Until recently full-fledged members of the corporate world themselves, Ken and Karen Bryan know all about the rat race. They are well aware that sometimes, it’s hard enough just getting home, much less finding time to make dinner.
“People work hard all day, then come home and spend lots of time and energy on dinner,” says Ken, co-founder of ready-to-cook dinner delivery firm Making Thyme Kitchen. “They have to decide what to make, do all the shopping, do the prep work, then clean-up. Karen and I thought that having good, healthy, local food prepared for them would make their lives easier.”
Making Thyme Kitchen takes all those worries away. Customers look over its monthly menu and place an order for eight of the 10-14 choices. They select from one through four servings of each entrée. The order is placed, and the Bryans prepare the food and deliver it to the customer’s door the following Wednesday or Thursday. They can heat up a dish for that evening, keep a few in the refrigerator and store the rest in the freezer.
“They can just heat up our entrée, throw together a salad and a roll and eat,” said Ken. “It’s so convenient.”
Making Time with Making Thyme
Not long ago, Ken was in sales and Karen was in communication design. They were in their mid-to-late 40s and couldn’t see continuing as they were for another 25 years.
“There was a lot of stress and complexity in our jobs,” says Karen. “With companies being leaner today, each employee is asked to do even more than they have in the past. It can be overwhelming.”
The couple started their business slowly in June 2005. They rented kitchen space from Fountain Street Church and twisted the arms of family and friends to place orders so they could make the food and try it out. Relying entirely on word-of-mouth business for the first two years, their customer base last February grew large enough to support a storefront at 962 Cherry St. S.E.
A major emphasis of Making Thyme Kitchen’s food is healthful meals. For instance, instead of soy sauce they use a gourmet amino acid substitue called Bragg's All Purpose Seasoning. They always use low salt, low fat products when possible, while maintaining flavor. A super grain called quinoa is used as a binder in salads and cakes. The Bryans swear by Penzeys Spices, and ingredients are fresh — they shop twice a week at Sobie’s Meat Market, Horrock’s Market, Harvest Health Foods, and Nantucket Baking Co. They also buy from local vendors whenever possible, including beans from Howard City and peanut butter from Koeze’s Nut House.
Since moving to the Cherry Street location, Making Thyme is getting lots of foot traffic; people stopping in to see what it’s all about. The Bryans installed a cooler so folks can walk in and buy an entrée or two, fresh or frozen, no ordering necessary.
“When we moved to this location, lots of shops in Cherry Hill, Eastown and downtown displayed our flyers and posters and we got a lot of new orders that way,” says Karen. “There are many small shop owners who work very hard in this area. The neighborhood continues to grow with young families and fresh energy.
“Between the two of us, we utilize all the skills we acquired through our years in corporate America,” she continues. “As a designer, it’s interesting to me how this business is a microcosm of all the things Ken and I have ever done. Over and above the food, it combines marketing, branding, sales, and customer service and interaction. Our skill sets are perfect for this business.”
Like part of the family
The Bryans listen and pay attention to customer feedback. As a small operation, they can react quickly to requests. They are flexible and change things up, tailoring their products to customer needs. In response to demand, they’re now baking and catering.
“Just before we opened our new retail location, Karen was quoted as saying we planned to triple our business,” says Ken. “I shivered! That was pretty bold. But we’re coming very close to reaching that goal.” Business is at an all-time high.
“The job is a constant challenge. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time,” says Karen.
“We work half-days,” quips Ken. “Twelve hours a day.”
The company has some great examples of local support and cooperation coming full circle. Recently, one of the company’s earliest customers walked from her office to the nearby Green Life Market on Fulton Street where she bought a pesto pasta salad for lunch. As it turned out, the Green Life Market buys salads from Making Thyme, which, in turn, buys some of its salad ingredients from that woman’s children, who have a garden and raise and sell organic vegetables to earn money for college.
“We are so much more involved with this community since Ken and I opened Making Thyme Kitchen,” says Karen. “In the corporate world, you’re pretty isolated to who you work with. Being on this block we meet tons of people, then see them frequently around town. It’s really quite wonderful — something we never had in Grand Rapids before.”
Deb Moore, a Grand Rapids resident, is a freelance writer, personal historian and contributor to Rapid Growth. She last wrote for Rapid Growth about indoor gardening in Grand Rapids.
Photos:
Ken and Karen Bryan in their newly renovated East Hills kitchenPrepping peppersExterior of Making Thyme KitchenKen and KarenFresh produce...mostly localPhotographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights ReservedBrian Kelly is a commercial photographer and owner of The Photography Room. He has been Rapid Growth's managing photographer since it was launched in April of 2006.
You can follow his photography adventures
on his blog here.