Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Talarico. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business
Owning a business for 34 years that is still growing is a story in itself, but I would be remiss to not tell the initial story, my business partner and I bought an existing business for $4.000..00 in 1989 from two friends who were burnt out. They asked that we pay $250.00 per month, and they literally gave us the lease to take over and a key to the building. We had no money. we each brough about $300.00 to the start of the business, I brought some pans and a bag of flour from a previous restaurant I was involved with. WE always say that we are so fortunate we DIDNT have money early on to finance any bad ideas. We are now a company that will gross $6,000,000.00.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Our corporate name is Soup to Nuts Inc. We have three divisions: Picnic Basket, Cravings Five Star Events and Buffalo Gals Grilling Company. We are a full-service hospitality company who performs offsite catering all over our region, we bring he party to you. Our unique brands allow us to create custom guest experiences for most budgets and many different culinary desires. We have been in business for 34 years and our most proud accomplishment is our culture and our staff. We believe wholeheartedly in cultivating and developing. We value service to our employees, our customers and our community. We strongly believe in giving back to our community through in-kind food donations and discounts. We foster a culture where our staff feel empowered to also give back through community service and board participation. We have won Best Caterer for 25 plus years, and we never take that for granted.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
We have reinvented ourselves many times. We started in 1989 during a poor economy. We have always out all of our money back into the business. we like many businesses suffered during the great recession but probably the biggest example of resilience. On March 12th, 2020, we watched as $800,000.00 plus in revenue just fell off the books, we got creative, reaching out to all clients who had paid a deposit and with humility asking if we could retain their deposit. we just knew we could refund all that money and stay solvent. Most agreed. we immediately spun off an old deli menu and dig curbside service which we had never done. We just kept going, we kept all managers working, reduced hourly staff from 5 days a week to 2, and kept believing every day that we could make it. we continued to donate to those in need and we were lucky to receive a grant and then later two rounds of PPP monies. it was extremely scary but i think our team came together in a wonderful way.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We are just as much a community partner as we are a Caterer. We give out 10% of our gross sales every year in donations, discounts, in kind catering. The community has railed around us and during COVID, the nonprofit sector ordered food from us, and it was a beautiful example of paying it fully forward. Investing in our community has been the most rewarding part of our business. we get a lot of referrals and reciprocation based on our relationships. I and now of City Council for The City of Colorado Springs and it is an extension of being a servant leader. Also, because we have the three divisions, we have a good and solid market share in a growing city.
Contact Info:
- Website: www,pbcatering.com
- Instagram: @buffalogalsgrilling, @picnic_basket-catering_co
- Facebook: Buffalo Gals Grilling Co, Picnic Basket Catering,
- Linkedin: Picnic Basket Catering Collective
Image Credits
LeAnne Kemper