Girl Friday

I can’t believe it’s June 29th and we’re still not operational. How naive was I to think that I would be down for a mere two weeks? It’s kinda funny to me. Kinda. Let’s just say dealing with Allegheny County during Covid-19 restrictions takes way more time than I ever imagined.

I’ve been so lucky during this whole process that this little delay at the end is just a small bump in the road. We will get there soon! And I can’t wait!

The process will take another 2-4 weeks. It does make me want to cry, but it is what it is. I have no control over any of it. I just have to keep moving forward, and that is exactly what we are doing.

So what are we working on? We’re updating our ordering system! This should make life easier for all of you, and it helps us on this end too. We are also working on our Catering. Putting together packages and menus perfect for every occasion.

I miss cooking so much, but’s been kinda nice not having deadlines. I’ve been spending more quality time with my little people, going on bike rides, etc. We booked a beach vacation several months ago and never cancelled it so we have that to look forward to. We are working on the details of our Grand Opening. More info coming soon on that.

So, as you can see, I’m staying focused, but I cannot wait to cook for you again. I’ve received lots of texts, emails, calls and even a few bribes asking me to open back up. Believe me—not soon enough!!!

Thank you all for being so patient.

It is with great sadness and excitement to announce that Girl Friday is officially moving locations. This change will be effective June 1, 2020. 

I am so incredibly sad to leave Finleyville. It has been my home away from home for four years. I truly love it there and making the decision to leave was a very difficult one. I tried to hold on to that space for dear life–sacrificing anything and everything to protect it. My emotional attachment to that space is real. I mean we’ve been through so much together.  I think back to the day I got the keys. The place was an absolute mess. I spent my entire summer cleaning that place. Scraping grease off the floor and the walls, priming and painting. I was lucky though. I had lots of help. I did what I could with the space. It wasn’t perfect, but it was comfortable. Everyone always commented on how homey it felt there. That always made me feel so great because that is the atmosphere I was looking to create. 

I think back to all the parties that we’ve hosted over the years. Baby & bridal showers, all the surprise birthday parties, the funeral luncheons and I can’t forget all the Sweet 16’s–all the people that trusted me to cook for their parties. It was stressful but I loved the satisfaction when our customers told us what a great job we did and how happy they were! I will miss that so much. 

My new place does not have a venue attached to it. It’s just a little spot with a cute little kitchen and some storage. It’s absolutely adorable. We will still operate the weekly meal delivery service to all of our existing areas and plan to expand soon! Nothing is going to change except for the place that we cook.

Our catering services will be back up and running as soon as we possibly can given the current quarantine situation. 

The owner of the new space is absolutely lovely. He’s kind, respectful and fair. To me, that is everything. 

I’m really excited for this new chapter. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle anything. Something I haven’t felt for a really long time. 

XOXO
Gretchen

What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been. We delayed putting out the menu while I assessed the current situation. Feeding you all good clean food is important, but so are my employees. I wanted to make sure they are safe as well. I have also been in contact with all my suppliers to make sure we are offering things can be easily filled. Chicken is a potential issue. Luckily, my guys at Cheplics have me covered for another week but in limited quantities, so you’ll notice the Greek salad doesn’t come with grilled chicken this week.

I want to thank you all for the orders this past week. We had a record number, and I’m so grateful that my community is so supportive. We’ll be working our asses off this week, for sure. I cannot wait to get to work tomorrow and see my staff. They are so amazing, and I am so lucky to have them. Of course, we’ll be at GF early in the morning cleaning and sanitizing everything in order to keep everyone safe!

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday with your people!

Thank you all for your business and trusting us to cook for you. Today and always!

XOXOXOXOXO
Gretchen

It feels like forever since I wrote a blog. I get so wrapped up in all of my duties that there is never enough time, plus I swear no one reads them. ha ha

Things are moving along at Girl Friday. I have an awesome staff of people and we work so well together. I’m so thankful for them every week. We are constantly thinking of way to makes things better and we have been instituting some subtle changes. I will admit that we are having a bit of an identity crisis. As you may have noticed we have been moving towards a more clean-eating lifestyle and not just limiting things to just paleo. I understand that people are really into keto at the moment, and we are adding some of those items in rotation along with all the favorites. If you have thoughts and suggestions on how we can do thing better, email me. Id love to hear from you. Email me at gretchen@girlfridaycookingco.com

Some good changes…

We changed up the marinade. We also added Cod to the Pick-Your-Own rotation. Cod will be available every week from now on. We have decided to move away from the breakfast bakes for a bit. We need to freshen things up a bit and add more interesting options for breakfast. I think that this is the biggest struggle that we all have. We added overnight nights last month and I have to say, they are my new favorite. I cannot get enough. I hope you are enjoying them too! Look for pancakes and other items in the next few weeks.

Catering update…

Now- Let’s talk catering. We are steady on that front. We are hosting parties almost every weekend at this point. It’s been such a fun adventure. I get to meet the most interesting people. As you may or may not know, the catering service is very different from the weekly stuff. The same concept is consistent though: good quality & clean ingredients. I’m working on updating the catering menu and putting everything online. Come June, we’ll be going full force and getting the word out there. In September, we’ll host a huge Open House. It will give people a chance to come in and check out the spot and eat some awesome food. That night, we party. I feel like we have so much to celebrate.

Our Spot is Staying Put!

Did I mention that my building is under contract and the new landlord wants us to stay? I can’t wait to sign that 5-year lease. The past few months were really difficult for me. Not knowing who was going to buy the building and if they wanted me to stay. Being in limbo is not fun especially if it’s something that you worked so damn hard for. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and now i’m ready to tackle the next 5 years!!!! I truly love Finleyville but most importantly the building that houses my cute little spot!

More Kids Parties

One more thing…..We are ramping up our children parties. Did you know that I have an amazing chef on my staff that is also is a cooking instructor? I do. She’s the shit. She loves teaching especially children. She finally finished her bio and it should be up on the website soon. Be sure to check it out. We’ll be posting a lot about these parties along with several packages for you to choose from.

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!
XOXOXOXOXO,

Gretchen