ELY- A new business in downtown Ely is about to start up a venture inside another Ely store that should profit both. Boundary Waters Catering will use the commercial kitchen at Mitska’s Market on Chapman Street to cook for their catering business and to make and sell grab-and-go meals, meal kits, and deliverable meals out of Mitska’s storefront.
Boundary Waters Catering is a partnership of two local chefs, Chris Glazer and Tad Drechsler. The two met while working at an organic café in Minneapolis and have been working colleagues ever since.
“We’ve wanted to do this sort of thing all our lives,” said Glazer. “We initially thought of running a food truck. We wanted to be able to do mobile catering that was customizable.”
What did work for Glazer and Drechsler was leasing the commercial kitchen at Mitska’s, an organic grocery and specialty foods market at 141 E. Chapman St. “Mary’s has the equipment we need in order to function, and her kitchen is spic and span,” Glazer said. Mary Zakovich is the manager and co-owner of Mitska’s Market with her husband Mike.
Glazer and Drechsler started talking with the Zakoviches earlier this year about using Mitska’s large commercial kitchen for their catering business concept. Before long, a business plan evolved where Boundary Waters Catering would lease the kitchen for both their catering business and for selling their food at Mitska’s on a daily basis. While the Zakoviches have made and sold sandwiches and pastries at their store, adding food made by Boundary Waters Catering will take their grab-and-go offerings to a higher level.
“It’s something no one offers in Ely right now,” Zakovich told the Timberjay. “No one serves deli sandwiches or upscale, healthy box lunches, and Chris and Tad will make those and deliver to businesses. If someone has a special food need, we can accommodate that.”
Drechsler added, “We’ll be set up for ordering online or calling ahead. It will be fastest for our customers if they order ahead.”
They hope to begin the service on April 1, Glazer said. “Initially we’ll be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. We’ll have sandwiches and will have gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free options. We also want to do farm-to-market as much as we can.”
Glazer and Drechsler will rearrange the front of Mitska’s to set up seating by the windows for those who want to chow down on some of their food offerings at the store.
The chefs
Those who attended the Ely Community Resource fundraiser auction on March 22 have already had a taste of what Boundary Waters Catering can serve up. Catering the event at Ely’s Historic State Theater last Saturday was the first job for the new business. The quality of the food was no surprise given that both Glazer and Drechsler have 25 years’ experience apiece as chefs.
Drechsler was born in Ely but his family moved away when he was young and he was raised in Walker. He worked as a chef in the Twin Cities before moving back to Ely. He has most recently worked at Insula.
Glazer was born in Minneapolis and raised in Apple Valley. He moved to Ely five years ago. He worked at the Chocolate Moose for one season, taught at Vermilion Country School, and worked most recently at Insula and the Tower Café. “I’ve also done freelance catering around the area,” Glazer said.
The menu, contact information, and hours for Boundary Waters Catering are available on their website at https://boundarywaterscatering.com.