Best Covid Pivot Of The Year
Business: The Beckwith Kitchen
What is your product, what service do you provide? Our aim is to provide well prepared home cooked meals that can be cooked or reheated in our clients homes. All our meals and desserts are prepared in our kitchen, from scratch using recipes from our families and created by our Chef using fresh produce from local growers when ever possible and when in season.
Who are your clients? Our clients are from Carleton Place and surrounding areas. Side note: Both the Kitchen & Butcher stores were involved together to make decisions on the day to day operations on when we needed to close one store but keep the other open but limiting customers, decision to close on Sundays to ensure everyone got rest not just physically but mentally – This award nomination is not just for the Kitchen but should it be successful would also note that that the Butcher is as well deserving.
In your opinion what makes you or your business unique/stand out? (The outstanding aspects of a business over time, such as income, growth, product development, innovation, employee development, community involvement, etc.) From the beginning of COVID-19, our business worked deligently to ensure the safety of our staff and of our customers. Our staff quickly brainstormed to put together protective measures and we immediately removed any potential issues that could spread the virus (ie removing our free samples, having fresh cooked pies on the tables … We also shared our practices with the Beckwith Butcher so they could also implement the same measures. We would not have been as successful as we have been without the staff from both stores keeping a tight family “bubble” on order to ensure no one was at risk. Our Health inspector praised our work and used both businesses as models to help develop the some of the criteria for other businesses. We shifted our production to meet the needs of our customers as they were now looking to stock their freezers in order to limit outings so the staffed worked hard to keep the freezers full in order to have a full compliments of meals and desserts to offer.
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Business: The Grand Hotel
What is your product, what service do you provide? We are a restaurant/hotel business.
Our pub, Smith and Barrell, provides fresh, delicious meals and tasty spirits to all. We are able to host many events at the hotel, including weddings, anniversaries, any kind of celebrations. We are also proud to have a boutique 16 room hotel, which we take great pride in. Being part of this town has allowed us to grow within the community.
Who are your clients? We have clients from all over. Given that we host events, we have many guests who are out of town, as well as local guests who would just like to get away for the night.
Our pub serves many and all who wish to join us for a glass of spirit or for a nice meal.
In your opinion what makes you or your business unique/stand out? (The outstanding aspects of a business over time, such as income, growth, product development, innovation, employee development, community involvement, etc.) I think the best part of our business is how much we have grown in the community. We have been here a short few years, yet we have gotten to know so many locals and other businesses who have supported us throughout this time. We strive to be involved in any local events
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