Meet Luchal LUCAS | CHEF/OWNER LUCHALS CATERING

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luchal LUCAS and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luchal, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started Luchals the vision was to bring something different to Colorado, When I was stationed here back in 2015 the food scene was scarce. There was food but it wasn’t that diverse, my goal was to provide sustainable food that people could recognize but change the style of how we do it. I also wanted the stability and freedom to create more and break barriers for generations to come.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets Luchals apart from others is that we are not strictly soul food, I believe a lot of the times we get confused with being a Soul Food restuarant as we do have Greens, Fried fish and other items that may be deemed soul food. We also get the misconception that we are Creole restaurant which are big shoes to fill as well. We love all of those concepts but we ultimately want to cater to the needs of the people, we want you to take whatever essence from it that makes you feel nostalgic. We conceptually want seafood to be the baseline but we truly want to do it in our own way and I feel that breaks barriers within itself as people are used to things a certain way but we are trying to curve that idea and get you to think outside the box.

I got to where I am through hard work and dedication, like I’ve mentioned in previous stories we were blessed with meeting great people whom at the time wanted us to thrive so they gave us an outlet to do so and through this we pushed and surpassed what was and is still to me unimaginable. This road was not easy and there is still a fight everyday to prove your skill and worthiness to people but the fight must continue even through adversity. I didn’t wake up at 3am Monday-Friday to drive to Boulder and attend culinary school to back down under pressure now. The biggest lesson for me this season is that no matter what still make it happen! When you have 10 eyes looking at you to figure it out you realize that its not about you. It is about all of the people that work to keep this ship sailing, its about all of the guest that greet you with smiles even when the ship is rocky but it prepares you to fight another day.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First thing is ensuring my guys and gals are looking there best! Need a fresh cut? Looking for a stylist in the city?

Dear Madame Walker LTD (All stylist)
Ace Of Fadez (Barber)
JP Stylez (Stylist)
Kinfolk Salon & Spa (All Stylist)

Drinks-

Street Car 520 (Go see Winn for the best drinks)
Dos Santos
Bonnie & Reed
Cork & Cast
D11
Shame & Regret
Chiba Bar

Food-

Ambli Global Cuisine
TEPEX ( FOOD TRUCK)
Mateos Catering
Club Tilt
Rollup Food Truck
Roc N Roll Sushi
Spice Island Grill
Bone Fish Grill
503w
Lucky Dumpling
Rickys Island Cafe
Piglatin Cocina

If your looking to relax Garden Of The Gods Resort is my go to! great amenities very beautiful scenery. Kinship Landing Is another beautiful new spot Downtown that has a refreshing ambiance and great staff. We would definitely go hiking and do some scenic driving around town as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We have had so many people support us during this long and agonizing time. Where do I start? My team was dedicated to insuring our quality did not diminish there were times when we could have taken different routes with our food and changing it up was one of the big questions since seafood is expensive and food cost went up during the shut downs but our team came up with ways to improvise and keep our standards as high as it could be during that time. Our team took major pay-cuts some only seeing $200 on a check due to hours that we could not give but yet they stayed and continued to work through out this whole thing and even as I say this it gives me chills and I become teary eyed because it could be so different. I just want to thank them for everything they do day in and day out.

We definitely could not keep going without the support of our guest (customers). I remember when we moved into our new building on Tejon (Coati Uprise) and they gave us the news that we would be closed only able to fulfill take out orders and curbside . We were crushed because we had already seen a dip once the mask were placed in affect which scared many from dining out initially. The first day we closed we received so many orders and small messages from people who wanted to see us still thrive. Though we weren’t doing mass numbers we were still able to keep all of our staff employed during this time and for that we can not say thank you enough!

Coati Team- Thank you for giving us a platform and continuing to keep the vision going! We were blessed to be apart of this space and appreciate all of the help and guidance that was made available to us during this tough session. It was definitely hard but you made it feel easy to push through daily.

Meagan Thomas (Springs Native) This young lady was a blessing in disguise! When she contacted us about the Rally For Restaurants program that she put together with Pikes Peak United Way I was floored. Not only were they helping restaurants but they were also helping our industry professionals. This defiantly helped our staff with payment protection and kept us able to buy supplies needed at the time, Thank you so much Meagan for thinking about others at a time of uncertainty for all.

Mackenzie Maltby ( Colorado SBDC)- Such a beautiful soul! She reached out to us during the winter for the Bundle Up Campaign. This campaign was to help drive more awareness to small businesses that were affected by the events of
CO-VID19. I met with Tina Joiner who was an awesome Photographer and we gave our background and had our story featured. This really helped with food truck sales and the overall discovery of our business to different parts of Colorado and we are truly grateful for that.

Roll Up Foodtruck- We had a time when there was no where for us to set up but our friends over at RollUp gave us there space to continue to do what we love! We truly appreciate you

Naitisha Laurel & Joe Laurel – To use the word support is a understatement Mrs. Laurel has shared almost every post and pushed our brand daily. Her husband supported the coat drive last year by supplying over 50 coats for kids that were underprivileged. These are angels that no matter what they will be there or support in any way that they can. We are grateful for you!

Ari Knaup- Support your neighbors emotionally and physically! She and her team without a doubt have come to our aid when we last expected it. Thank you for the talks, thank you for the supplies just thank you for welcoming us with open arms and being a good person.

Friends & Family- To all of my friends and family that have been here during this hard time, the words of hope and encouragement have been replayed in my brain daily. These fruits are priceless and I am forever thankful.
Kelli Cierra ( Dear Madame Walker LTD), Chagol Buhl
(Melanin Monroe) Tedosha Sims (Tedosha Sims), Janet Perrault (JP Stylez), Cashmyr Scott (Chloe Maddison Skin & Micro Blading)
My mother gave me so much wisdom and hope for tomorrow, I cried like a baby but the overall question was what am I going to do about it? Her words helped me gather more strength to endure what I thought was the worst to come.
My husband was my rock during this time, I suffer from anxiety and other things that make it hard for me on a day to day and as CO-VID19 got worse so did I. TJ talked, coached, and lead our family even when it seemed to be worst for us but he came at all of its with a different approach, I love you dearly.

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Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/luchal-lucas

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