Gourmet Cafe & Catering

It was only a matter of time before Jeff and Jennifer Kondrat bought their own establishment and got back into the kitchen. The married couple, who are both Red Seal Chefs, purchased Gourmet Café & Catering and have set about trying to take the business to the next level. “We had been in food distribution working for two large companies in Ontario the past 12-13 years,” Jeff says, “Jennifer left earlier than me to get back in the kitchen, buying half of Gourmet Café in April of 2018. I bought the other half in 2019. We knew we’d eventually run into a deal we couldn’t turn down and we got lucky that we found a nice profitable business.”

Gourmet Café is a high-end catering service that serves mainly the Sarnia-Lambton area focusing on small and large scale corporate gatherings, baptisms, communions, weddings, parties and the like. “When I started in 2019, things were very busy and their numbers were very consistent year to year,” Jeff says, “We have our own banquet space but things slowed down during the pandemic and we had to do a 180, so we pivoted and started doing family meals.” Gourmet Café continues to offer family meals and a take out menu where customers can order a minimum of four meals. “It has gone really well. The blessing in disguise is we ended up growing our business in a new direction that we intend to keep.”

Since taking over Gourmet Café, Jeff and Jennifer have placed a high priority on growing the business through social media. “When we bought Gourmet Café, they had basically no social media,” Jeff says, “We believe in today’s day and age you need social media and now we have a decent following on Facebook and Instagram. Now we have another 3,000 people in our area who know who we are aside from the businesses that worked with us before.” The couple's dream upon purchasing Gourmet Café was to grow the business. “Down the road we would like to add a mobile kitchen so we can cook onsite at events further away." Gourmet Café cooks all their meals from scratch, making it difficult to travel further than an hour while maintaining the quality they expect.

While Jeff and Jennifer continue to explore ways to grow their business, one of the main attractions remains their glass atrium banquet hall. The space has room to seat 160 people making it an ideal destination for weddings, corporate events, and parties. Located off Modeland Road in the UWO Research Park, the space offers lots of natural light and scenic views. “We love that this space allows us to bring people together to celebrate, and of course, enjoy a fantastic meal.”

Gourmet Café started with a strictly Italian offering but Jeff and Jennifer have since expanded their menu to serve Middle Eastern, Greek, Turkish, Thai, and Chinese cuisine. "Whether it's in our banquet hall, at a venue, or around your family dinner table, it's our goal to serve gourmet food."