Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Cuevas.
Hi Jon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
After my oldest daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, almost 10 years ago, it flipped our lifestyle around. I loved cooking, baking, and creating recipes, so I began experimenting with gluten free cooking and converting all my recipes to be celiac safe so my daughter could enjoy everything. With a stigma surrounding gluten free, I became determined to make amazing gluten free food so you could not tell the difference.
A certain inquiry quickly became quite common in our home, “Daddy can you make…?”, as my children requested me to make different foods they would see everywhere. Thus, I started a YouTube channel called DaddyCanYouMake as a fun little project to spread the love of my cooking adventures to others outside my own family. (I have since neglected the Youtube channel due to the demands of my day job and the Chicken Boy food trailer and restaurant)
I had developed a fried chicken recipe, inspired from years of travelling the country for work and becoming a “foodie”; so my gluten free fried chicken was an indulgence immediately loved by the entire family, friends, and everyone we shared it with! This recipe was to be my first episode on youtube, but I held back as the family encouraged us to do something more with it.
I began exploring ideas and putting together a rough business plan. However, not being a risk taker, with little idea on what I was doing, this process was slow and difficult. Then covid hit and sadly, put a stop to everything. It was not until a year or two later that my younger brother, Jared, became employed in a business internship down in Texas. He managed several small food businesses and doubled revenue within weeks. This experience sparked the confidence needed to do something on his own. “I can do this,” he thought.
At the conclusion of his internship he immediately came to me with the idea to use the recipe and spearhead the charge to do something with fried chicken. I told him “of course, but I’d still like to be part of it.” I hoped to ensure that whatever was done, the food would stay as close to how it was served in my home from the very beginning, like a home cooked meal.
This conversation occurred about 2 ½ weeks before the Gluten Free World Expo in 2023. Jared had the crazy idea to get a booth and debut at this event to promote this rough concept. At this time we didn’t have a registered business, no business name, and no funding. We hadn’t even sold a single piece of chicken up to this point. No one knew who we were – we merely had an idea and simple dream to do something. Yet, everything came together very, very quickly.
Looking back I’m amazed at what can happen when you’re under pressure. Two weeks before the event, we quickly brainstormed and came up with a name. My brother drew the logo and set up social media. We planned to do chicken nuggets as samples so I dipped into savings to secure a booth, get necessary registrations, and purchase supplies and materials. We all slept very little the weekend of the event, marinating and breading over 3000 plus chicken nuggets. It was a miracle we were able to cook that many in this small deep fryer we got from Walmart, and my own home fryer as backup.
We did not know what to expect, but the booth drew huge crowds and became a resounding success. Thus birthed Chicken Boy. The first Gluten and dairy free fried chicken trailer in Utah. It gave both of us the confidence and drive to move forward. Jared acquired a small trailer and began building it out on his own to save money. With us very tight on funds, a dear friend loaned us enough to finish the trailer and also get the equipment we needed to open.
At the beginning of May 2024, we launched the trailer by the front runner station in American Fork, filling a void for delicious celiac-friendly comfort food. We ran mainly on weekends, Friday and Saturday, dinner service only. Even being parked out at an “out of the way” location, we sold out nearly every weekend. After running successfully for about 8 months, we had to shut down for the cold season. To add to the challenges, the commercial kitchen we had been working out of became increasingly unsafe to the possibilities of cross contamination for our core allergy sensitive customer base.
We began searching immediately for a new location wherein we could operate safely. As an example of Jared’s initiative, he found a place that was closed but had no contact information. He eventually found details in a public registry and contacted the landlord by knocking on their door. Who had the gumption to come to your house asking about a commercial kitchen? Needless to say they were surprised as Jared asked about their building and if the location was for lease. His tenacity made an impression, and thus began the connection with our current landlords. They showed us a different building that was not ready for our needs at the time and we continued searching.
We learned quickly that it’s difficult as a small startup to find a suitable location competing against organizations with much deeper pockets. Our journey was arduous and at times outright discouraging. Eventually things came full circle and the original location opened up to us. Through hard work, stubbornness, and many small miracles, things eventually came together; and with the help of family, my parents and generous cousin, specifically, and a gracious community, we scraped together the funds to secure and establish our current location in Provo.
As we were not unaccustomed to pressure, we set an extremely tight timeline of 2 months to remodel the restaurant and prepare for a grand opening. With the assistance of family and good friends we worked tirelessly day after day to build the restaurant into what it is today. Since that time, the response has been amazing and we are sincerely grateful for our hardcore fans and the continually growing fanbase. To the present, we are feeling all the stresses and growing pains of a new and aspiring restaurant. It’s tough. But what started as an endeavour of love for my daughter, which now includes my other daughter and wife with celiac disease, has extended to the broader community. To serve those in the community challenged with varying allergies, and those without alike, makes it all worth it.
My brother Jared’s dedication and hard work to realize this vision cannot go unrecognized. If it were not for his drive, I’d still be cooking comfortably in my kitchen at home. Chicken Boy is Jared, and the restaurant embodies his kind and welcoming personality. And at risk of sounding cheesy, we truly believe that food brings people together. This idea is at our core, engrained in Jared and I from our latin heritage. Our aim is to offer this same experience, as though our customers were coming over to my house to eat a home cooked meal, made with fresh, quality ingredients, made with love. So despite any human differences, hopefully we can all at least agree that the food is good.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been anything but smooth. From the beginning, we’ve had to find ways to stretch out the money and figure out where we can get the necessary funds for such an endeavour.
Additionally, a number of things come to mind:
We struggled finding a commercial kitchen that could accommodate our strict allergy needs to avoid cross contamination. Eventually it got to the point where we halted operations as we did not feel safe enough in our shared kitchen environment. Despite our strenuous efforts, the risk was too high for potential cross contamination. This, however, led to our drive for our own kitchen space despite not having a lot of capital.
Serious familial health challenges brought a lot of stress and operational hardships behind the scenes.
Our truck used to tow the trailer broke down several times, incurring additional debt and delays.
Securing a new location proved difficult as we did not have a lot of funds and other companies with deeper pockets seemed to always win out.
More of a self-imposed challenge – I work as a personal trainer in the mornings, and a software engineer during the day, and then work on Chicken Boy in the evenings. Needless to say, this makes for very busy days and challenges in my schedule.
Ensuring that the food quality is kept consistently to the highest standard has proved to be one of the key struggles.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a software engineer by profession for the past 23 years. Though I enjoy the work developing, my passion truly is music. I play the piano and guitar, program synthesizers, and I love to create and compose music ranging from electronic, folk, ballads, gospel, to classical. My dream work would be to create soundtracks for film and video games. I have written music for my own youtube, streamers, and others, and look for opportunities to do more in the future. For now I am focused on my own compositions.
At one point I was an aspiring ultra-runner, however, due to health complications my path took a turn into nutrition and personal fitness. Overcoming health trials and many injuries and found myself paying it forward and helping and training others with their health and personal fitness.
On the side I love cooking and baking and coming up with new recipes. I’ve watched many, many chef and cooking shows yet never imagined I would co-own my own restaurant. It is very surreal. What sets me apart – I am a very determined person and will stubbornly figure out a way, whatever it is.
Jared, is a Marine veteran of 8 years. He left a military career, struggling with back and knee injuries, to pursue an education in business. He is an amazing artist and has utilized his skills to bring the business to life. He finds a solution to any challenge faced with the drive of “adapt and overcome”. Jared also has a natural ability to relate to others, make them feel comfortable, and bring a smile to their face.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Christmas gatherings with family. Every year we would rent out a building and gather as a family to socialize and eat really good food. My grandparents were both amazing cooks and bakers, as are their children, and I loved eating their food and being with family. And the end when everyone was stuffed we would play a huge game of dodgeball.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chickenboy.us
- Instagram: chicken_boy_ut
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093380840150
- Other: https://www.findmeglutenfree.com/biz/chicken-boy/6559140255760384
