On July 7 a new business will be starting up in Barriere that will certainly provide an option for Barriere area residents who are not able to, or may not want to cook for themselves.
This new business is the creation of local resident Annie Reinhard, who is no stranger to the art of cooking.
Reinhard says she will be preparing all of her ‘Guten Evening Dinner Is Done’ meals in the kitchen at the Christian Life Assembly Church in Barriere.
Once prepared the meals will be hand delivered to each customer’s door by herself.
“I don’t want to start right off hiring people,” says Reinhard, “Because I don’t have that volume yet and I want to make sure
I can service all of my customers before I start to expand.”
She adds that dealing with people arriving in person to pick up meals will not work for her, as she will be busy cooking.
“That will just be too much traffic,” said Reinhard, “It will all be strictly delivery, and it will be done between 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., although that may depend on how many people I have to deliver for that day. But that is what I am shooting for.”
Reinhard says at this time the dinners will only be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week until she gets started and sees what her customer base will be.
She adds that delivering meals in a small community can be very time saving when there are a number of customers all within a block or so of each other, and in this way she can create a schedule for delivery times that will be efficient for all.
“If I do need delivery help I have it on standby, but the way I have set up the program I actually have five hours to cook the meals on the day they will be delivered.”
Reinhard advised will be launching her own Facebook page where customers can go to see what the menu is and can place an order using Facebook messenger, or call directly to her cell phone.
“People can look at the menu, decide if they want one, two or three meals, and can then place their order for the next week,” said Reinhard, “For instance on July 7, I will post a menu, which will give them two different dinner choices to pick from for delivery the following week on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.”
Reinhard says in all probability she will eventually be cooking and delivering on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well, “But for now I just want to see how many people will be ordering.”
All her meals will be delivered to each customer in reusable and microwavable containers.
Then the next time she delivers to that person she is willing to take the containers back, which will then “get washed
and sterilized to the same health standards as cutlery and dishes would be treated to in a restaurant, and I can reuse them so they will not just become garbage after only one usage.”
What kind of meals will she be preparing?
“The meals will all be one hundred per cent Canadian/European style homemade cooked meals,” said Reinhard, “one of the meals will be more than $15, with some being less.”
Her dinner s will include meals such as beef stroganoff, spaghetti and meat sauce, stews, and a number of other choices will be offered, “some being dependent on time of year, such as for fresh vegetables”.
What is her motivation behind opening this type of business?
“The first time the community was shut down due to COVID, I was contracted by Yellowhead Community Services to do grocery delivery for seniors and elders who didn’t feel safe to go into public places within the community during the pandemic. I did that for over a year, even though it had only been run by Yellowhead for seven or eight months, because I
realized there was such a great need so that continued to do it,” told Reinhard.“During that time I realized that many of our elders, besides living on a budget, sometimes do not have the physical or emotional capacity to actually make themselves a healthy meal. It is just a fact of being, not because they are lazy or anything. But when you are on a pension or a tight budget with all the prices rising so drastically you can have a hard time purchasing and cooking a healthy and nutritious meal for yourself.”
She says the motivation to help out came because she could see, “There really is a need in the community for this kind of service,” and that is what decided her to move forward and open a business that will help people in her town.
“That’s why I came up with my plan,” told Reinhard, and also pointing out, “Everyone can order, they don’t have to be a senior to order.”
The ‘Guten Evening Dinner Is Done’ menu will be published on Facebook: Barriere Restaurant Specials ! on Thursday, July 7, for ordering meals that will be delivered on Monday, July 11. All orders must be in no later than the day before the delivery is scheduled as Reinhard requires at least one day to prepare and cook the meals for delivery.
If you would like to learn more go to Facebook on July 7, to see the ‘Guten Evening Dinner Is Done’ menu or call Annie Reinhard direct at: 778-586-1410.
_______________
Like us on Facebook