Taste acquires longtime Virginia Beach catering commercial enterprise

by Patricia R. Davis

Louise Nagourney, founding father of the Hampton Roads catering mainstay Cuisine and Company, has actually visible the enterprise’s growth before her eyes. It just started out evolving,” she stated, approximately catering in trendy in addition to her personal enterprise, which turned into originally a retail store known as Pasta & Company. Almost four decades later, Nagourney has decided the time is proper to start to step far from her business. Taste has obtained cuisine & Company, the Hampton Roads cafe and food retailer announced June 18.

Taste acquires longtime Virginia Beach catering commercial enterprise 3

As Nagourney concept approximately her destiny and her enterprise’s future, she found out she was accountable to no longer handiest her dependable clients. Still, to her 100 employees, several had been with the enterprise almost due to the beginning. I couldn’t just near the doors and say, ‘Go find any other process,’” Nagourney said.

She stated she had to find an enterprise that would help manage Cuisine, even supporting it to preserve its identity and expertise. Thankfully, a mutual pal was given her in touch with Taste president Jon Pruden. Nagourney said she turned into struck through his intention to keep the enterprise in place to integrate it into the Taste emblem. Nagourney added Taste founder Peter Coe also had excellent things to say about the Pruden own family, who assumed Taste management in 2006.

Peter stated he went above what he anticipated,” Nagourney said.

She isn’t making plans to retire absolutely from her commercial enterprise simply but, however. She will live around as a representative, supporting the menus and customer family members. According to Pruden, Coe entered a comparable function whilst he stepped far from managing Taste.

“Louise too deserves the right to awareness on the laughing stuff,” Pruden said.

When she began her commercial enterprise in 1981, Nagourney stated how Hampton Roads citizens ate and prepared food turned into extensively one of a kind from these days. Catering was nonexistent; Whole Foods didn’t provide prepared meals, and, in preferred, people had more time to cook meals themselves. As she grew her business, she stated she started to peer a want for professional, catered food, which brought on the pivot from a retail pasta save.

People have learned that it’s so much simpler to entertain (with catering),” she stated. As part of Taste’s settlement, all employees may have the opportunity to keep their positions, and Cuisine will keep its individual logo. That is key for us,” Pruden stated. “We determined early on that Cuisine’s identity and the reputation that it’s earned … There’s the price there. Currently, Taste has a drop-off catering carrier, however no absolutely-staffed operation, Pruden stated. With Cuisine, the agency could be capable of cater, for instance, the commissioning of a plane provider or a massive event on the Slover Library, he stated.

It’s a unique skill set, and we’re very much searching ahead to having that inside our own family of manufacturers,” he stated. Along with the Cuisine acquisition, Taste announced Taste Hospitality Group’s formation — a management organization on the way to oversee brands like the Taste retail stores, Cuisine and Borjo Coffeehouse. The agency will deal with services like accounting, human assets, information systems, advertising, and education. Taste operates 8 Hampton Roads retail places and one in Richmond. Pruden said any other Taste keep in Virginia Beach’s Town Center is anticipated to open within the fall. The enterprise employs 408 humans, he said.

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