Our story begins in The Kitchen…but isn’t that where every good story begins?

In 2017 our favorite mother/daughter duo, Owner, Jennifer Krider & Director of Sales & Operations, Kaitlyn Morgan sat in Jennie’s kitchen with an idea to bring Jennie’s love of cooking into the homes of family & friends using Facebook Live. Jen’s kitchen, knowledge of food & love of the camera soon broadcasted live into the homes of friends, family and even strangers in every corner of the United States! It was a hit!

As their live show {From My Side of the Kitchen} gained popularity and traction, the requests for catered events soon started rolling in. From meetings & private parties, to showers & weddings - Northeast Indiana had a peek into Jen’s kitchen - now they wanted a taste.

Both working office jobs at the time - Jen & Kate often used their lunch hours to prep & deliver catering orders before returning back to work. Jen soon realized she was going to need to make a change in order to continue taking on new clients & orders.

In the summer of 2019 an opportunity presented itself for Jen to open a brick & mortar catering facility! She’ll tell you she was nothing if not scared out of her mind to quit her 9-5 & take the leap into entrepreneurship. Just days before opening the doors she even obtained her Substitute Teaching License; you know, just in case there were “slow days”. We’re here to tell you that Substitute Teaching License was tucked away in a drawer and wasn’t pulled out once!

Kate quickly realized what a success her mom was destined to be and was excited to share that news with the community. An Open House & Ribbon Cutting was scheduled in early November of 2019 where Jen, Kate & their crew were met with an overwhelming show of support from individuals & businesses in Whitley County and beyond. It truly was a day they will never forget. Shortly after they were thrust into their first holiday season and they decided in order to continue growing at the pace they were, Kate was also going to need to step back from her 9-5 and join the team in an official capacity.

We’ll give you one guess at where this story heads next: March of 2020 - a pivotal point in The Kitchen’s history.

Buzzing from the excitement of the holiday season & looking ahead to future events, Jen & Kate brought on several part time team members to work in The Kitchen. One week before the world shut down due to COVID-19, The Kitchen & Company catered events with total guest counts around one thousand people. Just a week later…you can imagine.

Closing up shop was not going to be an option for Jen. While catered events had very obviously come to a halt, food establishments were still able to offer carry out services. The Kitchen & Company already offered a delicious Sack & Boxed Lunch menu to corporate clients & small groups. Why couldn’t they offer the same meals to individuals? And so, Grab & Go Sack Lunches were made available to the general public and quite frankly, saved The Kitchen & Company from closing the doors less than one year in.

Neither Jen or Kate would have predicted the success of their Grab & Go Sack Lunch offerings! They were very quickly able to call back their part time employees & add a few more to the team. Jen’s other daughters, Cali & Mackie, as well as many other family & friends were able to work part time at The Kitchen & Company through the Spring & Summer of 2020. Word got around and as the world returned to “normal”, The Kitchen & Company’s popularity spread and soon catered events returned along with the continuation of Grab & Go Sack Lunches.

While it was an experience neither Jen, Kate or quite frankly anyone else would ever wish to relive, it was certainly a time that proved to the team at The Kitchen & Company that continuing to meet your customers where they are and offering fresh & delicious food while providing excellent customer service will get you far.

In 2022 November of 2022, The Kitchen & Company opened the doors to their second location in Union Street Market at Electric Works and their Wine Bar will be opening at Electric Works in the Summer of 2023.

Proudly woman owned & woman run, both locations serve as Specialty Food Boutiques specializing in Grazing & Carryout Lunch. Catered options continue to be available for individuals as well as groups ranging in size from small meetings of 5 to corporate events and weddings of 500 or more!

The Kitchen & Company proudly introduced Grazing to Northeast Indiana in 2019 and has become well known for their line of ‘#SimplyAgrazing’ products including Grazing Boxes, Boards, Spreads, Tables & Cups. Cheese is kind of their thing!

In their Columbia City & Fort Wayne shops you can expect to find coolers full of fresh & delicious Grazing Boxes, Wraps, Salads, House Made Dips & Spreads as well as their popular Salted Caramel Corn, Spiced Candied Pecans, Caramel & Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods and more!

So if you’re in need of catering, lunch or finding the perfect gift for the foodie in your life we invite you to check out The Kitchen & Company!