Today we’d like to introduce you to Arny Soejoedi.
Arny, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Atlanta will forever be my main home in the states. I moved here around 1999 from Jakarta, Indonesia. I’ve grown and blossomed with this city and I couldn’t have asked to be put anywhere else! A couple of years back, my mom had taken over a small Indonesian restaurant. So, of course, being in an Asian family it was my duty to be a part of the business. Becoming involved in the family business, I never realized how great it was to spread my motherland’s food and culture. Little did I know, how oblivious Americans were towards Indonesia. It’s such a great feeling to open up peoples mindset on the definition of “Asian Cuisine” which is broader than your average Chinese or Japanese food. My mom is definitely my role model when it comes to my pride in my roots. She’s very adamant about making sure our restaurant only serves authentic Indonesian dishes. It’s quite amazing how she wants people to get the real deal and not change the recipes just so that Americans would enjoy it more. Being an immigrant Americans doesn’t mean I have to put my roots to the side but instead take advantage of where I am to spread the word about the other side of the world, so people will be motivated to go out and explore.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Owning and running a business has not been all that smooth. I’ll be honest, the restaurant industry is not exactly the easiest path. Especially having such a rare cuisine that’s not popular in the states finding people who know what they’re doing and cooking it authentically is hard. Which is why my mom and some of the partners do the cooking themselves. Also, my family is the first Muslims owners of the establishment. Before we took over, it was run by Catholic Indonesians. Sadly, we actually had a great deal of backlash due to the fact we started serving halal meat and most of the people in the community stopped coming because back home in the motherland, there is some drama between the two religions.
Please tell us about Tempo Doeloe.
Our restaurant specializes in allowing customers to get the full experience of Indonesian cuisine. Why’s special about our restaurant is also the fact that we are one in three Indonesian restaurants in the southeast region. Our customers come from TN, AL, FLA, and all our neighboring states. But what sets us apart from the others is that we are the only one that serves halal meat and the fact when natives come in we make them feel like they are back in the motherland. I’m extremely proud of my mom’s leadership to not change recipes so that it would be “Americans friendly” and how she is adamant about representing her religious views in her business. She would never sell anything she herself wouldn’t eat just so she can make extra money.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Absolutely not. Even though our start was extremely rocky and we still haven’t rocky moments from time to time, I wouldn’t change it. It’s a great feeling to be able to live in an American setting and still have a strong bond with my roots. My mom’s restaurant most definitely allows me to keep that balance of never forgetting where I came from and I appreciate her for that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5090 Buford Hwy. NE
Atlanta, GA 30340
Suite 110 - Website: http://tempodoeloejava.com/
- Phone: 6789649064
- Instagram: @javatempodoeloe
- Facebook: @JavaTempoDoeloeATL
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/qTKq/o7N9JnD6TW
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