San Mateo Supper Club has a history. Some of you have been members since the GatherMade times, so I will endeavor to explain what happened before and how we ended up here. But first: WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Way back in 2021, we were approached by VC-backed founders here in Silicon Valley. They wanted to start a meal delivery service similar to some others that had just received over $20M in Series A funding. Of course, we were flattered and starting working right away with these professionals. Both Chef Mary & I were partnering at the time with Shef.com to bring meals to local customers, and we quickly left them to focus on "GatherMade."
The founders of GatherMade had a great vision--to strengthen communities and local food economies by bringing local chefs together with families that need support with weeknight family meals. We proved there was a market, we proved that customers would come back week after week, and we had a great time providing meals for local families. GatherMade created & managed the ordering platform, delivery and logistics, and all customer relations. We designed menus and made the meals. It was fun.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Sadly, GatherMade found they were unlikely to make a profit anytime soon, nor could they project a profitable future with taking a percentage of the meals that were being delivered to happy customers--even with higher delivery and service fees. Put even more simply, the model CAN be profitable, but it is not scalable to a large corporate model. There is not enough to support Chefs, Delivery, Logistics AND Corporate salaries. So, they closed. Abruptly.
SAN MATEO SUPPER CLUB!
While we were sad and feeling stressed about losing our jobs the first week in December with no warning, we started to hear from several of our customers. So, we dusted off our egos and began cooking for those families that reached out to us directly. You know who you are--thank you for sustaining us through this turmoil! Without you, we might have gone and done something else. Soon, we realized we could launch our own site and keep going.
We built this website, and we are excited that the vision we helped build is true and we will continue to serve our fine community with delicious, nourishing and reasonably priced meals. We know how busy and stressful day-to-day life can be, and we are here to help off load some of the stress by doing the shopping, cooking and delivering. We are excited we get to keep doing this work. You and your families inspire us every single day, and we are so grateful to get to know you each more personally than before.
That is the short version of how San Mateo Supper Club came to be, why some of the insulated bags say "GatherMade" on them, and how we know what we are doing works. Of course, now we are doing all the admin work as well as the delivery ourselves because it turns out all those delivery apps charge predatory prices (don't get us started). So you'll see us on your Ring doorbells dropping off meals and doing our best to keep you nourished and cared for.
Welcome to the club. We cannot WAIT to serve you!
~Chef Ginny & Chef Mary
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