Tasty And Easy

Dream Dinners makes serving quality meals fun and quick

(Wednesday, February 02, 2005) - Craig Elkins and his wife, LeAnn, have four teenagers to feed since blending their families after the couple's marriage this past October. But Craig and LeAnn, both organizational-effectiveness experts, have limited time to cook. When they learned about Dream Dinners, Craig and his 13-year-old daughter, Chelsea, went to the Poulsbo franchise-near their home west of downtown Seattle-to give the concept a try on behalf of the family.

"For me, and so many friends-some of whom have their children with them part-time-we want to do a good dinner for our families, but we're so busy at work there's not time to cut and chop," Elkins says. "We'd spend more going out to dinner than making these good dinners here."

Dream Dinners, founded in 2002 by working mothers Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna of Snohomish, Washington, near Seattle, lets customers order six or 12 entrees online, or via fax, from 14 choices, which change monthly. Customers sign up for a one- to two-hour "session" to assemble the entrees to take home to freeze. All the ingredients are pre-washed and chopped; foil containers and freezer bags are provided; and all the cleanup is done by Dream Dinners staff. Customers simply follow recipe plaques at various assembly stations.

"It's a fabulous concept," says Kirsten Cowan, owner of the Poulsbo franchise. "With Dream Dinners, parents can quickly and easily put on the table a quality meal that they've prepared themselves." Cowan, who previously owned a craft shop that let her work at home while her two children were young, opened the company's third Dream Dinners outlet in May 2003, when the only other locations were two stores operated by the company founders.

Now Dream Dinners boasts more than 60 stores across the country, with a total of 150 expected by the end of this year, says co-founder Stephanie Allen. "Dream Dinners makes eating together simple, even for the busiest families," she says. "Our customers tell us that they are eating healthier and their family relationships are growing stronger."

Allen says there are no membership fees, and it costs less than $200 for 12 entrees, each of which serves four to six people. Some customers divide the entrees to create 24 meals.

A recent Saturday afternoon session included two teenage brothers assembling meals for their family of six because their mom was ill; 50-somethings Patti and Steve Rothenberg, who said they were saving $300 a month because Dream Dinners kept them from running to the grocery store and the pizza parlor; Shannon Tracewell-a schoolteacher with a baby, a 3-year old and a Weight Watchers plan-who has been relying on Dream Diners for a year and a half; and Kendra Waggoner, who assembles the meals for her immediate family and an elderly parent. "They are wonderful dinners," she says. "You can't beat this for value and quality."

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