The answer to the question, ‘What’s for dinner?’ just got easier for residents of northwest Atlanta thanks to the grand opening of Dinnertime Delivered, a new meal delivery and pick-up service that makes delicious, made-from scratch dinners. Their slogan is ‘Home Cooked Meals in a Click’, with all ordering done online through the website www.DinnertimeDelivered.com.
The service area encompasses twenty zip codes and includes portions of Powder Springs, Hiram, Marietta, Kennesaw, Dallas, Acworth, Douglasville, Smyrna, Sandy Springs and Vinings. The zip codes are listed on the website.
The company recently celebrated a grand opening celebration at its storefront location, located at 3200 Hopeland Industrial Drive in Powder Springs, where Florence Road meets C.H. James Highway (Hwy. 278), just south of Hiram. All the food prep and cooking are done on the premises. Meals can be picked up there or delivered to the home. There is a modest delivery fee for smaller orders.
Visitors to the website are presented with that week’s options for dinner entrées (full and half-size), plus add-ons and sides. For example, for the week of May 17th, the entrée choices were Chicken Burrito Bowl, Spinach Salad with Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Butter Chicken with Jasmine Rice, Sloppy Joe’s and Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage (or no sausage for vegetarians). The portions are very generous.
The add-ons for that week included Pimento Cheese & Crackers ($7), Naan Bread with Garlic Oil ($7), Refried Bean Dip & Tortilla Chips ($7), Mixed Green Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing ($7), Garlic Roasted Green Beans ($7), Rosemary Petite Potatoes ($7), Tuna Salad with Club Crackers ($7) and the dessert of the week, S’Mores Bars ($7). The sides are mostly fixed, but may also change week-to-week.
Each full-size entrée feeds 4-5 people and comes with an additional side, at a cost of $35 (there is a quantity discount on full-size meals); a half-entrée feeds 2-3 people and costs $18 (no side). New menus for entrées and add-ons are featured each week and posted on Monday mornings. All orders are due on Wednesdays at 7 pm for the following Sunday (delivery) or Monday (pick-up).
Dinnertime Delivered is the brainchild of Jessica Stembridge, who worked for years at a wealth management company, in business management. But she always had a passion for food and dreamed of one day getting into the restaurant or food services business. She started small, about a year ago, experimenting with recipes in her home kitchen and trying them out on family and friends. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
“I knew when a couple of my friends stopped cooking altogether that we were onto something,” Stembridge said. With help from a small army of dedicated friends who wanted to see Jessica’s dream become a reality as much as she did, her business grew as word of her food spread.
“The hardest part about getting off the ground was finding a suitable space for the kitchen,” Stembridge said. “We had a couple of spots fall through before finally landing our current location, which is perfect for our needs.” That was in December. “It took us several months after that to retrofit the space.” The grand opening, with free food for all, was held early in May and was heavily attended.
Stembridge stressed that the secret to her success are the ingredients that go into her creatively inspired recipes. “We make all of our meals from scratch using only high-quality ingredients and avoiding additives like high-fructose corn syrup, food coloring and MSG,” she said. “We think real food is best and we care about food allergies and sensitivities. Our goal is to offer gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian or vegan options each week.”
Dinnertime Delivered differs from home-delivered meal kits, which require prep time and assembly, and frozen entrees which are – well, frozen, and need to be thawed or microwaved. “Our meals are freshly cooked and ready to enjoy,” Stembridge said. “Just heat and eat.”
However, she added, roasted vegetables are something that taste best fresh right out of the oven, so she puts those into a plastic bag; the customer is required to put them on a pan and slide them into the oven. So far, no complaints.
Dinnertime Delivered has a minimum order amount of $35. Delivery is free on orders over $100 and $5 on orders of less than $100. Gift cards are available in denominations of $50, $75, $100 and $150. Also, for folks not always home on Sundays to receive their delivered meals, a smart-looking reusable cooler is for sale on the website, for $26. Click open the add-ons and scroll down a bit.
For more information, please visit www.DinnertimeDelivered.com.