Meet Gamaliel Cardona | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gamaliel Cardona and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gamaliel, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We wanted (Luis & Gamaliel) to start this business mainly because Louisville has no Puerto Rican restaurants or food trucks. We began by making food for a few people to have an idea of what they said was working and what was not. We did that for a couple of months until we figured out what worked. After a couple of months, we raised enough money to buy a trailer; from there, the rest is history. Also, besides bringing Puerto Rican food to Louisville, we wanted to bring something unique, which in this case is our “tripleta”. A “tripleta” is a very popular sandwich you can find anywhere on the streets of Puerto Rico. The name “tripleta” comes from the fact that three types of meat are put inside a super soft bread called “pan sobao” which transforms into a delicious sandwich. You can find this big sandwich only with us. You can customize it with up to five different meats: chicken, bacon, ham, ground beef, and pork.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Besides bringing Puerto Rican food to Louisville, what sets us apart from others is how we treat our customers. For us, customer service is our top priority. We do our best to bring the best service to our customers that we can provide. We are proud of everything we have done together as a team. From knowing very little about this topic to creating and managing our own small business. We are proud of how much we have improved in our first months. No matter the difficult moments, everyone on our team always came up with the idea that solved our problem. Getting where we are today was not easy at all. It took us a couple of years to make things right and overcome every challenge. Every challenge allowed us to grow and work with one word, patience. Patience has been vital because we know that not everything will go our way constantly. We have learned how to listen to one another. As I mentioned, everyone from our team has a voice, which has worked for us. We want the world to know that it does not matter how long the ride is. Just take it a step at a time. That is how our story began, doing things at the right time without rushing anything. Everything will work if you are dedicated and focused.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Louisville is a small city, but it has incredible things to do. Of course, you cannot go wrong with the Louisville Slugger Museum, Churchill Downs, cross one of the Four Bridges and eat pizza at Parlour, and definitely, experience bourbon, which there is something called the Bourbon Trail that you can really enjoy. I will also suggest going to the Mammoth Cave, it is extraordinary, and anyone will love this. Louisville has tons of places to eat, so there’s no particular place you need to go. However, among our favorite places, you have Mojito in Havana, Taco City, Silvio’s Italian Restaurant, Jake & Elwoods, Lobby Bar & Grill at The Brown Hotel, The Post, and many other delicious places that will probably take more than a page.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We wouldn’t be able to have the success we’ve had without the support of our families. Our parents, wives, and friends have been incredibly supportive since day one. When we talked to our family about wanting to start a business, they were the first ones who supported us. We had the opportunity to talk to many people in the food industry and received their advice on what to do and not to do. Because of that, we collected ideas and put them together into what the business is today. Without their knowledge and experience, we wouldn’t have been able to make this. Last but not least important, the customers that have become friends with us. We have been lucky enough to meet many awesome people, who today we can call friends. Our customers have been the key to our success.

Website: www.mrgpleta.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mr.g.pleta

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mr.g.pleta/

Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/mr-g-pleta-louisville?osq=Mr.+G-pleta

Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdCEFwAo/