Hometown Hustler: Cara Haltiwanger of Calabama

Meet our Hometown Hustler this week⁠—Cara Haltiwanger of Calabama!

Photo: Via Calabama

What did owners do before jumping into own business?

I was a bartender before learning to cook professionally then was doing both jobs simultaneously for a while.

When was the business founded? 

I started cooking professionally in 2009 and by 2010 was ready to work for myself. I branched out into catering and then eventually my own pop-up restaurant.

A little bit of why you started your company:

It came from a desire to want I work for myself and be a bigger part of my community.

What do you offer?

My pop up’s are specifically the breakfast sandwich and hot sauce only. That's the entire menu. But for catering/private events, I do anything the client wants; with my speciality being fried chicken dinners and biscuits.

What happened during the pandemic? How did you pivot? 

The pandemic created a space for me to get creative and keep my business going. I had just started to gain traction with my breakfast sandwich when the pandemic hit. So I came up with my bucket and pulley idea to lower sandwiches from my 4th story fire escape.

Upcoming @Calabama pop-ups:

5/8 Smorgasburg DTLA

5/15 Smorgasburg DTLA

5/21-5/22 EaaaatsCon at the Santa Monica Barker Hangar 

More from Calabama here!


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