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Gourmet To Go
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Business New Haven
11/27/2000
By: Priscilla Searles
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Timothy's Gourmet Take-Out & Catering, in the Firelite Plaza at 5 Old Tavern Road in Orange, looks pretty ordinary from the outside, nothing special or eye-catching to draw you in. But judging from the lines at lunch, the word must be out that Timothy's is the place go for great takeout.
The popular Timothy's has become the feeding hole for working people who want to take food back to their office or shop. Owned by Timothy Collins who also serves as chef, Timothy's opened two years ago. He's not the first one to occupy that space with a takeout and catering facility: Collins bought out the Food Box.
“Word of month about Timothy's helped make the transition from the previous business to mine fairly fast,” explains Collins. But he doesn't make it work by himself: His wife and stepson also work at Timothy's. He claims to be lucky with the entire staff.
“One of the hardest parts of owning a restaurant are the employees - high turnover, not reliable,” he says. “But I've been lucky. Everyone here gets along, we've become a big family.” Collins also points out that in a small restaurant where everyone works so closely as a team, getting along is critical.
You don't have to wait for lunch to taste one of Timothy's specialties. If, like so many, you find yourself flying out the door on the way to work minus breakfast, Timothy's breakfast sandwiches have proven to be the solution for many. Grab that egg, cheese and ham sandwich and make that dash to work.
With the working person in mind, in addition to phone orders, Collins takes orders by fax, promising to have everything ready to go when the customer arrives. “A lot of our customers are in the retail business,” says Collins, “and get takeout every day. They don't have time to wait around.”
A chef with 25 years' experience, Timothy's is the first restaurant Collins has owned. “I bought the business because I wanted to do things my way,” says Collins. “I didn't want to work for someone else. And with the long hours required in this business, some people are not grateful. I needed an outlet for my creativity, I wanted to present dishes that I consider my specialties.”
According to Collins, the catering part of the business is performing well and growing, again mainly through word-of-month.
“People who come into Timothy's for lunch or breakfast will often use us as caterers,” says Collins. “We do a lot of open houses for Realtors, grand openings, birthday parties, holiday events. I'm trying to specialize in Thanksgiving and Christmas house parties - everything from cocktail parties to full dinners.”
Being open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 7 to 3 p.m. on Saturday doesn't leave much time for anything else. “I get up at 5 a.m. and at night, after the restaurant has closed, I do my paperwork in a home office. Sundays I do the ordering and inventory.
“One of the hardest aspect of this business is the growth and the growing pains you get while you're going through the process. When you grow you have to hire more people. It wears you down.”
“People eat here on a regular basis because I change the menu every day, so people are constantly surprised, it isn't the same old thing every day. I put a lot of time and effort into keeping the menus different and creative. As a result, 85 to 90 percent of my sales are the specials.
For example, the specials on one day might include grilled Delmonico steak on garlic bread with caramelized onions, steak sauce and Swiss cheese, grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato, red onions, feta cheese and basil dressing and a variety of salads such as a tomato gorgonzola salad with balsamic dressing on house greens.”
It's not hard to figure out why Timothy's is so popular. One taste of his lobster bisque, and you're hooked.
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