We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Martinez-Combs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Hi Amanda , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
When I look back to when I was a child, I gravitated towards the active and hard working people of my family and my parents were on the top of this list. My dad was a loan officer and an official, no bull, cowboy…… PUNN INTENDED, who was very involved and dedicated to his community of Taos, New Mexico. He was always busy but he would still find time to take me to the arena to ride horses with him or go to a breakfast with him and his horse riding buddies. I truly enjoyed this time with him.
My parents were always great partners who were smart and hard working, innately they new to succeed they needed to work smart, so they invested in a few small rental properties in El Prado, New Mexico. The rentals were small but cozy and every time guests would leave, my family was the cleaning crew! I mean we cleaned the whole place from top to bottom.
I guess you can say work ethic wasn’t spoken about in our home, it was just a way of life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Amanda and my husband and I are gelatiers and cafe owners, and we truly I adore it. Being able to hand make a product for your customer that not only delicious but fascinating and different is fun and always strikes conversation. Solvang Flavors is a brand not easily forgotten because of our dedication and love of food and customer satisfaction…….our food is prepared fresh, our chocolates are local, our wine is clean, local and organic.
For me one of the most exciting parts is the endless possibility of creation when it comes to our gelato and food. But to start with gelato, I am now working with an executive chef to make a new gelato flavor for his restaurant involving citrus, colorful flowers that are edible, organic and local to the Santa Ynez Valley. Gelato is not just ice cream, it’s silky and smooth, it is heaven in your mouth! Lol
Our crepes are mouth watering and are savory or sweet! Some have brie, some have banana or strawberry. Our savory options are simple yet yummy, from proscuitto and mozzarella to chicken, feta and spinach. Yum, I hope the reader’s mouth’s are watering.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back on my journey the three skills and areas of knowledge that were impactful for me were the service jobs I had. I developed people skills, learned what quality and customer service were and how to incorporate them into my daily life.
Looking back, I would not have believed someone if they’d said, “You are totally going to own a gelato cafe and you’re going to be making the gelato to boot!”
I would have said yeah right?
One thing that is for sure is that my past skills really helped me in this journey, you never know what life has in store for you.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
As a food establishment we know it is important to keep things innovative, fresh and fun, we are making a few changes to our menu! We have also expanded our reach by featured on the menu at Terra restaurant, located in the Steward Hotel in Santa Barbara
Contact Info:
- Website: https://solvangflavors.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solvangflavors/?hl=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/solvang-flavors-solvang-2
Image Credits
These photos were taken by us.
