The past year has been challenging, especially for small businesses.
Over the years, we’ve interviewed and introduced local Forest Hills businesses to you, the Forest Hills Today community.
So we wanted to continue our series with a slightly different angle: we’re sharing local small businesses’ stories, how the pandemic has affected them and how you can help.
I sat with the owners of Stacked, Natasha and Declan for a quick chat about their sandwich shop – the newest grab and go storefront in Forest Hills.
1. Congrats on the recent opening of Stacked! Could you please tell our readers why you chose Forest Hills?
Natasha: I’m a vegetarian and my husband (Declan) is not. So I’ve always found it hard to find a place that accommodates both. That’s what we’re doing at Stacked.
We have vegan, vegetarian and meat options. Whether you’re trying to be healthy, or maybe not, we have something for you.
Declan: We’ve been in the neighborhood for 15 years and owned several businesses, including Austin Public. When Coronavirus hit, we kept Austin Public going, closed it in December and are opening back up at the end of the month (April 2021).
But during the time Austin Public was closed, I was sitting at home with my wife and we came up with this idea to make sandwiches.
During the Coronavirus we fed a lot of first responders. Natasha is a teacher at Forest Hills High School so we delivered food to families too.
We were serving a lot of sandwiches and six foot heroes and got great responses from it. So we thought, the neighborhood needs something like this. There’s really no place to go like this at the moment.
2. How would you describe Stacked in one sentence?
Natasha: Full for lunch and dinner.
3. What does Stacked offer that’s unique to Stacked versus other restaurants in Forest Hills?
Natasha: I am seeing a lot of interest with my vegan and vegetarian options. I think there’s not enough of that utilized in a way that’s tasty.
A lot of times we consider vegan or vegetarian just salad or tofu. I’m hoping whether my sandwiches are vegan or vegetarian or not, you just want to eat it because it tastes good.
Declan: The grab and go concept.
Also, you can come for an $11.95 sandwich and you will get 2 meals out of it. You’re getting a good bang for your buck. Anywhere in Forest Hills, it’s all restaurants and bars. There hasn’t been anywhere that you can get a sandwich and just go until now.
4. What are some sandwiches you’d like to highlight if someone is coming for the first time? What do you recommend?
Declan: The Stacked OG is our biggest sandwich. It is huge. It has five different types of meats and two cheeses.
Natasha: Everything is fresh every day. We get our bread every single morning delivered hot and fresh from a bakery in Corona.
I also found these amazing hot peppers and sweet peppers, which really make the sandwich. It just elevates it. I keep telling people, even if you know you don’t like peppers, try them. And when they give them a taste, they say I want that on my sandwich!
5. How can the community intentionally help your business?
Natasha: If you’re uncomfortable going out, the biggest thing you can do now is order in.
We do a lot of delivery. I just think if people can support in any way, even if it’s once a week, it helps small businesses. Maybe make it a theme to order from a local restaurant once a week. If everybody did that, I think it would really help.
6. What would you suggest to make the Forest Hills community even better?
Natasha: I would love to see if we could shut down a street every weekend and just have tables and chairs outside and let people come and sample food from different restaurants. You can buy an appetizer from several restaurants and sit outside to eat.
It would not only be great for businesses but for people. People can sit together as a family and eat. It can be a great family day.
Declan: Also people don’t realize how good the food is around here (Stacked is located at 68-60 Austin St, near Yellowstone Blvd.) You have these places around here that are thriving and have really good food on this side of Austin Street.
Walk down and see there are restaurants open here. We got to get people walking in the neighborhood. You’ve got to try these places, including Stacked. They are really good.
We’ve been getting really good feedback from the neighborhood. We appreciate everything they do. Also just getting to know people in the community is good too.
Some people might think it’s crazy to open in the pandemic, but well, so far, so good.
Natasha: I think the main thing people can do is just come out and support small businesses. Buy something. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It doesn’t have to be every day.
At the end of the day, we’re making a sandwich but it’s so nice to just be able to sit and talk to people and make them happy.
Go visit Stacked and say hello to Natasha and Declan located at 68-60 Austin Street.
Get your sandwich to go, or enjoy it at one of their outdoor tables. Or order for pickup or delivery through their website.
My delicious Muffuletta sandwich pictured in this article was made so quickly and really did make me full for lunch and dinner.
Let’s support our local businesses together!
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