On September 9th, 2020, we had the privilege to open our first KLADO micro-retail store in Jersey City, New Jersey!
Jesse and I searched for the perfect storefront for over two years. We had actually started to give up hope. Every space we found was either too large (500+ sq feet) or too expensive, and in many cases both! So in order to make our dreams come true, we had to get creative. Instead of finding one space where we could make and sell our Brigadeiros, we decided to separate both operations.
First, we focused our efforts in finding a place where we could exclusively produce our Brigadeiros. We found a manageable space in the outskirts of Hoboken and we stood up a dedicated brigadeiro kitchen from the ground up! There the Klado Lab was born! Then, it was on to part 2 of the plan - Retail.
Many people thought we were insane to pursue retail. Some even said, “Let me see them make a million dollars” before they think about a store. Others said, “We’re spinning our wheels.” However, the one thing they all failed to do was ask us “Why?” The answer to this simple question, would shed light on our plan for KLADO!
In the food industry, it’s nearly impossible to survive as merely an e-commerce retailer. This is even more difficult for a novelty product, such as ours. Jesse and I knew that in order to expand KLADO’s reach we needed a place where people could come and try our Brigadeiros. A place where they could experience KLADO. A tiny, nostalgic place that would awaken our customers' curiosity. We wanted to create something new with KLADO and be the pioneer in micro-retail.
We searched for KLADO’s first micro-retail for months and a good portion of this time was in the middle of COVID. With COVID, the stakes became higher, since we’d be opening our first retail in the middle of a pandemic. A pandemic that has plagued the world and affected millions. While many small businesses are closing their doors, we'd be opening ours. It's a big gamble. A big risk. I began to doubt our plan. Should we really move forward with our store? And the answer was, “Yes!”
Life has never been easy for me. It’s been full of difficulties, obstacles and naysayers. There was no reason why growing my business would be any different. So, after a lot of soul searching, Jesse and I signed our first retail lease and began working on transforming our 10ft x 5ft space into the face of KLADO.
After numerous long and arduous hours, we were ready to open our doors on September 9th, 2020.
Join us in celebrating KLADO’s major milestone, through our ribbon cutting! Here's a snippet of this celebratory event!