LocalUp Member Spotlight: The G Rub
Who is The G Rub?
With a passion for cooking and 17-years of combined experience working in the restaurant industry, founders Chet San and Jessica Iriarte San bonded over their love of food. Throughout childhood, Chet enjoyed helping his mom chop fresh herbs and smelling the aromas of stinky delicious mudfish to make a decadent paste used for soups at nearly every meal. There was never a shortage of flavor and love that went into every homemade meal. Jessica marveled over the rich meals that Chet called poor man's food.
Cooking at home became a creative outlet for us to experiment with various dried spices and herbs and fuse favorite home-cooked meals from our Cambodian and Spanish Basque heritages while on our quest for personal recipes. This ignited the idea to share our homemade spice blend as a wedding favor enjoyed by 240 friends and family who encouraged us to pursue The G Rub.
What is your inspiration?
Inspired by the magic spices and herbs have in bringing food to life and the genuine love for home cooking, we founded The G Rub, a spice company creating bold, flavorful spice & herb blends, oils, and marinades handcrafted in the LBC.
Our savory and soulful spice blends and infused olive oil are a master flavor weapon to cook a quick restaurant-worthy meal. We want to inspire and show people how to cook surf and turf plates in the comfort of their homes. We created the O.G. Cajun and Cosmic Coffee, two versatile spice blends to use on meats and vegetables. Featuring 13 spices and herbs that deliver a combo of smoky, spicy, sweet, and savory flavors, O.G. Cajun makes the ultimate everything blend. Our Cosmic Coffee spice is infused with fried garlic chips, coarse sea salt, and black pepper that is a must on steak and fish.
Our motto - Rub it in, enhance everything!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In the perfect world, we see The G Rub:
source and sell 100% organic and fair trade spices and herbs while maintaining a low carbon footprint
give back to individuals and families facing food insecurity in our community
be in 1 million households
eventually growing into a bodega restaurant. Though this is an ambitious five-year plan, a dreamer can dream.
What about cooperative economics appeals to The G Rub?
Being community driven, democratically owned by members, and advocating for accessible & local fresh organic food while supporting local farmers are a few reasons that compelled us to be a part of the Long Beach Grocery Co-Op. We can learn a thing or two from the Co-Op’s 5th century old business model known to withstand economic crises and generate long-term jobs and prosperity.
What do you love about Long Beach? It’s our home. Living and going to school all his life in Long Beach, Chet, a 36-year old native, grew up working at restaurants in Downtown and currently works in the city. Jessica moved to Long Beach in 2012 to attend college and acclimated to the city’s vibe, culture and access to the beach. We love the dynamic community and group of people who live here - some have become our closest friends. There is something special and different each neighborhood in Long Beach offers from the food to the art to the local businesses and iconic homes.