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Marc
Giudice, left, and Henry Barone,
right, hold up dishes in their store
Prime Fine Catering in Garden City.
PRIME
Fine Catering, 4 Nassau Blvd., Garden City
South, 516-505-3255,
www.primefinecatering.com
Henry
Barone and Marc Giudice were working
crazy hours running the kitchen at
Tupelo Honey in Sea Cliff when they
opened PRIME
Fine Catering seven years ago. The idea
was that a retail business would afford
them more time to spend with their
growing families. "Then the
catering kicked in," recalled
Giudice, "and the hours became a
monster."
Over
the past two years, catering has grown
to make up about half the shop's sales.
The faltering economy has been hard on
restaurants, but PRIME
Fine Catering's customers seem
to be entertaining at home in record
numbers - and they are calling for help
to do it. "We cater parties
anywhere from six to 600 people,"
Barone said.
The
key to the business' well-being,
according to Barone, is diversification.
Aside from catering, the shop does a
brisk lunch trade - both eat-in and
takeout - based around homemade soups
and made-to-order sandwiches on Tom Cat
bread.
Then there are the
customers who come by in the evening to
collect dinner. A fine meal can be put
together from the prepared-food
selections, but PRIME
Fine Catering is also a butcher
shop. "A lot of customers will buy
two prepared sides - say, potatoes au
gratin and haricots verts with carrots -
and then get a porterhouse to cook on
their own."
Butchering
meat yields trimmings that a takeout
shop can put to good use in burgers and
soups. Regular takeout customers can be
transformed into catering clients.
Catering overages find their way into
the prepared-food case. It's a good,
smart business.
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