Utterly Delicious Georgian Staple

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mariia Tarasova, co-founder of Skalka, located in Seattle, WA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

How important is it to start your day with a delicious breakfast? Get filled with happy thoughts and good vibes. Dive into the fresh hot bread and cheese, topped with an egg yolk to feel the comfort of homemade breakfast.

Skalka is the place where you can be introduced to something new that you've never tried before and will love to experience more. We keep our menu simple: a variety of authentic Georgian Khachapuri with a breakfast twist. Beautifully paired combo of melty cheese with fillings – your next food experience that you'll never forget!

Rip off the crust, scoop that bread into buttery cheese, pop the egg yolk and mix it with the filling. Enjoy the deliciousness of the rich, surprisingly good combination on top of the fresh hot bread.

Tell us about yourself

Skalka restaurant was started in Seattle Downtown in late 2019 by two immigrants from Georgia and Russia who were on a mission to prove that authentic Eastern-European food should taste delicious and look phenomenal.

In Skalka, we make only one dish named Khachapuri, and we do it right. Khachapuri is widely popular across Eastern Europe. In our chef hometown in Adjara, Georgia millions of tourists and locals spend hours waiting for freshly baked Khachapuri, delicious boat-shaped pizza-like cheese bread.

"Skalka" is a Russian word, which stands for a simple tool present in every bakery around the world. That name was chosen to emphasize that simplicity is at the core of what we do. The essence of Georgian and Russian cuisine is to use the most well-known simple, highest quality natural ingredients and use cooking techniques that got perfected from generation to generation over hundreds of years to bring out outstanding flavor combinations.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We are proud that so many people in the Seattle area now know what Georgian Khachapuri is!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing is to be able to find a balance between business and family(we have two little children).

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Make a plan. Life can change in a moment(especially these times), but you need to have a plan B in case something go wrong.
Be flexible. The law of nature says that you must be able to change if you want to survive. This applies to your business too, because you need to change if something happens. Like it was in the COVID times, companies that reacted immediately didn't die.
Bring some love to your craft. Usually, the business we admire the most is where founders really love what they do. It is their passion. Do not follow the hype if that thing doesn't fit you completely.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.skalkaseattle.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skalkacafe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skalkacafe/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skalkacafe

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.