David DeGraff, owner of Main Street Catering, recently teamed up with Sean Mannina of Artisan’s Kitchen in a joint culinary venture. Main Street Catering, now in its 25th year, and Artisan’s Kitchen, in its fifth year, have moved into a shared kitchen in Kachina Square, where the two businesses will continue to operate independently, with frequent opportunities for collaboration.
Artisan’s Kitchen serves primarily as a food provider for other businesses. “The idea is that we make it, and they sell it,” Mannina explained. Artisan’s Kitchen currently supplies food – from fresh baked pastries to savory breakfast burritos – to such Flagstaff businesses as Bookmans, Rendezvous, and KickStand Kafé. They also cater and supply food to local river companies, including Moenkopi and Ceiba.
Main Street Catering is another well-established business in town. They cater events ranging from weddings and birthday parties to board meetings and grand openings and have won numerous “Best of Flagstaff” awards over the years.
The new, shared kitchen is in full operation, and the two businesses have already begun working together on big events. “If Main Street caters the wedding, Artisan’s Kitchen might provide the wedding cake,” DeGraff said. In addition to catered events, the new space will open for retail sales of grab-and-go foods and baked goods within the next few months.
With their unique areas of expertise, DeGraff and Mannina are excited by the opportunity to work together in the years to come, combining their individual creativity and years of experience in the creation of a whole even greater than the sum of its parts. FBN