What did you envision yourself pursuing professionally as a child/young adult? I envisioned myself traveling and being able to see all parts of the world. I didn’t know what I was going to be, but always knew I’d figure something out. My parents owned a small Chinese restaurant where we all had to chip in to help at a young age. When I was going to college, I still went back between classes to help my parents with the lunch rush.
How did you end up in Nashville? After living in Vegas for 20 years, I didn’t want to raise our 2 young kids there anymore, so I decided it was time for a change. I’ve always loved Nashville when I traveled for work, so I talked my husband into it. Luckily, after months of planning, I was able to transfer with my job to Nashville. My husband came up, spent a couple of days with our realtor, looked at over 40 homes, and picked Mount Juliet to be our home.
Tell us about Aloha Fish Co.’s origin story and what made you want to start this business. It didn’t start off as a business. I was just wanting better Sashimi and Poké after living in Tennessee for a year. My cousin in Hawaii joked and said he could ship me fish, but I’d have to order 80 lbs of it. When the pandemic hit, I got furloughed from my job because no one was traveling or having meetings/events, so we decided that this could be something we could do since we didn’t know what was going to happen. So we started the business from the ground up and with the power of social media and word of mouth, we’re still shipping fish weekly from Hawaii to Tennessee. Since no one was traveling or eating out, I wanted families to have high-quality seafood in the comfort of their own homes.
What makes the fish from Hawaii unique (compared to the Gulf Coast or New England, for example)? We carry seafood from the Pacific, Northeast, and Northwest, so I’ll get oysters from Washington or Maine and Halibut from Nova Scotia, aside from the fish from Hawaii. Our best seller is the Ora King Salmon from New Zealand. It’s the best-tasting salmon you’ll have. You can eat these items raw since they are caught just days before shipping to Tennessee. The temperature of the water is a lot colder in the Pacific, Northeast, and Northwest, so the species taste a lot different. Popular varieties we carry from Hawaii are Ahi, Ono (Wahoo), Opah (Moonfish), Monchong (Sickle Pomfret), and Shutome (Hawaiian Swordfish).
What has been your favorite part of the journey so far? What have you learned and what have you found to be the most rewarding? My favorite part is working with my husband and creating this business together, seeing the business grow, having a vision, tweaking it, continuing dreaming, and seeing it unfold. The most rewarding thing is seeing people’s faces when they taste our food, texts/photos of dishes people made at home, and how happy they are to have this product.
What drives your passion for business? Creating a business for our family and being able to bring joy to seafood lovers in a landlocked state. We also offer sushi classes because we want you to learn how to make it at home. My husband will teach you how to cook something if you’re unsure – we love empowering you in the kitchen. When it’s fresh, you’ll get a quick, healthy meal within minutes!
How has the recent disaster in Hawaii affected you? My aunt lives on the other side of the island on Maui, so no immediate family was affected, but you can’t help but feel the sadness. We have customers who have families there, so through the business, we’ve been doing a few campaigns to help Maui. It’s going to be a long journey.
Jennifer is the daughter of hardworking Chinese refugees, who moved to Hawaii to give her and her two younger siblings a better life. Jennifer and her brothers were raised in a small, 800-square-foot apartment (where her parents still reside). Growing up in Hawaii, she was surrounded by many Asian cultures with a strong sense of community. After graduating from the University of Hawaii, Jennifer got an internship with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and began her career. In 2019, she moved to the Nashville area and opened the Aloha Fish Co. with her husband, Jerry. Jennifer and Jerry currently reside in Mount Juliet, where they are simultaneously growing their business and raising their two children. Growing up in Hawaii, hospitality has always been a part of Jennifer’s story – and now, she carries that tradition to Nashville, where she’s expanded southern hospitality to include a little taste of Hawaii.