If there is one thing we have learned since March 2020, it’s how to adapt in very tough situations. We weren’t sure how we were going to make it, it became illegal to gather. And when gatherings are what you do, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
So where did we start?
Downsizing… We closed our event center where we hosted hundreds of events a year, operated a full commercial catering kitchen, and stored 30 years worth of catering equipment. We gave ourselves a couple months figure out a plan. We had to manage the hardest part of downsizing, breaking the news and saying goodbye to many valued employees. And then on to find a new place to store our equipment, pack, move and figure out how to reintegrate catering back into our restaurant.
Catering originated at our Cleveland Ave restaurant, but it couldn’t just simply move back. Business at the restaurant had more than doubled since the old days of putting caters out from there, and there is just simply not enough space. So after weeks of scouring real estate websites, and honestly trying to figure out exactly what we even needed, a plan started to devise.
A hybrid model of catering, equipment, vans, and offices in one location – food from another.
What are we doing now?
Fate brought us to our current location which perfectly accommodates our office and storage needs, while hot food comes from our restaurant kitchen! We run our events with a small crew of us Pellegrinos who were once in management roles, now seeing the process through start to finish. Surprisingly enough, we are having a BLAST! It feels like getting back to our roots when things were simpler. Nothing like a healthy dose of nostalgia to raise our spirits and get us back on track!
Our experience and capabilities allow us to run seamless events and offer customer satisfaction at an all time high. We know what we can handle, but also know our limits. Quarantine gave us time to think long and hard about how to best use our limited resources. In the end we decided to go with what we know. Feed people delicious food with ample portions at a manageable price. And if a service doesn’t fit in to that model, it had to go.
Services that we no longer offer include: bartending and all alcohol services, seasonal menus, breakfast, and plated meal services. We also only book one event per meal time Tuesday-Saturday.
What DO we offer?
The Italian food you have come to know and love with 3 styles of delivery options. Check out our catering page to get the latest information.
We are so thankful for the support that has been shown to us here at Pellegrino’s from the community through out these crazy times. We hope to be serving this community for many more years to come!
