Sweets & Meats BBQ specializes in smoked meats, homemade sides and desserts. As for 2021, they are reaping the rewards of their 2020 efforts, with full bookings and exciting growth. Thanks to all the additional streams of revenue Sweets & Meats created during and because of the pandemic, their business broke even in 2020, despite a $400K loss in catering & event revenue due to cancellations and government restrictions in the second quarter. “We made sure our staff was still compensated while we were closed, and we retained 100% of our employees.” “Although difficult to close for 10 weeks, it was the very best decision we could've made in hindsight,” shares Anton Gaffney, Kristen’s partner and 2020 Goering Center Rising Leader. Washington Library.ĭuring this time, Kristen and her partner also realized their potential as a small business: they learned to delegate more to their team, who in turn surpassed expectations, and they spent a lot of time working on the business operations and team development, closing through the winter when they realized their team needed a break. They partnered with La Soupe and the SEM Food Pantry, who aided them in distributing cooked meals to families at Sands Montessori, Mt. The challenges to their business did not stop Sweets & Meats from supporting their hard-hit community as well. ![]() “By setting up in the Anderson Kroger Bistro, we were meeting the needs of our customers who were not venturing out anywhere except to the grocery store and for essential supplies.” “By going into neighborhoods, we provided a convenient and safe option for customers who were following the stay-at-home orders and/or were under strict quarantine,” explains Kristen Bailey, CEO. This additional service kept them in business and broadened their audience. They would hit four neighborhoods a day within a 30-mile radius of their restaurant for a period of 15 months, offering family packages and individual meals for pick up from their food truck and trailer. They began offering online ordering and curbside pick-up, partnered with Kroger to sell packaged meats and sides in the deli department in their neighborhood store, and began taking their food trucks out to Cincinnati area neighborhoods. In the early days of the pandemic, when everything was shut down, Sweets & Meats’ carry-out remained open – but that would not be enough to survive. The food service industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic in 2020, and Sweets & Meats BBQ was no exception. ![]()
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