At Banterra, we believe in being more than just a bank to your business. We strive to be your financial partner by offering products that fit your unique needs, building strong relationships and providing support to help your business succeed. As a way to do so, while also showing our appreciation, we are taking the opportunity to kick off our “Meet The Merchant” series during National Small Business Month. Through these blogs, you will be able to learn more about Banterra’s business customers and gain insight into their entrepreneurial journey. Continue reading to learn more about Pangea Holdings LLC, based in Evansville, Indiana and was founded by Randy Hobson. The company includes Pangea Kitchen, 2nd Language Ramen, Pangea Pizzeria, and coming early fall of 2024, Sazon y Fuego.

What Was The Inspiration Or Motivation In Starting Your Business? 

When starting our business, our mission was to create a better food culture in the Evansville area by bringing authentic, ethnic foods made from scratch to the tri-state. Prior to starting Pangea Holdings LLC, I spent much of my career at Berry Global (a manufacturer and marketer of packaging products) recruiting employees to relocate and work in Evansville. This is how I recognized the need for a vibrant and authentic food scene, as it supports attraction and growth to cities. Even as we grow, we are doing our best to contribute to that.

Did You Always Dream Of Becoming An Entrepreneur?

I always dreamed of opening a restaurant since grade school when I would often go home during the lunch period and make my own food. Typically, this was a greasy cheeseburger on white bread with imitation cheese slices! I never had the conviction or financial strength to follow this dream until I retired from my only "real" job at Berry Global after 25 years. 

How Has Your Business Grown Over The Years?

We have been successful in bringing many new food offerings to the tri-state restaurant space ranging from authentic Italian pizzas, French pastries and Italian gelatos to Southeast Asian offerings like ramen, Thai street foods and Asian desserts. The common thread with all these offerings is the in-house, made-from-scratch ingredients that are imported from around the world or sourced from small progressive regional vendors.  The list of new things we have introduced to culinary space is long and will continue to grow with our latest venture, Sazon y Fuego.  We thrive on bringing new experiences to the area that are done right. Our growing business has allowed us to now have three active concepts and just under 100 employees.

What Have You Done To Achieve Such Growth?

When we decide to pursue something new, we benchmark our food offerings with the best offerings in the world. Our Detroit-style pizza program was launched after hiring and training with Shawn Randazzo, who won World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year in 2012, an award provided by U.S.-based non-profit, multinational group of elite pizza professionals, World Pizza Champions™. When we introduced layered donuts seven years ago, our benchmark was Dominique Ansel who is the inventor and trademark owner of the Cronut. We have followed the same benchmarking path for allure key offerings because finding and investing in experts to train our team help us execute products successfully.

Because of my prior career, I understand retaining and developing our employees is critical to execute these growth programs. We have been blessed to have most of our key leadership people in place since the day we opened our doors. Their expertise, leadership and customer relationships are foundations for our success.

What Is One Piece Of Advice You Would Give To Aspiring Entrepreneurs?

Find something that you are passionate about and make it your career as long as there is space in market for your offering. Additionally, hire people who are humble and empathetic to others and want to learn.

How Does Your Community Play A Role In Your Success?

The local community has supported us every step of the way in our journey. Their words of encouragement and appreciation for what we do is fuel for our machine. This industry is tough and social media can be brutal, so we cherish the personal relationships with our customers the most. 

Why Did You Decide To Partner With Banterra?

We wanted to work with a partner who was aligned with our values of doing things the right way with strong customer relations. We wanted to be an important customer to our bank regardless of our size and Banterra has fit that profile perfectly.

How Has Banterra Helped Your Business To Become More Successful?

Kevin Canterbury, our Commercial Officer, and his team have been part of the foundation for building our business. They have been willing to take risks alongside us in the challenging hospitality industry, especially during unprecedented times like the Covid-19 pandemic. The inside service team is amazing, and they have become our personal friends who have the wonderful patience dealing with all of our (my) quirky and high-service needs as a small growing business in a very fast-paced industry.

Staying Connected With Pangea Holdings LLC

If you live in or are visiting Evansville, we encourage you to try one of Randy’s eateries including Pangea Kitchen, 2nd Language Ramen, Pangea Pizzeria, or coming later in 2024, Sazon y Fuego. Additionally, you can stay up to date on their offerings by following their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Choosing Banterra As Your Business Banking Partner

Banterra is proud to support our business customers within our communities. Whether it is banking products, loan offerings, or treasury management tools, we are dedicated to solutions that fit the unique needs of your business. If you are looking to start or grow your entrepreneurial journey, connect with our team today.