TASTE
In-house chef Alan Tangren leads an indoor cooking class at Tess ’ Kitchen & Culinary , with strict pandemic protocols in place .
production as their wholesale and retail clients continue to close , she says . “ They ’ re waiting to see what happens next ,” she says . “ We ’ re constantly chasing vendors and trying to find product , always looking to see who has what .”
A solo journey
As small retailers throughout the country have attempted to figure out how to pivot or innovate to survive over the past year , the SBA offers “ a variety of resources ( including loans ) and counseling to assist customers ( about ) solutions to today ’ s challenges , whether in person , on the phone or through webinars ,” Barajas says .
More than ever , entrepreneurs and small-business owners are looking for help . Jim Kaspari , business coach and owner of PEAK Business Coaching in Folsom , has some advice : “ Identify the most frustrating problems your customers have . If you can solve those , your marketing becomes 10 times more effective ,” he says . Also , “ No matter what you ’ re selling , get a delivery system in place .” Another key is being open to ideas other than your own . “ You ’ re wise to talk with someone to bounce ideas off of ,” Kaspari says . “ It ’ s the synergy of two brains working .”
Other than her untouched SBA assistance , Short has been largely on a solo journey . “ COVID has forced everybody to stay home . They don ’ t need new clothes or shoes , but they do have to eat , and they ’ re upping their cooking game ,” she says .
With restaurant dining hit-and-miss , as restrictions regarding indoor and outdoor dining have been in constant flux , “ we had few options other than to prepare most of our meals at home ,” writes David Portalatin of the retail-analysis firm NPD Group . One indicator is the increased sales of cookbooks , especially in the bread-baking niche : 200,000 more bread cookbooks were sold during 2020 than in 2019 , according to the NPD Group .
Cookware dominates at Tess ’, but the other piece is its Chef ’ s Table program , a series of multicourse demonstration dinners , along with demonstration cooking classes . The 12-guest dinners — which moved from indoors to outdoors last spring — are on hiatus until April . The 12-guest indoor cooking classes are ongoing , though with strict pandemic protocols in place . For instance , the classes are no longer hands-on , but guests leave with the six-course meal that was prepared in front of them . Both programs are orchestrated by in-house chef Alan
Tangren , who was previously a chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley for 22 years . ( He now lives on a farm near Grass Valley .)
In a pivot , Short and Tangren sold a seven-course Valentine ’ s Day takeaway meal and 50 six-course prepared dinners for New Year ’ s Eve . Also , Short rents the kitchen to local producers of salsa and honey . She has launched a new website and is still working to set up e-commerce .
Cruising the seemingly never-ending aisles of kitchenware , the question arises : What are some of Short ’ s best-selling items ? “ This business is built on ‘ smalls ’ ( smallware such as utensils ), and they ’ re all around you ,” she says . “ One of my top sellers in 2019 was an oven rack pull with the head of a Muppet-like character at one end . I put two of them by the cash register and sold 144 in 60 days .”
The top stocking stuffer last December was The General ’ s Hot Sauce , made by a company founded by military veterans . The draw ? The six flavors are packaged in glass jars fashioned to look like hand grenades .
Allen Pierleoni is a freelance writer in Sacramento . He worked for The Sacramento Bee as a writer and editor in the features department for 30 years .
36 comstocksmag . com | March 2021