For most new businesses, figuring out the right business model that works for them and their target market can be a tough task. As in the case of Oodloz, who currently works out of the Kitchen Collab in Truckee to serve up authentic and innovative Chinese and Asian dishes, it’s been a learning process on the fly.

“I’ve been trying different schedules,” said chef and owner Alyssa Flynn. “I wanted to have a family and I wanted to be with my kids. It was my priority and it still is, but this other aspect was dormant – then I became aware that something like this would be good for my mental health.”

Currently, the business operates Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers are able to order through the website then come to the kitchen for pickup. Once there, they ring the bell and Flynn will deliver the food to the door.

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“I think it’s been a great learning experience for me – doing everything by myself – it’s been very fascinating,” added Flynn. “I’ve been trying to figure out the brick and mortar aspect and tried out dinner hours but being by myself I wouldn’t get home until like 11 so I just switched back to lunch.”

While Flynn is still juggling around the idea of which hours to operate, she also is finding it tough as to whether or not her approach to the dishes she is serving can resonate with the customer base she is seeking.

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“So for example there is a Chinese taro rice cake – it’s traditionally a dim sum dish and its one of my favorites so I had it on the menu and no one knew what it was,” said Flynn. “Of course people don’t order it, then I tried to present it in a different manner. I feel like if you had a free sample of it, when they come back next time they would order it.”

Chinese food is very nostalgic for Flynn. She went on to tell the story of her excursions to Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco just to get her fix and even 6-hour trips in the snow to get Peking duck – which should tell you the dedication she has towards her food.

“I think the question is why am I not selling American Chinese? Well, not real American Chinese,” adds Flynn. “I think people are more familiar with that. I’d probably do pretty well if I just did that kind of stuff, but on a personal level, I feel like Chinese food is a lot more than that and the representation of that is not what I think Chinese food is … and this is what I’m grappling with.”

Flynn’s passion for food traces back to her mom, whom Flynn says made items that you can’t get on a menu. Comfort food like dumpling soup, which Flynn describes the dumplings as similar to gnocchi (only not made with potatoes) with other items added in such as daikon and Chinese sausage, which was made from scratch.

“She’d hand-make the Chinese sausages like prosciutto, marinated with soy and Chinese spices but made with pork belly. She made them and they always tasted better.”

That passion of learning to cook with her mom has also translated into Flynn’s own family, cooking for her husband and children (ages 15, 13, and 10). It’s that cooking at home in their happy place and translating that joy of cooking into the idea for Oodloz (a play on the phrase Oodles of Noodles). So, in January of 2024, she got the ball rolling.

“This is something I really enjoy. I think a light just turned on for me,” added Flynn.

And while that light might not exactly include all the same dishes that were being cooked up by her mother growing up, Flynn has found a way to fuse her roots in Chinese cooking and other Asian flavors with growing up in California.

Items like making milk bread from scratch for her char siu baos, which include her house made siu sauce, or proofing out mantou bread (steamed buns) for roast duck sliders. You can also always find handmade dumplings on the menu that are pan fried for that slight crispy bottom and steamed to perfection.

Flynn added, “There’s also a Vietnamese crepe that I love. It’s like a mung bean crepe mixed with mung bean and coconut milk and tossed with shrimp, bean sprouts, mint, and herbs and wrapped in lettuce then you dip it in fish sauce.”

With a menu that consistently rotates, which also includes boba beverages with signature toppings, Asian food lovers are sure enjoy the creativity Flynn is crafting – even if, for now, it’s only a few days a week.

Oodloz is located inside the Kitchen Collab at 11357 Deerfield Dr. in Truckee, CA. For more information you can reach them by phone at 707-419-9272 or visit them online at oodloz.com.