Early in the semester, new Shark Cage businesses opened up in Mako residence hall to add to their already extensive selection. The recent openings come while the campus is re-adjusting to in-person classes, mask mandates are relaxed and COVID-19 cases are lowering.
Razor’s Edge Shark Cage is a scholarship program that seeks to give business students the opportunity to practice and learn their field before they graduate. After nearly two months of being open, how are some of the businesses doing?
Melissa Castaneda is a marketing major with a minor in entrepreneurship and venture creation
and a Razor’s Edge scholar. She is also the founder and CEO of the Tiburon Latino Café where she bonds with customers over their Hispanic heritage.
“I’m Colombian. I noticed on campus there weren’t many food options. I wanted to bring all of
those concerns to Shark Cage,” said Castaneda.
Tiburon Latino Café has developed a sense of community and family where even public safety
officers stroll in to try some of the coffee. The friendly environment has even gained Castaneda
some notoriety on campus.
“Some of the students will say. ‘Oh, you’re the owner of Tiburon Latino Café!” said Castaneda.
This has not exempted Castaneda from the usual problems that plague food or beverage
services: how much food to order. Ordering food and materials proved to be a learning curve at
the beginning.
“With my vendor, I didn’t know how much food to order at first. I ordered too much food and
then it was not as fresh as I wanted it to be,” said Castaneda.
Tiburon Latino Café is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Their Instagram profile is @eltiburonlatinocafe.
Julianne Mangano is an entrepreneurship major and venture creation and honors minor. Also a
Razor’s Edge scholar, she is the founder and CEO of Shark Kit, the subscription and gift box
service that caters to parents and students.
Mangano came up with the idea after her aunt sent her care packages when she left for college.
“I’m from New Jersey and when she started to send college care packages, I would receive them and realize how expensive shipping was,” said Mangano.
“I thought I could make boxes that I sell for anywhere from $20 to $30 dollars. It saves parents shipping costs and saves them the
worry of boxes getting to their children on time.” Mangano added.
Mangano did note that there was a huge difference in the campus culture now as opposed to last
year.
“The difference of more people being on campus and more people being aware of these
businesses, just the difference of the support we are getting this year is incredible,” said
Mangano.
Although the return to campus has benefited many businesses, including Shark Kit, Mangano
noted some problems that were still prevalent for her businesses.
“The biggest struggle that we’re facing right now is our competition with OCM, which is another college care package company that is partnered with the housing department for Nova
Southeastern University,” Mangano said.
Shark Kit offers Study boxes for mid-terms and finals and holiday boxes for occasions such as
Halloween, Valentine’s Day and birthdays. What makes them different as opposed to other care package services is that parents and students do not have to worry about shipping.
“When I was talking to parents, just seeing their positive reactions and wanting to support
students and student-run businesses, it’s just really exciting,” said Mangano.
For those who want to sit down, get comfortable and dig into a big meal, Fintastic Tacos might be the spot. A Mexican-style food place at NSU that serves tacos, guacamole and other Hispanic foods, Fintastic Tacos also recently opened up at Mako Hall. At the helm of all of this is CEO and Founder Jazmin Salinas, Razor’s Edge scholar and marketing major and entrepreneurship and venture creation minor. Students Asilah Golaub and Valeria Gonzalez also take on leadership positions.
Salinas credited the idea for the spot from her experience working in a restaurant.
“My dad is from Mexico City and we would always make tacos at home and then I actually
started working at a Mexican restaurant. I worked there for about three years hosting
and serving and it was a really tightly knit community and I don’t really speak Spanish at home
so it was nice for me to have that environment and then obviously when I came to school here, I
had to leave that job,” she said.
Salinas has, in more ways than one, constructed that tight-knit community here at NSU, commenting that one student had told her, “I just want you to know, the only thing getting me out of bed today is the fact that I know I’m going to get your tacos later tonight.”
Similar to Tiburon Latino Café, Fintastic Tacos has struggled with inventory ordering.
“The number of guests that we get changes every day. You know, if it’s raining it’s going to be
super slow and if it’s sunny and bright outside and, especially if there’s a soccer game near
Mako, then we will get a lot more people. We plan for that kind of thing so that we limit our
food waste,” said Salinas, adding that she has learned to sell out of her stock rather than “have a
whole bunch of food left over because we make our food fresh every single day.”
These businesses highlight what the NSU community, when it comes together, can do for its student population. A quick visit to Mako Hall can become a heart-warming, and stomach-filling, experience.
