Edward's story

I started my catering business 6 years ago as a single dad of 3 children. At the time I worked in a local restaurant and witnessed stressed parents desperate to bring home carry-out dinners to feed their busy families. Like me, my kids were into sports so finding the time to feed them dinner was always challenging.

Knowing that stress, I gave some thought to starting a food business that caters to busy families like mine. I would prepare hot family-sized meals in reusable containers and deliver them in thermal catering totes. Families would take the containers out and serve the meals and set the empty containers back inside the totes setting them outside so we could pick them up the next day.

The first year I had moderate success, the challenge being I could only serve a small area of Columbus. Uber Eats and other delivery companies were just starting and focusing on big restaurants and food chains not small businesses like mine.

By the second year, I was faced with a decision to continue. Having a varied menu was expensive and sales were flat. I changed to a limited menu of products that can be produced in bulk to reduce costs. No one in Columbus, Ohio was providing chili.

In 2018 I started my dba Red Barn Chili as a caterer to the Ohio State University Men's Football team for their training meals. In addition to catering, I sell 16oz frozen bricks of my 3 recipes of chili at local Farmer's Markets. I love selling to the public and I still keep to my original idea of providing a convenient family-style meal where you can "Gather around the table and you can change the world!"


This loan is special because:

It will help this entrepreneur upgrade equipment and expand their business.



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About DinnerUp, LLC

Industry: Food
Years in operation: More than 5 years
Website: dinnerup.com

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