The party is almost dead in Miami, but this gourmet food company is winning fans
The party once looked like it would never end in Miami — but now, if it’s not dying, it will certainly need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after the pandemic ends.
Mena Catering has been organizing luxury parties for 38 years, but during the past few months, owner Jorge Mena reinvented the business to focus on home delivery, using a gourmet menu that changes every week.
“No restaurant does that,” said Mena, proud of a new business line that not only has kept him afloat during the pandemic, but has kept his company active and engaged.
“We have won over a new segment of the community, older people who don’t have a lot of money and don’t have parties but do like to eat well. They are ordering from us, they are enjoying it, and they tell us that everything is very good. So that’s encouraging,” Mena said.
He often shares his weekly menu on Instagram.
Mena acknowledges that the return of parties he hoped for has not happened so far. In the past few months, he has only catered small family gatherings of about 20 people each. The events have been so few that Mena can count them on his fingers, he said.
“There’s been no avalanche of parties,” said Mena, who used to organize parties that could cost up to half a million dollars.
Despite all that, the businessman remains optimistic.
He delights in describing the menu for a recent wedding engagement gathering that focused on Cuban and Turkish dishes, reflecting the cultural backgrounds of the couple: mini Cuban fritas; small empanadas filled with maduros; petit pitas stuffed with lamb in Mediterranean spices; black bean falafels; and for dessert, guava baklava — all served in Mena Catering boxes. This new way of serving food is safer because no one touches the food, Mena noted.
The boxes and the masks worn by employees bear the company logo. The masks, which protect clients against the coronavirus, are also an extra cost for a business already facing shrinking income.
Although his company received a federal loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, it was not for a large sum, Mena said, without specifying the amount used to pay employee salaries. “We managed to keep everyone in the kitchen working, and since there were no parties we kept some employees to make the deliveries,” he said.
For now, he has some parties scheduled for October, November and December; most of the clients who are calling want to organize events for the following year.
“I want it known that we’re here, offering services and giving work to those we can, without losing too much money,” Mena said, emphasizing the “much” because “money, we are losing.”
Sarah Moreno: 305-376-2217, @SarahMorenoENH
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 12:00 AM.