Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah & Nate Williams-Scalise
Hi Sarah & Nate, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Sarah was born in South Korea and adopted at 5 months old. She was raised in Upstate NY and attended Korean culture camps in the summers growing up. These were filled with other adopted South Korean kids and aspects of Korean culture including fan dancing, wearing hanboks, taekwondo, writing names in Hangul, and making mandu (Korean dumplings). Sarah continued her personal tradition of making mandu for friends throughout life – high school graduation, college roommates, work pals and eventually her co-workers at Local Works in Charleston, SC. By then, it was the fall of 2019 and after positive reviews, Sarah and Nate decided to start Sarah’s Dumps as their side business to their full-time jobs. When the pandemic hit, they shifted to a stoop drop delivery method. When businesses re-opened, they started partnering with local retail shops to carry the bags of frozen mandu. Today, they are in 9 retailers, 3 restaurants and offer dumpling-making and Korean BBQ classes. They continue to collaborate with other local businesses and brands with the continued purpose of celebrating adoption by introducing folks to Korean food, often for the first time.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest struggle is always the outside questions and pressure to grow. We started this business with the intention of keeping it small, local and special. We knew that the people who live and work in Charleston was becoming more diverse by the day and craved unique experiences and flavors. The more we could celebrate adoption and tie it into a food story, the more approachable both conversations seem to be. But at the end of the day, we want it to remain small and we’re constantly asked when folks will see our product in major retailers.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We give people a reason to gather, get creative, experience something new, keep their hands busy to foster deeper conversation, use the topic of adoption as an ice breaker, provide an easy weeknight dinner for a busy family of five, make someone chuckle with our name (that we’re very proud of and won’t change, by the way). Sometimes that’s through our frozen dumplings or a workshop. Sometimes that’s scrolling our Instagram feed or finding us in a Google search. We’ll always feel the most excitement when someone shares their story with us – adoption, pandemic stoop drops, dumpling-making with their family after our class, curiosity about Korean culture. It’s a daily honor to be in this food space in Charleston and it’s an honor to join folks at the dining room table or kitchen island by way of our dumps.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
We’re a pretty even split between risk-takers and risk-averse. Our business was never intended to be a “take the leap” journey and we’ve been extremely mindful and meticulous about each move from events to financials. Sarah continues to work a full-time job that she loves and despite what the podcasts and reels may tell you, take the time and steps you need. Maybe it won’t make for an exciting social media post, but it will make for a more successful business journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sarahsdumps.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahsdumps
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahsdumps
