A small business owner is never really “off the clock,” but some points on the calendar are (hopefully) high seasons. That’s for sure the case with our friends at Roots Catering, some whom you may have met at the Pink to Drink event benefitting 24 Hours of Booty. You did have one of the hundreds of bratwurst or 250 pounds of pulled pork, didn’t you?
Chef and owner Craig Barbour is all about local, sustainability and relationships. A product of Johnson & Wales here in Charlotte, he was in on the local food truck scene before it was really cool. Same for his commitment to farm-to-table. After a stint at Carmel Country Club, Craig was driving around to local farms in his first food truck. Much praise, and many satisfied customers later, he sensed opportunity in the catering biz.
“I sold two out of our three food trucks and now we exclusively cater,” Barbour told us. “We have seven full-time employees and have been in business for five years now.”
The bulk of Roots’ business is in private social events at homes, or at rented venues, and weddings. Again, it’s the high season. And being personally involved in the product and the client’s satisfaction is an everyday part of small business ownership. Barbour adds that one of his favorite parts of the business is the immediate gratification of doing an event for someone and seeing first hand how clients and their guests enjoy an event that his catering company helped produce.
Barbour says Roots is one of newer, smaller catering businesses here in Charlotte, but he sees plenty of opportunity for growth.
“I think that the new, younger demographic that is moving to our city not only makes for plenty of business to go around for all the catering companies, but I believe that there will be a stronger and stronger demand for the locally sourced, sustainable, and healthier food options that we offer.”
The Dunstan Group helps Barbour spread the word about Roots catering from employees to point-of-sale.
“Traditionally in catering, there hasn’t been much place for branded and logo’d merchandise, unless you are a restaurant, but we are trying to change that by making it a part of all of our disposable ware with stickers and custom printed napkins, and t-shirts, polos and chef coats.”
At The Dunstan Group, we appreciate the value of relationships in developing business with and for our clients. Same goes for Roots Catering.
“Once we find a vendor that fits well with us and that we develop a relationship with, we don’t stray.”
Want to cook up something awesome with your marketing this season? Start with a call to The Dunstan Group!
