MEMBERS
MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Our Town CAtering “ Gourmet food to go ”
I got to chat on the phone with recent “ 40 Under 40 ” winner ; Chef Edith Johnson , owner of Our Town Catering in Sitka to learn a little bit about how she ’ s filling a much sought-after niche in Sitka .
Tell me a little about the history of Our Town
We ’ re coming up on our 5 th year of business on May 1 st . I opened the restaurant because catering was a niche that simply hadn ’ t been met in Sitka , which gave the community a great opportunity to start bringing events and conferences to town . We wanted to provide food that had as many locally sourced Alaskan ingredients as possible .
What ’ s the most popular thing you offer ?
Seafood is probably our forte , that ’ s why most people come to me and it ’ s what I ’ m best at ! We also do locally grown vegetables and fruits . We try to take advantage of seasonal offerings as well , like in the fall we get mushrooms , spring fiddleheads , and fresh fruit . Over the pandemic , we ’ ve just been trying to do gourmet food to go !
Why did you become a member of CHARR ?
Patricia MacPike from our local CHARR affiliate came into the restaurant and told me about CHARR . I thought that we might make a good addition . I like to keep in touch with anything that has to do with the restaurant / hospitality industry .
How have you made it through the pandemic ?
The first year was really rough , at the beginning of 2020 we were down in sales like most businesses and it felt like things were spiraling . Honestly , the unknown was probably the worst , not being sure when we were going to come out of the pandemic . On the plus side , we got spoiled with family time . Since we do catering , we usually work on weekends and holidays , which we got to spend with family ! But as for the business , we survived . We took grants and applied for all the assistance and everything we possibly could . January / February of 2022 has honestly been the worst part . We had lots of weddings booked , but the main venue in Sitka had to go with the State mandates which stopped them from doing most events . It seems like there are no resources for businesses at this point despite the fact that the industry is still struggling .
Is there anything else you ’ d like to add ?
I think the last couple of years has put everyone in an entirely different mentality and I think a lot of people are still recovering from that . I ’ m ready for things to go back to normal !
ALASKA CHARR MAGAZINE | 20