Mama Macho; a powerful start in Rotterdam.

Catering and hospitality businesses are hit hard by the corona crisis. Yet, entrepreneur Carlo van Ast’s Mexican takeaway restaurant Macho Mama is thriving. Last year, his plan to start the restaurant got fast tracked. He opened a pop-up store from his cafe in Dordrecht. In mid-January he started a new venue in Rotterdam. Now, the business is winning over the hearts and stomages of Rotterdam by preparing streetfood in a sustainable way.

The venue is hard to ignore. Graffiti in bright colors greet you at the Macho Mama building on the Willem Ruyslaan. The choice for Kralingen was a conscious one. Of course, many students live in the district. For them Mexican food is now on the take-out menu. There are a surprising amount of healthy choices for a fast food restaurant. Not only with regard to the fresh ingredients, the packaging is also a healthy choice for the environment.

Carlo has invested in environmentally friendly packaging and in making his venue completely electric. It means that everything runs on electricity, including cooking. Something that is still quite unique in the hospitality industry. In doing so, he’s already anticipating the energy transition. We can only applaud this type of forward thinking entrepreneurship.