Former Cherry Deli Building Sold to Growing Catering, Personal Chef Business

GRAND RAPIDS — A husband and wife duo are moving their catering and personal chef business into a building previously occupied by neighborhood staples. Cherry Deli and Catering Located in the East Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids.

Owners Jason and Kate McLaren daily chef and wifeHe purchased the building at SE834 Cherry Street on July 15 for $640,000 from Cherry Deli owner Scott Schultz, according to real estate records. The Schultz family has decided to close the restaurant in September 2021.

“We were lucky enough to meet the former owner of Cherry Deli,” said Jason McClearen. “He was emotional about passing the torch, and in some ways he was thrilled that we were on the same mission as them.”

Founded 10 years ago, The Everyday Chef and Wife includes a personal chef and catering service, plus a food truck. McCleaens plans to open in phases in the original Cherry Deli Building, starting with remodeling the kitchen so it can be used for catering events. They also plan to open a retail store that should be fully open in the spring of 2023, and have some take-home items ready for this holiday season.

“We are expanding with grab-and-go food locations where we can have cafes, sweets and more, promote already established businesses and grow their business in catering,” said Kate McLearen. I aim to do that,” he said.

The location offered an opportunity to renovate existing kitchens and high-traffic areas that are hard to find in Grand Rapids, said Kate McLearen.

“We want to be seen by people in Grand Rapids as much as possible just so that we can build community in our business. I loved it. ”

Everyday Chef & Wife has operated from several different shared and mobile kitchens for the last five years, says Jason McLearen. The couple said the next step would be to move to their own brick-and-mortar kitchen.

“Our main goal is to provide handcrafted, locally grown and organic food,” he said. “If we can’t make it from scratch, we say we’ll team up with the townspeople.”

During the pandemic, the couple’s business model shifted primarily to personal chef services and catering for small, select events. Yes, she added.

“We’re bursting at the seams right now,” said Kate. “This is a great opportunity to expand our business and do more catering and private events. , I’m excited to be with the public because that’s what I wanted to do with the food truck.”