Cottonwood Grille Turns Local, Fresh Ingredients Into Competitive Advantage
Summary
“As an industry we can either surrender to the poor economy or we can take action to make certain our menu, prices and services are good enough to keep customers coming through the door,” said Peter Blatz, Cottonwood Grille co-owner and chef.“We’ve chosen to do the latter and it is paying off.” From heirloom tomatoes grown in Meridian and beer brewed in Victor to farm-raised bison from Emmett, pheasant from McCall and trout from Buhl, the Cottonwood Grille does whatever it can to source products locally.“Our long-term relationships with local vendors mean we locked in prices well before fuel and other costs jumped.” Cottonwood Grille also benefits from its “from scratch” approach that has the company baking its own sourdough bread, making fresh pastries, and butchering and aging its own prime beef.“We’ve chosen to do the latter and it is paying off.”From heirloom tomatoes grown in Meridian and beer brewed in Victor to farm-raised bison from Emmett, pheasant from McCall and trout from Buhl, the Cottonwood Grille does whatever it can to source products locally.Lamb, catfish, herbs, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and many wines also are procured from local producers.“This approach not only makes for a better meal, but has actually allowed our food costs to remain lower than restaurants who rely heavily on mass-produced, pre-prepared foodservice ingredients,” Blatz said.