toledoblade.com --

Michelle S. Nisely admitted willingly that, as someone who doesn't cook much, she was fairly skeptical about spending last Saturday preparing 13 meals for future use.

But after trying a two-hour session at Dream Dinners - a meal-assembly retailer in the Toledo suburb of Bedford Township - the Monroe resident has become a convert.

"I don't mind eating the same thing every night, but this is great," she said. "It puts some variety in my freezer."

Michelle S. Nisely, a repeat customer, says her work at the store puts some dinner variety in her freezer at home.
( THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER )

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It is not take-out meals, nor are the meals prepared by others to take home to cook. The customer puts together the ingredients for planned meals.

Beth Godfrey, owner of Dream Dinners, said once customers try her business, they usually like it. Toughest, she explained, is getting people to understand what the store does.

"We try to solve the daily dinner dilemma: What are we going to make tonight?" she said.

Dream Dinners, which opened Jan. 4 in the Kroger shopping plaza on Sterns Road at Secor Road, apparently is the first retailer in the Toledo area to engage in one of the fastest-growing segments of the $1 trillion retail food industry: meal assembly.

Tony Godfrey

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Dream Dinners began in Snohomish, Wash., in 2002 and has 130 franchises. It was among the first companies to hit it big in the industry.

According to the Easy Meal Prep Association, an industry group in Cheyenne, Wyo., the first meal-assembly store opened in 1999. The concept has spawned 217 companies and 566 outlets in 42 states and three Canadian provinces.

Entrepreneurs have contacted the trade group about Toledo, said Bert Vermeulen, association founder and food franchise specialist. It typically costs $100,000 to $200,000 to get started.

Meal assembly solves a problem for people want dinner at home like they had growing up but no longer have time to do it the traditional way, he said.

For $200 to $250 for 12 meals, customers book a two-hour session at a store, which prepares and provides all food items needed for each meal. Wearing aprons and plastic gloves, customers put together the meals, place them in freezer bags, and take them home to freeze for future use.

Beth Godfrey

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Each meal provides from 4 to 6 servings that cost on average about $2.70 each.

Diane Matuszak, of Ottawa Lake, Mich., a teacher who is often pressed for time, tried the local store Saturday for the first time . She said, "It won't be the last. I can guarantee it."

She put together five meals in under an hour. "I thought it was very organized, easy, and efficient. In about less than two hours, I prepared 13 meals for 4 to 6 people each. The freezer's full now."

Ms. Godfrey, who worked at a local bank, said she heard about the concept two years ago. She looked into acquiring a Dream Dinners franchise at the urging of her husband, Tony, a construction materials specialist who enjoys cooking.

The store, which can accommodate 12 customers at each meal session, has had about 70 participants.

Her business has spread mostly through word of mouth, she said. "I'm convinced it's going to work. Seeing some of the other locations with similar demographics as Toledo and knowing how well they're doing, I think this will catch on."

Contact Jon Chavez at:
jchavez@theblade.com
or 419-724-6128.

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