Dale and Lauren Goodrich are expanding their catering business. Photos by Michael Thompson.
A West End caterer is coming downtown as it expands into a bigger space and launches a spin-off concept.
Goodrich Gourmet will move into a new 9,000-square-foot headquarters at 112 S. 2nd St. from its longtime home near Regency Square Mall. Owner Dale Goodrich said he bought the building on Dec. 8 for $850,000 from Cateraide, another catering company.
Since 2003, Goodrich has been operating out of a 1,500-square-foot property at 1421 Blue Jay Lane. He said he plans to keep the West End location and use it for a spin-off commercial kitchen concept called Kitchen Share that will lease out space to fledgling food operators.
He said the concept is inspired by Kitchen Thyme, a commercial kitchen leasing operation in the West End.
“It’s really popular to rent commercial kitchen time to food trucks or other caterers,” Goodrich said. “Food truck operators are required to have a commissary – that’s been the main drive for this business. There’s been a boom in that business and as a result, these commissaries need to exist.”
On the catering side, Goodrich, 37, said the company is fueled by weddings and corporate events.
His wife Lauren Goodrich handles the wedding catering, a part of the business they hope to continue to grow.
Goodrich Gourmet is moving into a much larger space on South 2nd Street.
“We’ve maybe done 50 (weddings) this year,” he said. “It accounts for a third of the business, and we hope to get it to 50 percent.”
The rest of the business is in corporate catering, a world familiar to Goodrich. After getting a degree in finance from William and Mary, Goodrich landed a job with what was then called First Union Bank.
“I was just sitting in a cubicle hating my life and I wanted to do my own thing,” Goodrich said. “I thought I wanted to open a restaurant. Well, I went and asked nine restaurateurs what advice they’d have for a future restaurant owner and eight out of nine said, ‘Stay out of the business. It’ll put you in an early grave.’”
One of the restaurant owners steered him toward catering, an industry for lovers of food without the high overhead and costs associated with the restaurant industry.
Goodrich said with catering, you always know exactly how much food to prepare so there’s little waste.
“You know your outcome before you even cook,” Goodrich said. “In the restaurant business, you prep a lot of food and hope people come.”
The company is in the process of moving downtown. The deal for the downtown property included a truck, three vans and kitchen equipment. He said he financed the deal with First Capital Bank.
Goodrich also has a catering location in Virginia Beach that opened in 2012.
It’s at least the third local catering company to expand its operations in recent months. Groovin Gourmets Catering began building a new headquarters in Scott’s Addition earlier this year. And Butler’s Unique Catering moved into downtown from the Southside over the summer.
Dale and Lauren Goodrich are expanding their catering business. Photos by Michael Thompson.
A West End caterer is coming downtown as it expands into a bigger space and launches a spin-off concept.
Goodrich Gourmet will move into a new 9,000-square-foot headquarters at 112 S. 2nd St. from its longtime home near Regency Square Mall. Owner Dale Goodrich said he bought the building on Dec. 8 for $850,000 from Cateraide, another catering company.
Since 2003, Goodrich has been operating out of a 1,500-square-foot property at 1421 Blue Jay Lane. He said he plans to keep the West End location and use it for a spin-off commercial kitchen concept called Kitchen Share that will lease out space to fledgling food operators.
He said the concept is inspired by Kitchen Thyme, a commercial kitchen leasing operation in the West End.
“It’s really popular to rent commercial kitchen time to food trucks or other caterers,” Goodrich said. “Food truck operators are required to have a commissary – that’s been the main drive for this business. There’s been a boom in that business and as a result, these commissaries need to exist.”
On the catering side, Goodrich, 37, said the company is fueled by weddings and corporate events.
His wife Lauren Goodrich handles the wedding catering, a part of the business they hope to continue to grow.
Goodrich Gourmet is moving into a much larger space on South 2nd Street.
“We’ve maybe done 50 (weddings) this year,” he said. “It accounts for a third of the business, and we hope to get it to 50 percent.”
The rest of the business is in corporate catering, a world familiar to Goodrich. After getting a degree in finance from William and Mary, Goodrich landed a job with what was then called First Union Bank.
“I was just sitting in a cubicle hating my life and I wanted to do my own thing,” Goodrich said. “I thought I wanted to open a restaurant. Well, I went and asked nine restaurateurs what advice they’d have for a future restaurant owner and eight out of nine said, ‘Stay out of the business. It’ll put you in an early grave.’”
One of the restaurant owners steered him toward catering, an industry for lovers of food without the high overhead and costs associated with the restaurant industry.
Goodrich said with catering, you always know exactly how much food to prepare so there’s little waste.
“You know your outcome before you even cook,” Goodrich said. “In the restaurant business, you prep a lot of food and hope people come.”
The company is in the process of moving downtown. The deal for the downtown property included a truck, three vans and kitchen equipment. He said he financed the deal with First Capital Bank.
Goodrich also has a catering location in Virginia Beach that opened in 2012.
It’s at least the third local catering company to expand its operations in recent months. Groovin Gourmets Catering began building a new headquarters in Scott’s Addition earlier this year. And Butler’s Unique Catering moved into downtown from the Southside over the summer.
I believe that is the old Brink’s company building. I’m surprised you didn’t mention previous tenants of the space the catering company is taking over.
Thank you for bringing that up. It was indeed a Brink’s facility. In fact, it was built as a Brink’s Building 40 years ago. However, that only adds to to its fortitude. Its built very solidly, with every room being used as its its own instrument