Business focus: Caterer will bring hors d’oeuvres to your door

Longtime door-to-door salesman Chuck Lauer has found a fresh approach to selling his frozen foods.

Lauer, of Spokane Valley, now does more than sell and deliver his selections of mostly meat and seafood entrees. He’ll bake and serve the specialty items in customers’ own kitchens, too, at no extra charge. Tips are optional, he notes.

He credits the new approach with helping him keep up to date with customer needs and home-entertaining trends. Most people taking advantage of his service are hosting small parties or get-togethers in their own homes and want to entertain without being tied to the kitchen. He also has been asked to work open houses and office parties. He prepares and serves mostly hors d’oeuvres, but the trend for grander preparations is starting to grow, he says.

“I’ve even done a full dinner for a lady and her investment club,” he said. “A lot of catering companies won’t do small parties. That’s where I’ve found my niche.”

Cost for 25 of one type of hors d’oeuvres is $35. He sells several different kinds, including pear and brie wrapped in phyllo dough, and shrimp and bean quesadillas. He requests a minimum $100 order for his baking and serving, and he requires two weeks notice in order to ensure quantities for larger orders.

When baking and serving hors d’oeuvres, Lauer uses a homeowner’s kitchen or his toaster oven at offices. He plays up his part, too, by wearing a white shirt and red bow tie and enthusiastically describing the various morsels on his platter.

Lauer, 59, purchased franchise and territorial rights to sell Bon Appetit International Gourmet Foods in the Inland Northwest in 1994. He now carries food products from local distributors as well, including Angus Meats, Food Services of America and Ocean Beauty Seafood.

Since his business success relies mainly on home delivery, he still rings doorbells to introduce himself to potential first-time customers. He travels the area with foods stashed in his freezer-equipped van, and says his business has grown partly through customer loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations.

“The main thrust of my business is still the home-delivery service. This is a new thrust to my business … And it’s like the new rage,” he said of the hors d’oeuvre serving. “For the past six months I’ve been doing more than ever.”