Packing work and school lunches can feel like an Olympic sport, whether you’re a night-before meal-prep master or a morning “grab it and hope for the best” champion.
Nesci’s is helping families and downtown workers with that daunting task with their new Prepared Foods location at the corner of Larch and Young Street, in the old Motley Kitchen location downtown.
Chris Minor, the operations manager for the site, says this location was desperately needed and opened Oct. 1.
“Our team really grew out of the prep space at Tony V’s as we have grown substantially branching out with fundraisers, prepped meals, wholesale foods and distribution,” he said.
Minor says customers dot the City of Greater Sudbury map in places like Valley Market, Amici, Tony V’s, Chris Independent, Lockerby Confectionary, Long Lake General Store, Onaping Quickway, Freskiw Farms, Panache Bay Marina and D&A Meats.
With sales extending now into southern Ontario, more kitchen prep and warehouse space was essential.
The vision was never to have a storefront but another opportunity arrived on their doorstep when the cafe in city hall closed.
“With only a four-minute walk, the staff now come here to pick up a sandwich, a wrap, pasta salads and lunch menu items,” says Minor.
They are also leaving with the fresh to frozen packages in tow so they don’t have to worry about dinner when they get home.
Meant for busy families and seniors, freezer options contain small lasagnas, shepherd’s pies, meatballs, pasta sauce, chicken pot pies, cabbage rolls, chicken parmesan and more.
The freezer boxes range from $82 to $105, and are perfect for life events like new babies, surgeries, bereavement and more.
Freezer boxes can be delivered to homes with an added delivery fee option with deliveries coinciding with already existing delivery dates to locations in the city.
“The senior kit is most popular, as it is portion-sized, offering about 12 meals that just require heating,” Minor adds.
Minor says the Nesci’s Prepared Food location has provided a lot of new opportunities, with staff dividing their time between Nesci’s Catering, the frozen prepared meals and the grab and go options available each day to the hungry lunch crowd.
“We’ve tapped new markets and already have a number of regulars we’ve gotten to know in just a short time in the downtown location,” he said.
He said the new customers have great ideas for future expansion.
To visit Nesci’s Prepared Foods, head to 70 Young St. at the corner of Young and Larch in downtown Sudbury.
You can also visit them on Facebook and Instagram at Nesci’s Prepared Foods.
The location is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.