Lodi catering business had touch of success
The very first catering gig Darlene Reed and her husband Noel worked was Noel’s son Kevin’s wedding, on Sept. 18, 1993.
That was the first step on a new journey for a man who had, until recently, spent his working life on the road as a truck driver.
Noel had lost his job when the company he worked for closed down, and the Reeds were pondering what to do next. Darlene said: ‘What about catering?’
Thus, A Touch of Mesquite Specialty Catering was born. It was the beginning of 20-plus years of running a successful full-service catering business, working a wide variety of events from small rustic outdoor barbecues, to large-scale fundraisers.
Darlene created the menu, and together they worked side by side cooking to get the new business off the ground. She said they had a lot of help from friends and family in those first years.
Darlene was already working full time at Robert Mondavi Winery, where she first started working in the production line and worked her up to running the bottling department. She continued to work there while the family business was being developed, which grew steadily through word of mouth.
“We never placed any ads,” Darlene said.
The work at Mondavi gave her useful experience in running a business — how to run a department, budgeting, paperwork, staffing and delegating.
Two years later, they realized they had a solid business that was growing and decided to add employees. Once established, Darlene stepped aside and let Noel take charge.
Their first location was a rented space on Oak Street, now occupied by Sweet Mel’s Bakery. The Reeds then set up shop on Kettleman Lane, before settling into their final space on Lodi Avenue, where they remained until recently when they decided to retire and sell the business.
They had several long-time, loyal customers, and provided catering services to Mondavi Winery, even hitting the road to cater company events in Napa and Oakville. They were a staple at the Lodi Street Faire and Summer Fest and other community events. They catered weddings and funerals. Many times, they got a call about an event coming up the next day. The Reeds said you have to flexible to be successful in the business.
“We were famous for our grilled tritip with the marinade we created, our famous Italian chicken, and our pesto pasta,” Darlene said. “Our most popular meal throughout was tri-tip, Italian chicken and pesto pasta.”
They also offered an extensive list of hors d’oeuvres, fruit plates, salad and mixed bread.
The Reeds prided themselves on attention to detail and personalized service.
Once they catered two large events on the same day, serving 700 people at a Stockton event and 650 at a Lodi event at the same time.
“Our biggest night ever was we handled nine functions in one day feeding over 2,600 people,“Darlene said.
“We weren’t afraid of a challenge,” she said.
Although most of the events went off without a hitch, they had a few hiccups along the way. Once they realized they had forgotten a leather sheath for a knife on a tray of tri-tip they put in the oven. Another time, they mistakenly put a plastic tray into the oven, which started to melt. And at a big event at a mansion, they had all the hors d’oeuvres carefully lined up on a long table, when the legs of the table went out, and all the food went sliding. They managed to save it all, though.
“What happens behind the scenes — it’s only funny once you pulled off the event,” Darlene laughed.
Above all, the business is famous for the marinade it created. So when word spread they were closing, one customer exclaimed: “Oh no! What are we going to do?” Darlene said.
“A lot of family is trying to get us to market it,” she said.
They have no immediate plans of releasing their famous proprietary recipe, but they have been considering either writing a cook book, or starting a blog, or both. For now, the couple is planning on spending more quality time together. They have plans to read more books, take the boat out and travel. First on their list of travel: Hawaii.
“It’s funny how life turns out,” Noel said. “From driving an 18-wheeler to being a chef. It’s been a beautiful venture, It’s all been worth it.”