Today we’d like to introduce you to Oscar Rodriguez.
Oscar, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I Oscar Rodriguez started my culinary journey at the age of 14 washing dishes at a local diner. Here I would work throughout all of high school as a dishwasher for a short period of time before becoming a line cook at the age of 15. Here I learned the fundamentals of the kitchen and the ins and outs of becoming an efficient chef. After high school I attended the University of Utah where I pursued degrees in both political science and economics. During this pursuit I worked full time as a chef in downtown Salt Lake City in order to sustain myself. At this point in my life I had aspirations of becoming an attorney and also worked as a law clerk at a small firm. In my work here I was able to first hand witness a number of business transactions and quickly developed a love for business. During my final year of college I decided to drop out and team up with my family to open a breakfast restaurant and combine my two passions, cooking and business. Since then we have been in business for over 5 years and have 2 locations with more on the way.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been an easy road to say the least. We struggled to find a space to operate out of and once we did lease negotiations were difficult. We came to an agreement with our landlords on Jan 1 of 2020 and opened Scrambled Layton on March 7. 10 days later everything came to a halt. The COVID 19 pandemic forced us to close our doors to dine in customers for the next 3 months. For many this would have been the end for us however it only forced us to further improve on our business model. Being fortunate enough to lease a space with a drive thru we were able to sustain ourselves during these difficult months. During this time of doubt we were able to really nail down our business model as well as develop a new set of regular customers. It was not an easy first year but thanks to the loyalty of our amazing customers and team members we were able to thrive even in these conditions.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Scrambled is a fast casual breakfast and lunch diner located in the Wasatch front. We have two locations, one in Layton Utah and the other in Ogden Utah. At Scrambled we specialize in fresh, fast, flexible meals. What this means is that we make each meal fresh to order using original house recipes. We offer dine in, take out, online order as well as drive thru options where it comes to ordering. What makes us unique is that we go at the pace of the customer. Whether they only have 15 minutes to spare or an hour we make sure their wants and needs are taken care of. These attributes paired with amazing coffee makes for an incredible experience for our customers. We have been serving Daily Rise Roasting Companies products since day one and will continue to serve them long into the future. If you are looking for a flavorful, fast and unique concept Scrambled is the space for you.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My mother Claudia Flores deserves more credit than anyone else. She always wanted a restaurant of her own and motivated me to find a way to make it happen. Without her Scrambled wouldn’t exist. Scrambled is a family business however so both my father and sister also work diligently to keep the restaurant in top tier shape. I have had many mentors throughout the years and each has played a vital part in shaping how I pursue business today. The biggest supporters however have been the surrounding community. They kept us in business when all seemed hopeless and have continued their loyalty to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.scrambledut.com
- Instagram: scrambledut
- Facebook: scrambledut
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/scrambled-layton
