After a long day at the office, preparing a full-course dinner may not be a top priority for many working professionals.
And it was that reality of the modern world that spurred Dana Snyder to open the state?s first Let?s Eat! franchise, a commercial kitchen concept started in Florida in 2004 as a way for Americans to dine at home without having to actually prepare the meals there.
“I?m a mother of two young kids and this concept just really appealed to me,” said Dana Snyder, who owns the center along with her husband, John. The two also own a Melting Pot franchise in Columbia.
“For mothers who are working or who are just too busy to cook, this will bring them back to the dinner tables with their families without having to worry about the shopping or especially the cleanup,” she said.
Snyder said she and her husband invested about $200,000 to open the franchise. The new Let?s Eat!, located in Ellicott City?s Enchanted Forest Shopping Center, opened its doors July 5. Snyder said since that time more than 200 people have come to the center to prepare meals.
To participate in the service, customers register for a two-hour day, evening, weekday or weekend session via the company?s Web site letseatdinner.com. All of the ingredients, utensils and recipes are provided at on-site food preparation stations. Customers can make between eight and 12 meals that can be frozen and heated from their home. Each dish serves between four and six people.
The Ellicott City center is the first to be located outside of Florida, but Snyder and the parent company?s owners said they plan to open more locations both statewide and nationally.
“We believe that there are so many people who could benefit from this concept all over the country,” said Melissa Slack, who started the company with fellow working mom and longtime friend Marty Poe. “In less than two hours, they can take home a month?s worth of meals.”
