How One Independent Operator Found Success in a Crowded Market

A second-generation restaurateur serves up culinary diversity.

Some people take decades to find their place in the restaurant industry, but Mandee Lew was born into it.

Lew operates Mix Stix Asian Fusion, a small, mostly takeout restaurant in Soledad, a small town off U.S. Highway 101 in California’s Salinas Valley, two hours south of San Francisco. Lew officially opened Mix Stix in November 2021, but she practically grew up in kitchens alongside her father, godfather, and uncle—who all owned restaurants—as well as many other family members.

“When my dad immigrated from China in the late 1980s, he worked in grocery stores as a meat worker,” Lew says. “Eventually he became business partners with my godfather, and they opened a Chinese buffet. It was an epic failure, but they never stopped trying.”

Eventually the duo found their stride and opened several successful restaurants in and around Modesto. In the meantime, her uncle opened a Japanese restaurant where Lew worked as a server, keenly observing the resident chefs master the art of rolling sushi.

“Sometimes life requires you to take a leap of faith. Even if you feel scared or discouraged, you still have to go for it.”

“I ate sushi for six months straight when I worked there,” Lew said. “My uncle and the other sushi chefs made their own special rolls that they created based on things they learned from their travels to Japan and customer requests. Our menu development process was to ask for input and then just keep adding and tweaking until we thought it tasted good.”

After many requests from customers, Lew’s father decided to open a fusion concept where customers could order both Japanese and Chinese dishes under one roof. When her parents decided to pursue another opportunity, Lew took over the restaurant in November 2021. Soledad—a small town of about 25,000 people—is an ideal location for a first-time restaurateur to get her feet wet, particularly in today’s off-premises dining heavy atmosphere.

“Because my restaurant is very small, dine-in is limited,” Lew says. “We can’t accommodate company dinners or large gatherings. It’s mainly to-go orders, and we offer walk-in, call-in, and online ordering. We have a very small staff, so we rely on delivery apps.”

Like her restaurateur relatives, Lew’s menu development strategy is a group effort. As a millennial with many foodie friends, Lew and her cohort enjoy eating out and are always on the lookout for the latest food trends. She also gets ideas from her friends’ multicultural backgrounds.

“Every culture has its perks in terms of food, and America is a big melting pot,” Lew says. “Having a fusion restaurant means that I can be creative and provide the best of both worlds.”

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It also means that she can offer up something unique in the local food scene. Soledad is a predominantly Hispanic community with farms, wineries, and lots of seasonal workers. Naturally, many local restaurants serve Mexican and South American food to a clientele who crave a taste of home—but everyone wants something different sometimes.

For example, the “Dream Girl” sushi roll features tempura shrimp, avocado, and deep-fried crab; while the “Lion King” boasts crab, salmon, and avocado baked in a special house sauce. The Walnut Shrimp roll (tempura shrimp, cucumber, and crab topped with avocado, honey walnuts, and unagi sauce), is a clever play on a classic Chinese dish, and a dedicated sushi appetizer menu invites guests to share a healthy snack to start their meal. Chinese menu items run the gamut from fried rice, chow mein and classic poultry, pork, seafood, and beef dishes to a few expected surprises like salt-and-pepper calamari and braised tofu.

Like any good, hands-on small business owner, Lew looks for several specific qualities in her staff members—mainly good communication skills, a respectful attitude, and a willingness to work hard.

“For front-of-house staff, attentiveness is very important. You want someone who anticipates guests’ needs. For example, if someone’s drink is getting low, they proactively refill it, or if a guest is in a hurry, they drop the check with the food.”

Kitchen staff is more skilled work, but, Lew says, she doesn’t expect chefs to come in with the specific skills needed at Mix Stix. Instead, she is willing to invest time training prospects who seem like a good fit.

“I don’t expect people to come in with all the skills, but you do need someone who wants to learn,” Lew says. “When you work with people and teach them, you have to be patient, show grace, and give constructive criticism. A lot of my servers are young, just out of high school and it’s their first job. Good or bad, I hope they get something from their time here that they can use in their next jobs.”

Because of its size, Mix Stix’s tech stack isn’t terribly complicated. Its most important business tool is the POS system, which automatically translates orders from English into Chinese for her mother and great-uncle, who are the primary chefs and whose first language is Chinese. She also leans on a strong partnership with American Express, which supports Merchants year-round through the Shop Small Resource Hub where small business owners have access to complimentary marketing supplies and resources; Amex Offers for Merchants for services ranging from technology to shipping solutions; a new, dedicated Small Business Saturday page from Business Class, featuring insights, tips, and inspiration; and more.

“We have lots of travelers passing through the area for agricultural work, so we take most forms of payments,” Lew says. “Our customers are happy to be able to use their American Express^® cards.”

This is Lew’s first solo restaurant endeavor, but maybe not her last. Like her father and godfather who kept experimenting until they found their business stride, Lew is a calculated risk taker.

“If I’ve learned anything from the restaurant business, it’s to not be afraid to try—and fail. A part of me never wanted to open a restaurant, but I also wanted to own a business and make something of myself. Sometimes life requires you to take a leap of faith. Even if you feel scared or discouraged, you still have to go for it.”

For more information, visit americanexpress.com/business-solutions.