Tantay
Jose Aste
Ascend is a comprehensive 6-month accelerator program that empowers, refines, enhances, and scales Black businesses. It offers individualized business assessments, customized workplan development, and one-on-one technical assistance.
My name is Jose Aste. I was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Miami, Florida. I have been living in the greater Lansing area since 2013 with my wife Melissa, and two children, Nelly and August.
My professional background began in aviation as a licensed Aircraft Technician/Avionics Technician. During my thirteen years in the Aerospace industry, I have worked in commercial airlines, avionics facilities, general aviation, corporate jets, and as lab instructor here at Lansing Community College of Aviation Technology.
Having the privilege of growing up in a melting pot of cultures and peoples in Miami, I have always been genuinely interested in human beings and the communities I have been a part of, always learning and submersing myself in different perspectives.
Apart from my love for airplanes, and people, I have always loved my Peruvian heritage and culture. The delicious Peruvian food my parents would cook on a daily basis, plus the effect it would have on our family and friends, would have me daydreaming of one day having my own little food truck where people would gather.
This dream set into reality in the summer of 2019, when I first started Tantay, here in Lansing. Mid-Michigan’s first Peruvian cuisine concept.
Since then, Tantay has systematically grown from Allen Neighborhood Center’s Incubator kitchen, accelerator kitchen, food truck, and soon into our first brick and mortar space.
What inspired you to start a business?
After looking into Lansing’s delicious food options, I noticed there was not anything that represented Peruvian cuisine. This void in the market sparked my first interest in starting a food business.
My experience in the aviation industry that strictly follows regulations, processes, systems, to provide safety at all times, gave me the skills and knowledge to continue to think about building a business.
Adding these aspects with my love for community, representation, gave me the confidence to open my business, always putting my teammates and people involved, first. This core understanding gave me the confidence to lead my teammates, which is very important to me, and important in a food industry that literally wouldn’t work without human beings.
What is your vision for the future of your business?
In a post pandemic world, my vision for Tantay is to become a hybrid food service model. One that offers on premise experiences as well as off premise experiences through our food truck and catering capabilities.
Our vision is to do so, while incorporating the diverse community we have here in Lansing. Sourcing from local farms, building a diverse team, and providing mentorship for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
What goals do you hope the Ascend program will help you achieve?
My goal for Tantay is to become a successful food service model. One that is sustainable in the future food industry. The future of the food industry includes higher labor costs, higher food costs, sustainability (resource optimization), and digitalization of our brands.
It is paramount that I form a business model around higher wages(employee retention), supply chain adaptability(sourcing from local/regional food systems), and intentional marketing that is native to our communities.