Today we’d like to introduce you to Elmo Parker.
Elmo, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
That’s a fairly long story but I’ll try to be brief. My dad had a barbecue restaurant in Denton when I was younger. (6/7 years old).
I ran the register sometimes and by age 10 I was helping prep & smoke meat. When I was 15 my father passed and we moved a lot of the equipment down to Houston. My mom & stepdad would cater to the church & small groups. They really kept the business going and made sure I stayed involved in it. I went through school and into corporate not particularly interested in entering the food industry full time but would still help with my mom’s events. I ended up with a roommate who was laid off and in order to bring in extra money I thought I would try my hand selling food.
Called up a few old club promoter friends and got permission to sell on their patios. It was pasta & smoked wings most nights and it did exceptionally well. From there people I met began Booking me for catering gigs. Four years ago I took the leap of faith and bet on myself to do catering full time. Last spring an opportunity came to go brick and mortar. As the catering side of the business had boomed we Decided it was best to have our own kitchen and also try daily lunch/dinner offerings
Has it been a smooth road?
As with any entrepreneurial endeavor it hasn’t been a smooth road. I left my job with not very much in savings or capital to start, just knew this was what I was supposed to be doing. I was definitely doing it for the love of food at the outset because there wasn’t a lot of money or catering jobs coming in initially. A lot of sacrifices had to be made.
Thank God for my parents & then girlfriend for all their help. I entered a field I had no formal training in. I had to learn pricing, inventory control, scheduling all on the fly.
Only thing I was certain of was the food is good and the customer service was great. If we made sure of those two things consistently, we would prevail.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kim’s Kitchen story. Tell us more about the business.
Kim’s Kitchen is our Brick & Mortar restaurant that opens daily for lunch and dinner. We try to incorporate some of my dad’s smokehouse favorites, mom’s Louisiana Creole background and good southern comfort. The favorites are definitely the surf & Surf fries (smoked brisket & fried shrimp) and Gumbo.
I’m most proud of service and ability to accommodate just about any taste. We’ll cook just about anything we have in our fridge anyway you like. It’s an open concept so customers can watch us get there meal ready from start to finish.
E.W Catering is our parent company and how we’re known to many. Pride myself on being able to work with just about any budget and even going off menu to get events together. All clients have my direct cell phone contact, not many companies permit direct contact to the head man in charge. I hope to keep this a standard as we grow.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Without spilling any big secrets, we definitely look forward to expanding. Different markets, planning service, full-service hospitality suite as well.
Pricing:
- We have catering options as low as $$9 per person
- All menu options in store average $12
Contact Info:
- Website: Ewcateringandmore.com
- Phone: 713-360-7727
- Email: ewcateringandmore@gmail.com
- Instagram: @kimskitchenHTX
- Twitter: @kimskitchenHTX
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