Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Scopel.
Corey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was young my mom had a little catering company and I would help her when she got big events. When I turned 16, I got my first restaurant job and also joined the culinary program at Alvin Highschool. I graduated from ahs in 2006 then attended culinary school at T.S.T.C. in Waco where I competed in culinary competitions and graduated top of my class and was also accepted into the Phi Theta Kapa honor society all while holding a full-time job at The Green Room Grille which was a popular 5-star restaurant. I graduated the culinary program in mid 2009 then moved back to my hometown and started my career at Joes BBQ as the banquet and catering manager. I worked at Joes for approximately seven years learning the ins and outs of large-scale catering and special events then moved on.
In the fall of 2014, I moved on to my next adventure in the culinary world where I was hired as the Executive chef and general manager at The Garage Bar and Grill. At the Garage I expanded my knowledge by being involved in a ground up business opening. I helped in construction, layout and decorating along with creating an enticing menu and scratch recipes. I handled the hiring, ordering, and all the day to day. January of 2017, I embarked on the journey of opening my own restaurant (Corey’s Kitchen and ECC) that has proven to be a blessing. Over the past three years we have grown from a single food truck parked at the historic Stanton’s shopping center, to now having two food trucks, a food park/event venue (ScopelSquare), and a restaurant in Manvel along with a catering line that has proven to grow by 300% consecutively each year. I have strong ties to the community and truly love what I do.
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?
For the most part it has been but as with anything, there has been ups and downs. As with any growing business you have the struggle of finding new employees that fit your business model and training them to do things your way. In the restaurant industry you have ups and downs but with the COVID19 pandemic hitting us early March and still hanging around now in July, we have had to get inventive and finding new ways to reach our customers. The lord tells us we should bless others as he has blessed us and that’s exactly what we were fortunate enough to do when we held three Feed the City events, two in Alvin and one in Manvel. It was awesome to see so many great local businesses and individuals come together to give out over 1,800 free meals to our community. There will always be struggles, but it’s how we deal with those struggles that defines who we are as a business.
Corey’s Kitchen and Elite Catering Company – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At Corey’s Kitchen we are known for Creating Smiles ONE BITE AT A TIME!!! We take pride in our food, making everything from scratch and always trying to introduce new menu items. We offer a big selection of Southern Comfort Food such as Meatloaf, Hamburger Steak, Country Fried Steak, Fried Green Tomatoes and many more while also offering more traditional favorites such as our Hand-Made Burgers, Fresh Wraps, Enticing Appetizers and much more. Our catering line is called Elite because we take pride in being the best around, we offer the best customer service and scratch made menu items certain to please the palate. I am very versatile in the kitchen and can make any event menu one of a kind by being versed in cuisine from all over the globe and it’s that customer service and versatility that sets us apart from others. I want our guest to feel like they are walking into my house and we feel that our guest is our family!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being personable and creating tasty food!
Contact Info:
- Address: 20709 Highway 6, Manvel Texas 77578
- Website: coreyskitchen.com
- Phone: 281)692-2559
- Email: coreyskitchentx@gmail.com
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