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Utah Food Services Caters Another Costco Opening

On September 29^th, 2015 Utah Food Services mobile catering division had the opportunity to prepare and showcase the cuisine for a Costco grand opening in Lynnwood, Washington. This event gave the locals(5,000 to be exact) a chance to see the new building, sign up for membership, and sample some old favorites and new offerings, but no purchases allowed, window shopping only (hold the window). This event was more than the average Saturday sampling as guests piled their plates with dinner sized portions from bountiful buffet lines.

Costco hired Utah Food Services again to manage, professionally staff, and cook and present their offerings to perfection. After months of careful planning by our Sales Manager, Tiffany Sutton, and weeks of preparation by our catering team, the day finally arrived for some of us to leave for Seattle, Washington.

Unless you have personal experience with event production, it is very easy to be blissfully unaware of the work that is put toward successful production of a 2-hour event. Here’s a little taste of the role that we played:

Sunday, September 27^th,

7:00am-8:00pm

Two employees load a truck with catering, décor and kitchen equiptment and hit the road toward Washington. (Stopping in Kennewick, Washington)

Monday, September 28^th

9:00am-2:00pm

Ten more employees board a plane and meet up with the fearless UFS roadies, check-in to the hotel, eat lunch, and split up into two teams.

4:00pm-6:00pm

Team 1: tours the Costco

Team 2: goes shopping for key items for our chefs.

8:00PM eat dinner, discuss the next day’s plan, and call it a day!

Tuesday, September 28^th

6:00am

UFS arrives to begin setting up preparation area, and unload necessary items for day from truck. –Area unavailable, employees wait for further instruction.

8:00am

Area becomes available, UFS set production lines, unpacks equipment, evaluates Costco’s food inventory, and gets to work.

9:00am-12:30pm

UFS begins prepping food for the next day

Fire alarms being tested (Good time for a lunch break)

1:00pm-6:00pm

Drink energy drinks and continue prep (Fire Alarm sings it’s song throughout the day). Back to the hotel.

8:00pm-10:30pm

Quick dinner in downtown Seattle: anticipate and run through the timeline of the big day.

11:00pm

Back to the hotel for the night

Wednesday, September 30^th (The Big Day)

8:00am

All staff meets for breakfast, pep talk, and copious amounts of coffee in hotel lobby.

9:00am-Noon

Arrive on site, finish unloading truck, wire the ovens, and everyone to set their assigned areas.

12:30pm

Grab a quick burger, eat it on site, drink an energy drink, and get back to work!

1:00pm-5:00pm

25 Local Temporary Staff Workers arrive to help with the remainder of the set and preparation.

5:30pm

Room set, Temporary Staff assigned to their areas, and VIP walkthrough occurs.

5:40pm-8:00pm

Doors open early and guests make their way in, to see the new building. The remaining hours of the night flew by without a hiccup. The UFS staff embodied excellent adaptability and team work skills, and did work that would make any employer proud.

8:00pm-11:00pm

Event ends, Costco cleaned up, and truck loaded.

11:30pm

While Queen’s We are the Champions plays in the background, employees enjoy a nightcap, laugh, reflect, and high five over the production of the event.

Thursday, October 1^st

8:00am

(a morning that came too early for most) Employees pack bags, eat breakfast, wish the roadies a safe drive, and head home to Utah.

We are so proud to call each and every one of these wonderful employees our own. Their work performance was an astounding reminder of why we do what we do here at UFS. The execution of the event was extremely successful, and absolutely a display of some of our best work. Thank you to Costco for giving us such a wonderful opportunity to be a part of your opening, and being so pleasant to work with!