{"id":24778,"date":"2018-11-26T16:40:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T21:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpstartinc.org\/?p=24778"},"modified":"2025-02-08T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T19:49:28","slug":"five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","title":{"rendered":"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.melendezcatering.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Melendez Catering Services<\/a> was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose, in 2010. Over the past eight years, Chef Jose has expanded his menu to feature more elaborate Caribbean-style modern cuisine by taking American classic dishes and reinventing them with a Latin touch.<\/p>\n<p>Jose\u00a0is also a part of\u202f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jumpstartinc.org\/services\/corecity\/\">JumpStart\u2019s Core City: Cleveland Impact Program<\/a>, an intensive business assistance program designed to support the development and growth of businesses located within Cleveland\u2019s core neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe class=\"lazyload\" title=\"Core City: Cleveland Impact Program - Melendez Catering Services, LLC\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%27675%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201200%20675%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271200%27%20height%3D%27675%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2M8GNhxlxrk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>We recently sat down with\u00a0Jose\u00a0to discuss how\u00a0he got started,\u00a0what makes his\u00a0business unique and how the Impact Program has\u00a0helped him along the way.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>1. What\u00a0inspired\u00a0you to create your business and what separates you from your competition?<\/h3>\n<p>I was actually\u00a0homeless\u00a0and I needed to get an apartment, so I turned to what I know, which is food.\u00a0So\u00a0in a way, food saved my life. And, since we are the only caterers providing this type of Latin-infused cuisine in Northeast Ohio, so that makes us stand out from the competition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>2. How did you get connected with the Core City: Cleveland\u00a0program<\/h3>\n<p>I was a\u00a0semi-finalist\u00a0for Cleveland Chain Reaction and after my presentation, some of the team members thought I would be a great fit for cohort six of the Core City: Cleveland Impact Program.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3. How has the program helped you so far? What have been the biggest takeaways?<\/h3>\n<p>Connecting with JumpStart overall has been a great experience for my business. I thought I knew a lot, but when I came here, I realized there was a lot more that I didn\u2019t know about. They have helped put me in a position where I can take my business to the next level.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>4. What do you think is the most important thing Core City: Cleveland offers to entrepreneurs?<\/h3>\n<p>Overall, I think the most important thing is the amount of help and knowledge it offers to help take your business to the next level. The amount of knowledge that JumpStart gives to the businesses. It\u2019s truly impressive.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>5. What are your\u00a0future plans\u00a0for your business?<\/h3>\n<p>Right\u00a0now\u00a0the business is still young, but by next year, we hope to have our own storefront\/restaurant and in the next five years, I want to be the one high-end Latino restaurant that everyone has been searching for here in Northeast Ohio.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Learn more about Melendez Catering Services, LLC at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.melendezcatering.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">melendezcatering.com<\/a>. Then, come watch Jose pitch his business live on December 5 for a chance to win up to $10,000 at the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #67c1de;\"><a style=\"color: #67c1de;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/core-city-cleveland-entrepreneur-showcase-tickets-52267864590\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Core City Cleveland Entrepreneur Showcase<\/a><\/span>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose, in 2010. Over the past eight years, Chef Jose has expanded his menu to feature more elaborate Caribbean-style modern cuisine by taking American classic dishes and reinventing them with a Latin touch. Jose\u00a0is also a part of\u202fJumpStart\u2019s Core City: Cleveland Impact Program, an intensive business assistance program designed to support the development and growth of businesses located within Cleveland\u2019s core neighborhoods. We recently sat down with\u00a0Jose\u00a0to discuss how\u00a0he got started,\u00a0what makes his\u00a0business unique and how the Impact Program has\u00a0helped him along the way. &nbsp; 1. What\u00a0inspired\u00a0you to create your business and what separates you from your competition? I was actually\u00a0homeless\u00a0and I needed to get an apartment, so I turned to what I know, which is food.\u00a0So\u00a0in a way, food saved my life. And, since we are the only caterers providing this type of Latin-infused cuisine in Northeast Ohio, so that makes us stand out from the competition. &nbsp; 2. How did you get connected with the Core City: Cleveland\u00a0program I was a\u00a0semi-finalist\u00a0for Cleveland Chain Reaction and after my presentation, some of the team members thought I would be a great fit for cohort six of the Core City:  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-small-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC - JumpStart Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JumpStart Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-26T21:40:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-08T19:49:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/melendez.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"668\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"marketingteam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jumpstartinc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/melendez.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"marketingteam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc\",\"name\":\"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC - JumpStart Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-26T21:40:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-08T19:49:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39760a765b1389e2c5e4750632023574\"},\"description\":\"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/\",\"name\":\"JumpStart Inc.\",\"description\":\"We help entrepreneurs grow.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39760a765b1389e2c5e4750632023574\",\"name\":\"marketingteam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"marketingteam\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/author\/marketingteam\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC - JumpStart Inc.","description":"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC","og_description":"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.","og_url":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","og_site_name":"JumpStart Inc.","article_published_time":"2018-11-26T21:40:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-08T19:49:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":668,"height":440,"url":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/melendez.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"marketingteam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.jumpstartinc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/melendez.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"marketingteam","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","url":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc","name":"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC - JumpStart Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-11-26T21:40:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-08T19:49:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39760a765b1389e2c5e4750632023574"},"description":"Melendez Catering Services was founded by the Melendez brothers, Omar and Jose Miguel, in 2010.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/small-business\/five-questions-with-jose-melendez-executive-chef-of-melendez-catering-services-llc#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Five Questions With Jose Melendez, Executive Chef Of Melendez Catering Services, LLC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/","name":"JumpStart Inc.","description":"We help entrepreneurs grow.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/39760a765b1389e2c5e4750632023574","name":"marketingteam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"marketingteam"},"url":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/author\/marketingteam"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53731,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24778\/revisions\/53731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jumpstartinc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}