Meet Olga Kwasniewski of Thai Island

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olga Kwasniewski.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Olga. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Tashkent, one of the oldest cities in Central Asia. It’s a capital of Uzbekistan, one of the former part of USSR. My father’s persistent and hard work had lead him to a government position as Chief of Ministry of Internal Affairs. With this status, I was lucky enough to be born with all privileges of high society. During my graduation year in University of Oriental Studies and Literature, I obtained a prestigious position at Office of President of Uzbekistan as inspector of Department of Foreign and Domestic Economic Politics. Unsure if my career and academic achievements were the result of my capabilities or my family’s influential status, I decided to reboot my life. The only one way to find out the truth was to move to a foreign country and start everything from zero. My decision to come USA was based on my desire to prove myself-worth to myself, without any assistance from my family. When I chose to move to the United States, I refused all financial support from my family and was working at a shoe store during the evening shifts, which was the hardest and physically most challenging job I ever held in my life. I also took TOEFL courses at Clark University during the day. After passing my TOEFL exam, I was accepted to Worcester State University where I chose to double major in Psychology and Early Childhood Education. I graduated in 2.5 years and made the Top 10 of my class. I was also accepted into the National Honor Society of Psychology Psy Chi for outstanding academic achievements and research.

While at Worcester State, I got work as a waitress on the weekends at a Thai restaurant. I’ve never, ever, worked as a waitress before; never even tried Thai food in my life, and didn’t know any of the dish names. But, I was determining to learn fast. After one year, my boss left for vacation and asked me to manage the restaurant. That was one hell of a week for me, but I learned a lot about prioritization and management. When my boss returned, he told me he believed I was capable of running my own restaurant.

At the time, the idea was completely different from the plans I’ve made, which were to get a Master’s Degree in Psychology and dedicate my life to working with autistic children. After graduation, however, I had an offer to open up a restaurant; so, I decided to take my chances. I opened Thai Island in 2008.

Besides testing my entrepreneurial skills, I was pursuing my modeling career as well. Back in my homeland I was attending a modeling school and was working as a runway model. After moving to United States, I completely abandoned this idea of modeling due industry differences and difficulties to break in. But modeling was always one of my passions and one day I just decided to try my luck. I hand selected agencies and applied. Instantly, I got a call from the agent, got interview and signed a contract. Since then m modeling career started to roll, and I became represented by three agencies in New York, Boston and Rhode Island. I’ve walked for many international designers during Miami Fashion Week, Boston Fashion Week, and New York Fashion Week. I’ve also been featured in CoverGirl commercial, music videos with Shaggy, Migos, on E! Entertainment, and have worked with L’Oreal, Sebastian, Matrix and other major brands. One of the perks of modeling is being booked for movie productions. I was fortune enough to film with Mel Gibson, America Ferrera, Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock, Amy Shummer and Denzel Washington – among many others. My modeling career prepared me to discover another passion that I am pursuing right now: producing and directing fashion shows. Last year I produced a successful Fashion on Fire Gala Fundraiser for Project Smile, non-profit organization that helps children who experienced trauma. This year, we are having this show again on a bigger scale and capacity. Just recently I partnered with incredibly talented and gifted Mosaab Alsaray, the world famous award winning photographer, and we are producing a series of educational workshops for models and photographers. I am very excited about every project and photoshoot we are conducting with Mosaab, because his work is true art. I always say that was a destiny’s gift for me to meet such a passionate and talented person like Mosaab Alsaray.

In 2016, I was offered an editorial team of Gladys Magazine, a national publication of high end and luxurious lifestyle as a Fashion Director. I am so fortunate to work with such inspirational people like Andrea Patrick Forte, a chief editor, and Monte Durham, Say Yes to the Dress’ TV show host, as my magazine’s team

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting own business is never an easy task or a smooth road. There are a lot of hidden and unexpected obstacles on its way. But the number of obstacles doesn’t define your success, the way you overcome them defines it. Becoming an entrepreneur was not an easy decision, because launching a business during the recession was the biggest risk of my professional career. I did have a vision and a plan that made it into a successful business. But, the whole process – beginning from market research and ending with the opening of the restaurant – took about one year. I designed the entire restaurant layout as well as the commercial kitchen.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Thai Island – what should we know?
Thai Island is a full dining restaurant, that’s specialize in authentic Thai cuisine. My culinary team always makes an emphasis on nutritional content of each dish without compromising on original flavor of ethnic cuisine. We are very proud to say that every entrée is cooked to the order with a freshest ingredients and adjustable to the client’s personal preference.

I think it was a remarkable achievement, considering that the construction started literally from scratch, there wasn’t even a building to move into. Being recognized locally as well as and nationally is the best indicator of my team’s hard work and ability to learn through experience. Thai Island has collected numerous awards since launch as the Best Thai Restaurant for consecutive 10 years, 2 times award winner as Members Favorite by American Express, Best in Central Massachusetts, Recognition by National Restaurant Association with Certificate of Excellence by providing community with healthy dining options.

On a personal level, my highest achievement was winning a silver trophy as a Female Entrepreneur of the Year and bronze trophy as the Best Workplace Run by Female Entrepreneur by Stevie’s Award, the world most prestigious business award organization. 1200 judges from 250 different countries were scrutinizing applications through three rounds of selection the winners. I attended an Award Ceremony in New York City with my mother, who was incredibly proud of my professional achievement.

Besides those awards, I was one of recipients of 40 Under 40 award for leadership and contribution to the community. I was named by local media sources as Women who make difference in Central Massachusetts. In 2013 I won a title as Ms. Massachusetts Globe at one of biggest international beauty pageants.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
During my childhood and teenage years, I remember myself as very shy, reserved, insecure, and socially inactive. I could spend days reading at home, not hanging out with my peers. [But after a small incident at the salon where I was too shy to ask for a haircut], I realized that I never would get things done, if I would not challenge myself and shed my “wallflower” tendencies. So, modeling was my first step to gaining confidence and boosting my self-esteem.

I always had great interests in literature, theater, music. I graduated a music school with major in piano. Academically I was always excelling and I was a winner of state competitions in mathematics, literature and German language.

Nobody in my family ever were thinking about me displaying any kind of entrepreneurship or leadership potential due my very shy personality. I am very proud today that I proved them wrong.

Contact Info:

• Address: 456 Main Street
  Holden, MA 01520www.ProjectSmile.org
  www.gladys.com
  Www.mosaabalsarayart.com
• Website: Thaiislandholdenrestaurant.net
• Phone: 508-829-8272
• Instagram: Thaiislandholden
• Facebook: Thai Island

Image Credit:
Mosaab Alsaray
Javier Rosa
Jessica Tiffany

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