ALEXANDRIA, Va. — After a fire damaged some warehouses earlier this week, a business owner could be reasonably expected to shut down for a lengthy period. Jeffery’s Catering does not have that luxury. Friday morning, staff showed that its purpose is stronger than any flame.
The three-alarm fire jeopardized the food deliveries thousands of seniors in Northern Virginia rely on, but teamwork made sure no one had to go without.
Even before the sun came up Friday morning, dozens of Jeffery’s Catering employees were up, packing boxes and filling trucks.
“It’s been a very emotional ride for us,” George Silver, the company's general manager, said. He added, however, “If we were supposed to lay down and cry over this, we didn’t get the memo.”
Loren Wash, the owner of Jeffery's Catering, said approximately 3,000 meals would be packed and delivered to 500 clients on Friday. The company's operations were disrupted when a three-alarm fire ignited Tuesday night at a neighboring business. Water and smoke damage made the Jeffery's Catering kitchen unusable.
“We weren’t able to deliver some of our clients’ meals," Wash said. "We wanted to get them some meals and some shelf-stable items. Our staff has come here, and with all our vans, and we’re loading everybody up to get out and make those deliveries today.”
Roughly three dozen workers arrived at 7 a.m. at a nearby brewery's parking lot to assemble and load the deliveries. The addition of shelf-stable items could benefit clients if the operations at Jeffrey's are interrupted again or if clients are affected by this weekend's storm.
Wash said Jeffery's is coordinating with vendors, community partners, and other food service companies to find temporary space for it to continue preparing meals while its building is repaired.
“Our senior program, our day cares, we have clients who’ve been with us over 20 years," Silver said. "So, you know, that trust and confidence they have in us is something that we take very seriously.”
Wash added that Jeffery has heard from several clients who expressed their support and gratitude for the company's deliveries since the fire.
"They’ve been very patient to get by," he noted. "It warms you up just to know that they’re comfortable and still want to keep relying on us to make sure they’re taken care of."
Wash said the company's kitchen is approximately 15,000 square feet, so it is looking for any commercial kitchen space it can use for the next several weeks while it rebuilds.
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