Total Meltdown: Proving Once Again that Cheese is the Answer

While the pandemic has been a disaster for many retail food businesses, it’s also led to some interesting opportunities. A case study in how to successfully pivot is the cheekily named Total Meltdown. Partners in the cheese-focused pop-up are Akop Jacob Paronyan a fine-dining veteran along with Mohamed Abdelmeguid and Francisco Bastides who had been running a health-oriented fruit and smoothie concept prior to the shutdown.

Paronyan, who previously launched a macaroni and cheese shop, sees great possibilities in cheese, especially right now. Total Meltdown offers several versions of mac and cheese as well as grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese topped potato wedges, (similar to cheese fries) all under one roof. On-trend flavors incorporated into their unique creations include Korean gochujang braised beef, kimchi, harissa hot sauce, bacon, Cuban sandwich fillings, Brussels sprouts, and goat cheese. Everything is customizable, and their signature namesake dish is mac and cheese inside a grilled cheese sandwich, slathered with cheese sauce.

This ultimate comfort food concept is the brainchild of three immigrants, Paronyan is from Armenia, Abdelmeguid is from Egypt and Bastides is from Ecuador. While none of those countries may spring to mind immediately when you think of cheese, the pop-up speaks to their American entrepreneurial spirit. We spoke with Paronyan to learn more about their new venture.

The Concept

How and when did you come up with the idea for a cheese-focused concept?

Akop Jacob Paronyan (AJP): I dreamt up the idea in 2020, as I saw comfort food taking a front seat in the takeout and delivery realms. I was working for another group at the time and helped them launch a couple of different virtual concepts. I've also always loved cheese and cheese adjacent things. I think if it weren't for cheese, I'd be perfectly happy being vegan.

Was there one thing that convinced everyone to move forward with a cheese concept?

AJP: The idea that you could get grilled cheese AND mac and cheese in one place with fun and innovative flavor combinations was appealing to all that heard about it. Then we added the cheesy potatoes and some fun sides/apps. The name helped get a laugh out of people as well since it was 2020 and we obviously needed to have total meltdowns.

Who developed the recipes and how did you test them?

AJP: I looked at several different cheeses for characteristics that I wanted to showcase. For example the I wanted the melt and pull factors to be high so I researched which cheeses do well in this realm. While there were others like mozzarella and more, I ended up settling on provolone after testing several types at home. I was making cheese things all day every day for a while... My Instagram posts will confirm. Haha. I even have a video of the 4 final cheeses in a "melt test" to see how they do individually before combining them into a grouping.

How does your concept differ from some of the other cheese-centric spots?

AJP: I think this concept is different for a couple of factors. One, you can get mac, grilled cheese and cheesy potatoes all in one place! Usually, a place will specialize in one and then the others might be afterthoughts or add on menu items after the fact. For us, it was the focus to have all 3 from day one! The other thing that sets us apart is the way you get to order/choose. We have "styles" that can be done in any form. You pick your vessel first, it's even in our logo! (grilled, mac'd, melted) that is you pick if you want a grilled cheese, mac and cheese or cheesy potatoes, and then you pick the style. So you can have the Cuban-O So Good, for example, in any of the 3 vessels. I had not seen that done elsewhere and I thought it was a playful way to get to customize and try different combinations without having to have 3 separate menus.

Cheese businesses run by BIPOC are pretty rare, how have your immigrant backgrounds influenced this concept and business?

AJP: Sadly you're right. I imagine having 3 people of color is even rarer! I think our sensibilities are all different and complementary. I was born in the (at the time) Soviet country of Armenia and how I grew up is vastly different from my partners, but a combining factor is our will to work hard to get to the "oh so cheesy" American dream. We know we have to work our butts off to get on top and we are willing to put in the effort.

Your menu has a lot of fusion of different culinary influences, what inspired that?

AJP: San Francisco is so diverse and has so many cool places to eat and flavors to experience! I wanted to bring some variety to the menu and flavor combinations that you might find elsewhere but not in an American-centric comfort food like mac and cheese or grilled cheese. It didn't seem like it would be enough to just have the classic flavors and then something like "grilled chicken" or "Blue cheese" as the variety. I want to eat more exciting combinations and I assume (hope) that our guests will too.

The Cheese

In addition to the more common cheddar, provolone, and parmesan, you feature mimolette, how did that get into the mix?

AJP: I've always loved this cheese! I got exposed to it at Atelier Crenn when I was the opening GM. In the opening days/months, I'd have to run around town to get some interesting and fun cheese for the cheese cart and I tried all sorts of stuff. Some I'd present to Chef Dominique and she'd love, some, not so much. Through my years in the industry, I've tasted many great cheese and I hope to bring some of those flavors to a more approachable type of food that can be comforting and exciting all at once. I picked Provolone for the melty/stretchy factor. Medium cheddar because of the body, color, and familiar flavors it brings, parmesan for umami and savory factors (we go with young parmesan so it isn't as crystallized and melts better), and Mimolette for the nutty flavors and beautify flavors. It even melts just enough to work in the mixture. It's also so pretty that our brand/logo color of burn orange comes from the color of this cheese. I call the mixture our "Four horsemen of the Cheese-ocalypse" because you know, if you're going to have a Total Meltdown, you need something apocalyptic.

Do you think cheese is comfort food for right now, or does it have greater long-term potential? Or is it too soon to say?

AJP: I think it might be too soon, but, as we see with things like fried chicken wars and chicken wings fights, there are trends that start during the pandemic that I think will stick around for a while.

The Business

Which dishes are most unique or unusual?

AJP: The Seoul Food is unique I think. It features some beef braised in a secret mixture of gochujang, maple, and other spices to give it all a nice kick, then topped with more cheese (remember everything already comes with the four cheese blend) and finally some raw kimchi. The salty and pickle-y strong flavor of the kimchi is a great compliment to the otherwise rich flavors.

Which dishes have proven most popular so far?

AJP: The Classy, because people love tradition (but still fun because it has 4 cheeses) The Green Thumb and Seoul Food are also in the top 3 for sure!

What has surprised you the most about this business?

AJP: I think it’s how difficult it has been to write the menu in such a way that it isn't confusing. Sounds silly but I've tried 20 different ways of presenting the menu and half the people still aren't sure how to order. I think if you come in thinking you're here for grilled cheese, you don't see that you can actually also have those flavors in a mac or cheesy potatoes. The weird thing for me to focus on, I know, but it was a surprise.

You’re just a few months in, but what opportunities do you see in the future for this business?

AJP: What we hope to do next is expand of course. Once we are feeling good about the direction here, we hope to find a location to offer the food at lunch as well. (currently, we are only open for dinner) And then maybe into other markets! The possibilities are endless IF of course, people like what we do and respond well. Crossing fingers for all of that!