 to our show. We're the voice for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where it's our aim to create an inclusive platform that celebrates diversity, fosters connection and amplifies the voice of our Latino business owners in Hawaii. My name is Barbara DeLuca, co-founder and president of the Hispanic Chamber and joining me today is my co-host Marisol Ruiz, our vice president and co-founder. Welcome Marisol. Hello, thank you so much for having me today. And today's episode is going to be straight out of husk more than just ono Mexican food. We have a special guest with us. Her name is Maden Luevano and she is straight out of Tijuana, straight out of LA. And more importantly, the owner of straight out of husk located in IEA. Maden is not only serving delicious Mexican food but also has a heart for the community. So we're going to share today about her restaurant, straight out of husk, her initiatives, aunties helping aunties and her recent trip to Maui. So welcome to the show Maden. Thank you for having me ladies. Hi, we love having you. We're so excited Maden. Thank you. Yeah, Marisol and I are our first time visiting straight out of husk. We just fell in love with the food. You can smell it as soon as you walk in. It smells like you're entering your grandmother's house, your nana's house, your wellita. She's ready to serve you. Can you tell us a little bit about your location and your hours? You know, even before we get into that, like how did you get into this business? Can you tell us a little bit about that? Give us, tell us all about Maden and your background and your journey and your passions. It's so fun to hear about you and your story. Okay, so obviously I was born in Tijuana. All my family's from Ensenada, Baja California. I lived with my grandma for a little bit in El Rancho in Ensenada and she had a little restaurant herself right there. And she always put us to cook when we were young. So that's where the learning came. But of course, came back to California, came here to Hawaii. The way I started actually selling tamales was my husband was deployed in 2015. And we had like fraudulent something going on with all our bank accounts. And I had no money. So I literally had like $75 to my name. We lived at the AMR housing right here. And so I just said, I'm going to make food and I'm going to sell it. I made tamales that day and walked around the neighborhood in the stroller with my baby and my kids. And that's how I started selling tamales at AMR. So from that day, everybody started ordering. They would just come to the house and we left 2017 to Oregon, continued selling tamales there from the house. I joined a little farmers market in Oregon and they sent us back with orders here 2019. And that's when I said like, I want to do something bigger. I was a stay at home mom. So I wanted to do something. My trade was, I was a radiologic technologist. So I've always worked in the medical field for years or 15 years. So when I got here, staying at the hotels, you know, how we were there for like a whole month, driving back and forth, dropping off Sam to his work and saying that Sam Island, I was like, man, there's a lot of homeless people like with families with kids. And I just started like buying a bunch of breakfast and on the way back to the hotel was just feeding people, feeding people. So at the hotel, my sister helped me come up with a name. I said, I want to start something. And she and I told her how aunties was a huge thing out of respect here, you know, and that's how aunties helping aunties came about. My sister helped me. It was literally like three o'clock in the morning because I was like, I want to open up something like I want the name I want to help me. So we came up with aunties helping aunties. Soon enough, I just started going and talking to families and they needed this and needed that. Just like simple hygiene products, clothing for their kids. That's when I realized that people here are not necessarily homeless in the street without a job. They're homeless in the streets with jobs. That's what opened my eyes to want to really get out there. And I was just, wow, you know, it's huge that, you know, it's the affordability factor that you have people that are working and they're still kind of for the whole home, housing, housing, yeah. Yes. So through doing that, I would get like, hey, this person needs something. We open up aunties helping aunties Facebook. People would reach out, there's a single mom here. She needs this. She needs formula. Like I was like the go-to person for a while. And we would join as a community because it wasn't just me, right? It was a community of ladies and just everybody here that would just pour out be like, this lady needs diapers. This lady needs clothing. And so that's how that happened. I got directed to go to IHS in town, Institute of Humane Society. And they did a tour. They did kind of like a sit down with me to let me know how I can help out because I really wanted to pour out. That year we were able to take a barbering school and get all the kids a haircut before they started school. Dunkin' donuts, donated donuts. I made tamales. Like just kind of like pouring out because it was very important for me for these kids to feel like, man, we are in this shelter but people care for us. Because like I said, their parents are actually going to work in the morning, but that is housing. Wow. Yeah, I was looking at your mission on aunties helping aunties on Instagram and it says that you want to help people that want to help themselves. So they want to help themselves because they're working. So, you know, it's important to create sustainable change rather than just offering temporary assistance. Correct. Yes. And especially like women. I like empowering women. That was my goal. But of course, like you can't just like venture out one way because then when you see somebody else in need, you're just like, you know, so that's how we started reaching out to other centers where like young ladies have gone through tragic, you know, backgrounds, things have happened to them and they allowed me to go and we would go in there celebrating their birthday. We would, you know, with a supervisor from the facility, we would go celebrate, take her on a shopping spree, lunch, makeovers. So kind of like that route too as well. So that, you know, like they also be empowering because they're young, they're going to venture out, get out of these shelters now because they're about to turn 18. Now they're going to be out in the streets, right? For a job. So, you know, you got to have that fresh haircut, some nice clothes. Yes. Right. And so I started strictly selling to help to earn money for that because I wasn't working. So just doing that and that's how Straight Out of Husk came about. I was working as a radiologic technologist at a facility in town then got laid off because of COVID and that's when we decided like you're not going to, I'm not going to go back. I'm just going to stay home and started doing the Straight Out of Husk in 2020, got the LLC. And the next step is to go to the workforce and try to start getting people to come to us and be like a stepping stone. You know what I mean to get them out there. So I'm in the process of doing that, getting all the legal things set so that I'm able to do that. There's like a training program, like an internship program where if they're interested in culinary or something like that, the military pays them and they work for you. You know what that is? I know what you're talking about. Like even my husband, before he retires, he applies for it. It's an application that I have to apply for and then they can come and do the work training through me. Yeah, it's been mentioned to me. I have to get certified for that. So yeah, my attention. But yeah, that's something great to consider, right? Because if that's something they might be interested in when they're transitioning out, right? And it's in culinary, it's like a win-win for everybody. It sounds like you're addressing a wide range of needs, you know, from haircuts to clothing to feeding and empowering individuals. So let's talk about your recent trip to Maui because your heart for the community comes across in your business. And I love, you know, your post that the day after the fires, you were getting all of your resources together and whatever husk you had, you're like, I'm just, I'm using all my ingredients, I'm making tamales and I'm going to go over to Maui and feed whoever needs help. Like, tell us about your trip. I got messaged through Instagram to reach out to Emma that was setting it all up with all the clothing and stuff. And I just reached out, I said, do you need help cooking? Do you need any help? She said, yeah. She asked, can I fly out on Friday? I didn't hesitate. I said, yeah, just tell me what flight to book. And as a Mexicana, I know the things that can go a long ways, like burritos, right? We know the legacy of a burrito and my husband right away went to Sinaloa to go get the masa, but they donated it, you know, they're like, no, take the 50 pounds of masa. And I fly to California to bring on my ingredients. So yeah, my tub of hojas, I was like, let's go, you know, I already had like a huge tub. So I was like, let's, let's do this. And again, you know, my friends came, joined, helped and make tamales. And yeah, when she said like, I said, can I take food? You know, and she's like, yeah, just load it up. So I was like, easy game on. And we started doing the tamales. And we took the burritos and, you know, out over there, we did the spam and potato burritos. So we did that. But I just couldn't not go, you know, when it comes to feeding people and annoying, like how tragic this was, it was just like, there's no thinking about it. There's no like, oh, let me let me check my calendar. You know, it's like, yeah, let's, let's just go, you know, and see where God leads us. So it was a really, really good experience, sad experience. But I was glad that I can go over there. And we were welcomed really nice, like everybody was really nice. But we had to search for the people because when we got there, it was like they were it seemed like a ghost town. But when we would be knocking on people's doors, then they would come out. And then like, you saw the community coming out, there was a food truck there feeding people. And then like, it was just like, let's go and just, you know, three, three young, beautiful ladies that live in Lahaina, they were loaded up with burritos and they would just run like two burritos here, three burritos here. They were just going peanut butter and jelly. They had warm meals. So we would like, drive and stop, drive and stop. And like, okay, let's go. Let's, let's serve everybody. You know, do you need water? And they had a flat bed. It was very organized for having the time that she had. I was so thankful that she allowed us to come for the ride, you know? Yeah, you mentioned as you were driving through the neighborhoods, you even came across families that were just displaced overnight, you have a home and the next thing the next night you have no home, no clothes on your back, nothing. And, you know, what they needed basic stuff like shelter, tents, blankets. They didn't have it. There was nothing out. Yeah, there was nothing out. But, you know, I, I was trying to be careful of the things I was posting. I did not want to come out trying to be distasteful and be like, look at what I'm doing. But unfortunately, when you're asking people to help you, they want to see. I mean, I kind of like did, you know, clips here and there, especially when they would be like, okay, you need to go do a run right now. And it's like, okay, let's go. You know, that's what I said. The very last hours, the lady said we need tents. So that's when we went and people started pouring out just sending money and we went across from about like what was it like eight or nine tenths, you know what I mean. So we were able to do that. And like I said, this has nothing to do with me. It's the love that everybody else pours out. Like that's what I want people to see. It's sometimes you could tell yourself, oh, I just can't help enough. What I'm going to help out, it's not enough. It is enough. It starts adding up. You know what I mean? So yeah, it was, I wish I could, you know, just keep doing more. And that's why we're going to have farmers. No, it's the Duke's car club. I will be there September 10 on Sunday. And we will be doing a fundraiser for Maui. That's great. That's great. We also have a fundraiser with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Like we're all doing our part. And since we are 501c3 nonprofit, we organized a fundraiser through GoFundMe. And it's called the Hawaii Business Relief Fund. And so far, we have $4,000 that we can use to help our brothers and sisters on Maui. It's not, it's not a lot. But you know what? It's it's building every day and it's something like every dollar counts. It does. It really does. And when you see the post, there's an Instagram page. I believe it's called. So the goal is to donate to just pick a family. You know, whatever it's going to be, I just want to, $500 can go a long ways to one person. You know what I mean? So that's the goal to just kind of go through that Instagram page and Venmo, Venmo family and let them get blessed. Right. So there's a family that I've been following, the Fuentes family. And it's the family that lost their boy, right? He was supposed to be 15 years old and they had his pretty and found his remains and carried him to a half mile down to the police station. Yes. It's just, it's tragedy. And we're here to help. And at the same time, we don't want to be bragging about what we're doing. But like you said, our our donors want us to share where the money's going. And since we are the Hispanic Chamber, we're looking at Hispanic owned businesses. And one of our members, his name is Jesus, he owns Amigos restaurant on Maui and has three locations. One of them was in Lahaina. So he lost his whole business there in Lahaina. And we also have another member. And his name is Kevin Block. He's an immigration attorney. And he's been boots on the ground at the Memorial Center, helping all of the the documented workers that lost all their documents in the fire. So he's working pro bono and with his staff interpreting and helping, you know, get the documents back. And you do have a, just real quick, we have a higher population of Latinos in Lahaina. There's 13,200 residents in Lahaina. So can you imagine how many people have been displaced? And of those 1800 of them are Latinos, which is, you know, 13%. So here on Oahu, we're 11%. They're 13% on Maui and Big Island. It's a higher population because of the service industry. We got to see a few. And when we, when we turned around to the park, I heard them speaking Spanish, and I said, turn around, let's go see if they need me to contact somebody like, you know, when we need, we didn't have no service. And they were saying like, man, they're offering us jobs, but they want me, they want us to leave our family behind. And they're at a park, like they don't have a home. And as I was there, I can hear him on the phone. And he's like, no, no, no in Spanish, like, like, no, I'm not going to leave my family behind. Like, where, where, how do you think I'm going to go? That's not an option. Yes. And it was so heartbreaking to hear how insensitive people are, you know what I mean? The reality of everybody in Lahaina, like, we will never understand it, only they know the reality, what they're experiencing, you know what I mean? So very, very tragic. And yeah, like you said, we're not here to brag, but we're here to, to bring awareness and to, to let people know, like, pour out, you know, pour out, even if it's $20 to put on these Venmos that are trusted Venmos, you know what I mean? I feel good to do that, to, to, to get in there and just be like, okay. And that was one of the Venmos that came up to me because of, you know, him being out right now, the Cifuentes family, right? Yeah, we did see that. So thank you. Thank you for sharing, Madan. And it's really inspiring too, because it's so easy. Like, we know it's next door, another island, and sometimes we get detached, right? It's next door, but it's still far away. So to be able to put yourself, you know, in somebody's shoes, helping them, you have children, you have a business, you have a husband, like that's a lot, right? And to be able to just kind of table that for a moment and just say, hey, I'm here selflessly is like, is really inspiring actually. So I appreciate you sharing that with us. And it's not bragging. I think it's wonderful. And there's so many people coming together to so many go fund these and Venmos and like you said, find a trusted source. And you can't go wrong wherever you donate, right? As long as it is a trusted source. Yes, exactly. Right. And speaking of children, 22% of the children that attend Lahaina public schools are Latino. That's that's a lot. Like 25% is one every four children. So just just sharing facts, but they're all they're all important. We're all one big family. We're all one ohana. We're all indigenous to our land. And we want to help everybody in the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is for Latinos and those who love us. I want to give a shout out to Hennessy's Market in Lahaina. A military spouse actually connected us. When I when we landed, I texted him, I was like, you know, in Spanish, you know, they told me to contact you, you have pots for tamales. And can I get them for me? Can I buy them? Because I need to warm up all these tamales. And he said, come on through, didn't charge me, but I went ahead and bought a bunch of supplies from him, supporting as well, right? Right. But such a good person, you girls should reach out to him. Hennessy will. In Lahaina. Like me. Yep. I also want to give a shout out to the Burrito Kid, Alex. Yes. So they had a fundraiser over the weekend and they raised $1,000 and I reached out to them and I shared our fundraiser and he donated $1,000 to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, our Hawaii Business Relief Fund. And so of course, we want to keep them updated on how the funds were applied. And yeah, 100% of everything, you know, goes to the victims. So, well, we also have, moving on, so sorry. How do I segue into this? You know, thank you for participating in the community. And we also have a community event coming up in October. Let's talk about that. It's the Latino Business Expo. It's going to be at Aloha Tower Marketplace October 7th. And we'll be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. And you can find mod in there with Straight Outta Husk. Why don't you tell us what you'll be serving? Tamales. You guys signed me up for tamales. Surprise, surprise. Yeah. So, strictly tamales, I will not be serving anything else. And of course, my horchata. And yeah, I'm going to have tamales de piña con elote, my famous chila relleno tamales, I pork tamales, and mole tamales. What? I never had a mole tamale. Like red mole? The chicken mole. Yeah, the brown one. Brown mole. Stop. I know I had your pineapple corn. I was like, what is this? And I was like, it's so good. So, Madden, let me ask you, so I'm excited you're going to be there. And when Barbara and I, you know, we were stalking you and went to your venue, can you tell us a little bit about like when you're open? Because, you know, I feel like it's limited, right? So we got to get there when we can. Tell us a little bit about that. And then do you have any plans of maybe extending or adding a day or, you know, share a little bit about that. Okay. So I just added Tuesdays. So Tuesdays, Friday, Saturdays. Tuesday, Saturdays, 11 to six. Fridays, 11 to four, because I have to prepare right for the next day. I'm thinking of opening for lunch. I want to test that out as soon as the girls open, go back to school. So I enrolled them in school. So I want to see how the 11 to like two works out. Right. The shopping center, that's the hype, you know, people go there at lunch and then it dies out. Where is it located? We're at the Waimalo shopping center across Best Buy. But we are literally inside the Palama market. Everybody's like, where are you? Where are you? We're working on a banner. So if you have anybody who does like banners or something, we want to put a banner up outside. We, you know, we don't have one yet. But yeah, we have a little takeout window outside. But everybody laughs because they're like Mexican food inside a Korean market. Even in LA, I went to LA to the fashion district and I'm buying clothes wholesale and they're Latino and they're speaking Korean and the Koreans are speaking Spanish. So you're going to like a little liquor store and there's like, you know, Korean and then in the back they're making shrimp cocktails. It's like that's how it is in Korea. Korean burritos is a thing. Yeah. But that's what I love about, you know, the people who are following me, they have either known me for a while, they're connected with me because of my personality and the one thing that is not going to lack is great customer service. Yeah. So it's made out of husk represents just that like, you're going to come in. I'm going to go greet you at the table. If I can, I'm going to throw you some goodies, some extra goodies. It's what I was taught, you know, it's a culture, like it's 283 square feet of just culture and good food, you know what I mean? Oh yeah, we're not exactly what she meant. Oh yeah, it's a vibe. I think Barbara wasn't Barbara there once like three times like in a day. We're open three days a week. So I mean, I think three times in one day, not three times a week. Oh, I was, that's right. I had to come back for something. I left it there on accident. Yeah. And on IG, that's where you can find straight out of husk and you have 9,202 followers. We just looked it up. So really quick. Can I just ask how did how did how did that name come about straight out of husk? My sister also helped me. Oh, she did also she's got a she's got a she's creative like that. I was like, I need to come up with a name. I don't want it to be like lupus tackles and I don't want to do that. So she was like, everything you do is out of the husk, you know, she's like, and then she's like, and your hood, so let's just straight out of husk. Like straight out of constant straight out of husk. I love it. You're so funny. And I was like, I like that straight out of husk, you know? So that's how that came about. And I love it. I love the name like I don't want to I have no regrets. Like I think it's awesome. Well, it's a fabulous name. Yeah, I love it. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you so much for joining us today. As we close out, we're going to just talk about some upcoming events. September 13. We have our next episode of Olat Yeloha by Think Tech Hawaii. Thank you for next Tuesday, September 12. That's going to be at Locahee Brewing. Locahee Brewing is located on King Street and it's a Latino owned brewery. Who would like, I love that we're so diverse and, you know, have businesses in different areas. So that's going to be from five to seven 30 upstairs in the loft. And as we mentioned earlier, we have our Latino Business Expo October 737. So come and then September 23 through the 26. Marisol and I will be in Orlando, Florida for the United States Hispanic Chamber National Conference. So we'll be doing a Think Tech Olat Yeloha from Florida during that time. I think it's the 27th. And what else? Oh, we have our annual membership meeting next Tuesday, September 12. That's going to be at Locahee Brewing. Locahee Brewing is located on King Street and it's a Latino owned brewery. Who would like, I love that we're so diverse and, you know, have businesses in different areas. So that's going to be from five to seven 30 upstairs in the loft. And as we mentioned earlier, we have our Latino Business Expo October 737. So come join us Latinos and those who love us, you guys. This is Barbara Olat Yeloha and Think Tech Hawaii. We've been talking with Martin Lee Juvenal at Straight Out of House. Thank you, Martin, for joining us today. Thank you, ladies for having me. Of course. Thank you. Thank you, Marisol, our co-host. And thank you to our viewers for joining us on Think Tech Hawaii. Adios, Yeloha, everybody. Adios.