Mantis
Mantis is a concept that was developed over the course of owner Sean's career in hospitality. It is mainly focused around Ramen, kaarage, Baos & gyoza. The ramen is rich, warm and often spicy, the baos are big and full of flavour, not like most baos which can be quite minimal and dainty & the kaarage is by far the best in York. Their menu is already almost 50% Vegan and they are looking to add more vegan dishes in the near future.
Q&A
Mantis founder Sean Hyde!
How did you get the idea for your business?
Mantis has been a concept I've had for a few years now. I have always cooked Asian food and more recently improved my skills and ventured deeper into Japanese cuisine. Where the idea came from exactly I couldn’t tell you haha. I think I did a Google search for cool Japanese words and Kamakiri/Mantis was one of them!
What's the first thing you did to bring that idea to life?
I created a draft menu, filled out the form on the Spark website. Had a meeting with Tom a week or so later then sat on the idea for almost a year then mid 2022 got in touch with Tom again then started in November!
What's the best part of running your own business? What's the hardest?
The best part mainly is the creative freedom and space to be able to run things the way I want, it's been a very freeing experience and completely life changing. The hardest part is customer service, it’s something I've generally not had a lot of experience in, but recently it's become a lot more natural.
What would you say to someone considering starting their own business?
Mantis is still very much in its early stages, but my advice simply put is work on a concept, make sure it's as solid and as easy as possible, save and save more, and get as much help as you can.
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