping center and retail operations said, “We are pleased to welcome Jollibee as a new tenant in 2024. The new building is bringing a great refresh to this corner of our center and will provide an exciting new offering to our customers.” mbj
