Nana's Takeaway at Salani Falealili was unheard of until it opened its door to customers three weeks ago.

Today it has to be the fastest growing eatery on the southeast coast of Upolu, thanks to increasing popular demand for its fish, chicken and sausage with chips topped with crab sticks.

The outlet is attributing its sudden rise in popularity to the skills of the chefs behind their menu, who previously worked for five star resorts such as Saletoga Sands and Sinalei, before the COVID-19 global pandemic struck and crippled Samoa’s tourism industry leading to thousands of lay offs. 

But the industrious nature of the former tourism workers didn't come to the fore, until Brisbane resident Eseta Fuimaono Leota returned to Samoa Late last year, and decided to tap into the talents of her nephews.

“I came to Samoa from Brisbane, Australia before Christmas last year. Since I arrived I have lived with some of my nephews who worked before in restaurants and bars around the island,” Fuimaono told the Samoa Observer. 

“They are all unemployed and just staying home with their parents so seeing them not using their talent and experience broke my heart and I wanted to do something for them and of course something to support our whole family here in Samoa. 

“That’s why we opened a small restaurant mainly to sell fish and chips and chicken and chips to make a good use of their experience and to support their parents financially.” 

That was the humble beginning of Nana’s Restaurant, and Fuimaono says she didn’t expect the rising demand for their chips, especially from a restaurant that is further away from the capital Apia.

“It was a small restaurant that started three weeks ago, just to see if it goes well, but we found out that people of this district were used to enjoying this type of food, even if they live far away from town,” she said.

Fuimaono said in their first week of operations they only opened three days from Thursday to Saturday, but due to increasing demand they now open from Monday to Saturday, and are getting orders from different parts of the district.

She said the income that their business generates on a daily basis tops $2000 daily or more on certain days.

“We earned more than $2000 every day and some days we received almost $4000.”

And their customers include women's committees, schools and churches who put in orders for catering for meetings or conferences.

“When we have big orders like today Monday, June 28, the Aufaga Women Committee ordered 30 fish and chips and 19 chicken and chips with other additional food, we normally delivered it to them for free,” said Fuimaono.

As to how fish and chips has become the centerpiece of their restaurant’s menu, she credited her late mother, Sunu’i Fuimaono and her enduring love for the simple combination. 

Close to a month after opening, Fuimaono finds her project with her nephews self-fulfilling as she says they don’t need to depend on families living overseas for remittance.

And she considers her nephews, Luapu’a Vaa, Luapu’a Aukuso and Taulelei Fuimaono her right hand men to push the business to success.