total time: 1.38 minutes
total words: 268
[Anna Callahan]: Hey there, I'm here with Eddie George from Neighborhood Kitchen. Thanks for being here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
[Anna Callahan]: Yeah. So I would love to hear a little bit about Neighborhood Kitchen and how it got started and your role. And, you know, a little bit about the shop, store, the restaurant.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Neighborhood Kitchen, we started Neighborhood Kitchen in 2019, last November. We started it with the premise of having a fusion restaurant between my Haitian heritage and my partner's Laotian heritage. We just wanted to make sure that it felt like a good melting pot for the area. We felt like the area didn't have that, so we felt we could bring that to the community and hopefully have everybody really stick with the neighborhood feel.
[Anna Callahan]: That's awesome. Yeah. And, and you, were you both, um, you know, you're both cooks or chefs previously, or?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I was, well, I was a chef for about, I've been a chef since 2012, since I graduated high school. Um, I started out working at country clubs, different country clubs in Brookline, Dedham, Milton. I also went to school in Newberry college in Brookline for a little bit. And, After that, I started to do my own catering under my own private chef company. And one of the caterings I did was for Joy, my partner now, who was having a baby shower. So after the baby shower, we had a couple conversations about food and going back and forth. She was really into the food scene too. She had worked catering with her aunt, with her uncle. They both had restaurants out near New Hampshire and she's worked in, you know, different other hospitality fields. So I felt like, you know, we had a lot in common in that sense that we both love food and we both love, you know, the hospitality industry. So it was really like just a match made in heaven when it came to that.
[Anna Callahan]: Amazing. So great. So yeah, well, how have you guys been doing during COVID? How has it affected the business?
[SPEAKER_00]: COVID, especially at first, we were really, you know, scared because we didn't understand, you know, how long exactly we would be. out of business because, you know, the first two weeks, everybody was mandated to stay home. But then Massachusetts had came out with the bylaws to say that takeout restaurants were deemed, how do I say it, they were deemed essential businesses. So I was really happy to hear that when we got back in, you know, the outpour of love just came through takeout, Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash were available on all platforms. So everybody really showed out on those platforms and then anybody who could come out of their house to come pick up, they definitely did. So we appreciated that the most because the community really looked out for us during those hard times.
[Anna Callahan]: Yeah. And I assume that things are still, things are still tough, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we're still trying to, you know, get through not having as much dining as we're used to and not being able to push out catering like we want to because, you know, large parties are, large parties are how we really Like speak volume, like I feel like our catering speaks more volumes than anything because we love to, you know, give everybody a great party and give everybody a great time. Celebrations are really, you know, are strong suits. So I just feel like those are lost, especially in the COVID time. So really can't wait for that to come back.
[Anna Callahan]: Yep, me too. So how can people shop with you for the holidays if they want to get for a neighbor, for a friend, for a loved one, if they want to get, you know, something to support you and get something wonderful for their loved one?
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure. For the holiday season, we're offering, you know, a lot of people have come in and asked about our gift cards. We're offering a Christmas package right now where you can order A couple platters that feeds up to five to six people, so candied ham, teriyaki salmon, braised Jamaican beef, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, Brussels sprouts. Those are just some of the things that are available right now for the heat and serve, so.
[Anna Callahan]: My mouth is watering.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know a couple people who had ordered and just given those as gifts like hey, this person is going to you know I'm going to come pick it up so I could drop it off to this person's house because you know they don't have, they might not be able to celebrate with their families or they might not be able to you know leave the house because of certain situations so we definitely encourage anybody who wants to do that to do that. that's pretty much it. So gift cards and the heat and surf pins and also keep a lookout for our New Year's platters. I know everybody's going to be hype for 2021 coming up. So hopefully more blessings.
[Anna Callahan]: Great. By the way, did I notice that you're wearing? Are you wearing a Neighborhood Kitchen t-shirt?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I am.
[Anna Callahan]: Hey, can people get those?
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm coming soon right now. We got these out of Ohio, one of my friends in Ohio who makes t-shirts, but he's, you know, beautiful with the shirts. We have masks, we have hats coming, we have hoodies. So any support, you know, we're going to feel it all. We also have to make sure, you know, it has, I don't know if you can see it from back there.
[Anna Callahan]: Yes. Did it go up like an inch and then we'll see the whole thing. I mean, we know what it says, but there you go. Perfect. I got a math that says that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, so we just want to make sure everybody knows like this is definitely a way to support us when it comes out. So definitely.
[Anna Callahan]: Well, let us know when you get those that kind of swag that people can buy because I'm sure we'll sure. Great. Awesome. Thank you so much. I'm excited. I can't wait to eat there. And I think we'll buy ourselves some and then we'll buy some other people. So great. Wonderful to talk to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: You too.
[Anna Callahan]: Yep. Have a good holiday.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for having us. Happy holidays. Of course.
[Anna Callahan]: Bye-bye.
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total time: 1.38 minutes total words: 268 |
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