Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Jones.
Rick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Having worked in the corporate arena for 30 years, but always dreaming about running my own business, I decided “it’s now or never.” My wife and I were both born and raised in San Diego and were looking for a way to contribute to the community in a tangible way. Researching the catering industry, I became drawn to the challenge of it and to how it connects you with people in the community – either in their workplaces or on special occasions in their personal lives. All of us eat every day, and now, with this business, we get the privilege of making that part of people’s day the very best it can be.
My personal passion is centered around the business end – growing a company with a superior product and the highest level of customer service from scratch and turning it into something big and beautiful. And then turning it over to active, engaged employees to run it and reap the rewards until they turn it over to the next generation of active employees, and so on, in perpetuity. I knew business passion, alone, would not be enough though. So when I found the opportunity to bring in equally passionate, experienced leaders in both food and service, I jumped at the chance.
Ricardo Santana has been customizing absolutely brilliant meals for weddings and corporate clients for decades. Shelly Ott and her team have been winning the hearts of clients with personalized care and attention to detail on their special occasions. It’s been wonderful for my wife and I to go on this journey with Ricardo and Shelly and to see the fruits of all our labors creating a company that is growing into its name – truly becoming California’s Best Catering & Events.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am sure that everyone starting out from scratch in the food industry has a bumpy road at first, and I know that someday we will look back and laugh. I take a lot of solace in that thought!
Some of those bumps? The sales campaigns that led to nothing. The chef who fainted on his first day. Delivery drivers who don’t show up. A merchant solutions company that is probably a direct descendant of Blackbeard. A sous chef who didn’t know that aluminum pans turn scrambled eggs green. An ice machine that seems to have a mind of its own. Days and nights that are much too long, and yet still too short to get everything accomplished.
The biggest challenge has been spreading the word. Our product, the food, is nothing short of awesome. Our delivery and service is impeccable. And in terms of the value we provide for the price, nobody tops us. Our reviews are all great. And yet there are still days where we close up shop because we don’t have an order.
But really, when you consider all of the things that could have gone wrong in this business, we have been very fortunate. Great customers. Employees who believe in the company and contribute every day to its mission to be the best. The help of family who has supported us, especially 80-year-old “Pops,” who came out of retirement to be our first salesperson, one of our first delivery drivers and, up until recently, our primary dishwasher, too.
All in all, we are quite blessed.
California’s Best Catering – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a full-service catering company, specializing in superb, customized meals for all of our clients’ guests, including those who prefer (or need) to eat gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc. “No guest left behind.”
People often ask what cuisine we specialize in, but truly our customers have described a wide variety of our creations as “amazing,” from our Apple Brandy Pork and Maple-Glazed Salmon to our pulled barbecue pork and Chipotle Tri-Tip, our tacos, enchiladas, and breakfast burritos, as well as our gourmet deli sandwiches and salads. Oh, and the teriyaki chicken is incredible, too.
The corporate customer that “gets us” is the one who orders a platter of sandwiches, salads and desserts for a department meeting of 10 people, a barbecue buffet for their Employee Appreciation Day and a holiday banquet of appetizers and fine foods with tray-pass service, rentals and décor. We deliver value, timeliness, flexibility. And we keep fresh ingredients on hand so that we can respond quickly for requests to deliver to impromptu lunch meetings. It is of primary importance to us that we take care of that person or people inside the business that makes the decision to bring us in. We make them look like heroes for making that choice.
We are great for weddings as well because we care enough to have two professional wedding coordinators on staff and we can handle virtually any request – rentals, bartending, photo booth, floral arrangements, food stations, donut walls, a petting zoo, you name it! Every wedding is unique and creates an opportunity for us to shine as we pull off the bride’s (or the mother-in-law’s) vision for the day.
What feels me with pride about this business is the attention to detail we have displayed in every facet of it. I would not say we have reached perfection, but we have received a lot of glowing reviews from weddings, private parties (birthdays, anniversaries and memorial services) and from corporate clients. And of course, the best review of all, the call back to place another order. When you look behind you and see a wake of great food experiences and happy customers, how can you not feel pride in your company’s employees for creating that?
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There was one day when we had four fairly sizable events and three of them were going on at the same time. Our leadership was spread thin, our kitchen crew was stretched, and our event teams required a high degree of coordination. It went flawless. At the end of the day, we had four completely satisfied customers who felt nothing other than being our number one priority while we were with them.
The future proud moment I am looking forward to is when my wife and I walk away from the day to day operations and hand the keys (and the profits) to the business leaders we helped develop. When that happens, I’ll be moving on to our business’ next location and do it all again!
Contact Info:
- Address: 7948 Convoy Ct., San Diego, CA 92111
- Website: www.californiasbestcatering.com
- Phone: (858) 352-0222
- Email: orderup@californiasbestcatering.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/californiasbestcatering/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/californiasbestcatering/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/californias-best-catering-and-events-san-diego-2?osq=california%27s+best+catering
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