Seniors start catering business open to all students

On-campus catering

When their economics teacher Kim Anzalone assigned seniors Brian Vo and Jesse Yung a project to put together a business proposal earlier in the semester, they not only completed the assignment but also decided to put it into action. The two started a catering business in mid-October where they retrieve lunches from outside restaurants to deliver to students on campus for a small fee.

Vo and Yung have eaten off campus since last year, but they thought it would be more interesting going to unusual restaurants to buy lunch this year. When their friends spotted them with their new lunches like pho noodles from Pho Saigon and Vietnamese sandwiches from Lee’s Sandwiches, they soon the pair to bring back food for their friends, which inspired their idea of starting a business.

“What really pushed us over the edge to make our adventures into a business was our Econ teacher, Mrs. Anzalone,” said Yung. “She gave us a big project to build a hypothetical business, and Brian and I thought that this was a chance to really put our service out there.”

Anzalone had her students put together a business proposal to present in front of the class where their classmates would decide whether their business would be successful or not.

Currently, Vo and Yung are trying to think of more restaurants that would catch the interest of new customers, but at the moment they regularly go to the conveniently close Pho Saigon, a cozy Vietnamese restaurant and Lee’s Sandwiches, a shop that offers a variety of sandwiches, every Tuesday and Thursday. However, if they decide to order from a place farther away, like In N’ Out, they notify their customers about the chance of eating in third period.

The pair places the orders during break so the food is easy to retrieve during lunch. Charging an extra dollar per customer, the pair tries to collect money before lunch; however, if they are unable to, customers pay when receiving their lunch.

“If business gets better, as we hope it will, then we might be willing to deliver maybe five days a week,” said Yung.

Even with business just starting up, the two earned a total $25 in their first week, the week of Oct. 18.

Although they are not certain if they will have regular customers, since they have just started for the year, Vo and Yung are “hoping to build good relationships with our customers in order to encourage them to let us deliver their food for them.”