Orlando, FL - On a weekday morning several months ago, Chris Houck and Richard Rider experienced a novel culinary experience.
Surrounded by classical music, plush couches, and the aroma of fresh-baked pastries, Houck and Rider watched a group of women slip into aprons and assemble a collection of gourmet dishes.
The women swapped spatulas, measuring spoons and lively conversation as they would in their own kitchens, yet the entire process was taking place at Let's Eat!, a specially-equipped retail outlet that resembles a commercial kitchen and a TV cooking show set.
Founded by Tampa moms Marni Poe and Melissa Slack, Let's Eat! is a business that eliminates the drudgery of menu planning, shopping, prep-work and cleanup by moving the dinner assembly process out of home kitchens. In a two-hour session, Let's Eat! customers can make eight to 12 family-sized dinners from a rotating menu at a cost of about $3 per serving or about $200 for 12 meals.
Houck and Rider are bringing the concept to downtown Winter Park opening a Let’s Eat! shop inside a 1,600 square-foot building with a line of floor-to-ceiling windows that span the front wall of the store. The store is located just off Winter Park’s heavily-traveled Park Avenue.
"When we walked into our first Let's Eat! store, we immediately felt a positive energy," Houck said. "We could tell the customers felt comfortable, and they were feeling good about what they were doing."
Houck, a former Nextel development director, and Rider, who worked in Delta Airlines' Crown Room, had considered a variety of businesses to invest in before settling on Let's Eat!.
"We had looked into several different business opportunities, but we didn’t feel any passion for what we were finding," Rider said. "After our first session, without knowing anything else about Let's Eat!, we said, 'This is it.'"
The aspiring entrepreneurs investigated competitor meal assembly brands but bought into Let's Eat! because of its superb menu and solid operating plan. The founders' commitment to the concept resonated with them, too.
"The founders aren’t just trying to sell franchises," Houck said. "They’re in it because it means something to them. They're busy working moms, too."
The simplicity of the process was another selling point for Houck and Rider. Customers register for day or evening, weekday or weekend sessions at www.letseatdinner.com.
Each Let's Eat! entrée is accompanied by washed, chopped and portioned ingredients and an easy-to-follow recipe.
"You don't have to know how to cook to make 12 quality meals," Rider said. "If you can count, you can do this."
But the meals Let's Eat! offers rival fine dining restaurant menus with selections such as Mango Chicken, Santa Fe Salmon and Sesame Flank Steak. Let's Eat! will also be retailing dressings, dipping oils, bruschetta toppings and wine.
"This isn't tuna noodle casseroles," Houck said. "I don't see our demographic eating that. This is gourmet meals you wouldn't make at home, but you can have at home."
Although Houck is a longtime cook, he admits that Let's Eat! is the easiest way to provide gourmet meals for his family at an economical price.
"I didn't realize how many families go out to eat for dinner," Houck said. "Yet when I have my four-year-old son, we fall into the same trap. It's just easier to eat out."
Busy moms are Houck and Rider's main target audience, but they hope the concept will resonate with other demographics, too.
"Single professionals and couples without children need nutritious meals, too," Houck said. "When they get home after work, what do they eat?"
Houck and Rider's Let's Eat! store will open in early January at 155 East Morse Blvd. in Winter Park, Florida. They are scouting locations for a second Let's Eat! to open in 2007.
Headquartered in Tampa, Let's Eat! has nine units in Florida and Maryland. Seven more Let's Eat! locations are slated to open in 2007.
###
Media Contact:
Krista Zilizi
Quantified Marketing Group
407-936-1010
706-627-3204
kzilizi@quantifiedmarketing.com
|
