Today we’d like to introduce you to Alla Grig.
Hi Alla, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I came to America from Uzbekistan in 1994 in search of opportunity and growth. I took English courses in the evenings while getting a computer programming degree in the daytime and also worked at a junkyard in-between to support my family. I landed a position as a programmer at a wonderful company and after working there for 7 years I got laid off when I was 9 months pregnant with my son.
When I was ready to return to work, I decided to make a shift and follow my passion for cuisine and entrepreneurship. The first restaurant I opened was a fast food hole in the wall in the Minneapolis Skyway. Six restaurants, a catering company, and almost 20 years later that is the short version of how Twin Cities Catering came to be!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest challenges that Twin Cities Catering has had to face was the COVID-19 pandemic. The most heartbreaking was getting cancellation calls from Brides and Grooms who have been planning their wedding day for years. Along with the parents who couldn’t celebrate their high school and college graduates and the list goes on.
During that difficult time when we could no longer cater large gatherings we were looking for a shift and ways to give back to our community. One thing we have found very meaningful is providing children and senior centers with wholesome quality meals.
Seeing these minority groups being fed meals from cans, sometimes frozen weeks ago and reheated didn’t feel right to us so we’ve set out on a mission to provide these centers with fresh, healthy, and affordable meals for these important members of our future and society.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The events we cater range from corporate breakfasts and lunches to weddings to graduation parties and everything in between. We pride ourselves in the personability we’re able to provide as a family-owned business.
We are not a corporate office, my personal cell phone number is what you will find on Google, we don’t have a rigid menu that you have to choose from because we will work with you to pick and choose the perfect selections just for your event.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
In such a fast-paced society where ChatGPT can do almost anything for you, we see that when hosting events, our clients are really looking for a taste of home. They don’t necessarily want the feeling of a mass-produced event, they want the flexibility to use their creativity and design their own menus from scratch with our help. More specifically our clients are looking for a “personal touch”. Something special that gives a little extra wow factor, weather it’s a sentimental menu item or something added to the plated food the correlates with a theme of the event. We predict that over the next few years more and more people are going to be straying away from picking from set menus and looking for the “umph” factor.
Contact Info:
- Website: twincitiescateringmn.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/twincitiescatering
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twin.cities.catering
