Meal Assembly Watch

With a busy work schedule that includes lots of travel out of town, Kelly McGuire of Vestal often finds herself looking for fast, nutritious and great tasting solutions to the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?”

But now McGuire’s family has several convenient meal options, including shrimp gumbo and calzones, thanks to her discovery of Make & Take Gourmet, a new business in Vestal, that offers even beginner cooks the chance to make their own meals on site for eating at home later.

Make & Take provides prep stations with everything needed to prepare a particular meal, including recipes and ingredients that are chopped and measured for you.

“It was idiot proof,” said McGuire, 42. “I’m always concerned that my husband and son are eating nutritious meals while I’m gone. … You know everything is fresh, not prepackaged with preservatives.”

Make & Take, which opened in late August, is just one of several meal assembly options consumers have in the Binghamton market. The business also offers to-go orders.

Also new to the region and New York is Cena, which will open around Oct. 15 at the former Heavenly Ham site on Oakdale Road in Johnson City, franchise owner Fran Cianciosi said. Heavenly Ham closed in December 2006. Cena customers can attend meal assembly sessions or place orders for carry-out.

Wegmans in Johnson City also is marketing various “Take It. Make It.” options for time-strapped consumers.

The choices mark a growing trend in the food industry that has evolved over the years to meet the varied and changing needs of consumers, launching first in larger metro markets and then popping up in smaller cities such as Binghamton and Syracuse, said Debra Perosio, a lecturer in the food industry management program at Cornell University.

“It’s catering to people who have the disposable income to buy convenience,” she said. “They may not have the time or inclination to want to prepare meals at home, but yet they want to have a very nice-tasting, nutritious meal to eat at the end of the day. It’s a great niche market for companies.”

Cianciosi said he wanted to open his own business after working in the food industry for years, in food service management and as a restaurant cook.

“I investigated others. There’s several hundred of these types of franchises,” he said. “I like Cena because their menus and offerings are a little more upscale and gourmet and more similar to restaurant-style entrees.

“People like to go out to eat for that type of food, but it’s hard to prepare that type of stuff during the week when they’re busy and running around.”

In general, households spend about half of their food budget in the grocery and the other half eating out, Perosio said. That’s a “huge shift” from 20 to 30 years ago when households spent 75 percent of their food budget in the grocery and the rest dining out, she said.

Perosio said that’s a reason why supermarkets such as Wegmans have added to their offerings fully prepared meals, meal components that have been packaged together, and ingredients that have already been sliced and diced for you. They’re trying to recapture some of the business they’re losing to restaurants, she said.

“Wegmans clearly is a thought leader in all of this,” Perosio said. “If you talk to anybody in the supermarket industry, Wegmans is always a name that will come up in terms of their innovativeness. They’re willing to be bold, to try new things. And they do a very, very nice job.”

Still, there’s a price point issue, in terms of how much a consumer is willing to pay for things they consider “take out,” Perosio said.

“If they have some role in the prep, they feel that it’s more their own,” Perosio said. “People are tired of eating out every night. … If you know you have something in the freezer that is a really nice meal, you’re going to enjoy that. You’re going to enjoy that experience of having good food at home.”

McGuire, who made meals at Make & Take, called herself a skeptic about the new concept but said she’s now among the business’ biggest fans. “It was very, very inexpensive,” she said. “That was the shocking part about it.”

The five meals she made, each serving four to six people, cost a total of about $130, she said. The price depends on the number of meals and servings.

A Cena entrée with four to six servings costs about $30, Cianciosi said. The more you order, the less it costs per serving, he said.

“I did not think I would be the type of person who would like this,” McGuire said. “I’m just very traditional when it comes to food — writing a grocery list, going to the store — but then you find you’re missing such and such an ingredient. …

“All of this is thought out for you, laid out for you.”

Pat Kubik, another Make & Take customer, said she also enjoys the social aspect of preparing the meals. Her adult daughters joined her at Make & Take a few weeks ago. Kubik, 64, of Endwell said it was the first time since her children were little that she’s cooked with them.

Kubik said she is still enjoying the benefits of her experience.

“If you’re in a bind, like you have unexpected company and you need to have something, you can just grab a couple meals out of the freezer and everybody thinks you’re a gourmet cook.”

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Other Articles of Interest:

• Cena To Gone?
• Cena expands meal-assembly business to include bistro
• Cooking: At full speed
• We’re here to help with holiday prep
• How to Balance a Healthy Diet With a Hectic Schedule
• International Association of Meal Prep Business Survey: Meal Assembly Stores Save Customers Money
• The better message: “Get into the kitchen and get your life back.”
• Assembling meals outside your kitchen
• Franchises offer alternative options to fast food
• Easy Ways to Streamline Your Dinner Routine

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