BURLINGTON, Vt. -
"This is the chicken cordon bleu sandwich and it has a Dijon on it as the sauce," explained Anthony Jones.
It's just one of three sandwiches featured this week on the Jones House Box Lunch menu.
Jones has worked in the food industry his whole life. He is a personal chef. He does catering but it is his latest endeavor that is really taking off. He started his box lunch business four months ago, preparing 18 boxes to sell where his wife works -- Edlund Company in Burlington.
They were a hit. "Today alone we are doing 47, so it has grown very quickly and word of mouth has been the best so far," Jones said.
He now averages 150 box lunches a week. His wife helps out when she gets home at night.
Reporter Judy Simpson: So this really is Jones' House?
Anthony Jones: Yes, it is. We want to keep it that way. We want -- once we move out of here, once we grow out of this space, we are going to keep it that way. We want to make sure it's friends and it's family.
Each Monday morning Jones emails his company contacts in Chittenden County. "And usually as soon as I send that out about 10 minutes later the orders start coming in, which is great," he said
Jones says his lunches are a good deal for the price. "They really enjoy the service, especially for lunch time. They don't have to stop what they are doing because I bring it to them and for what you get, the price is phenomenal," he said. "For $6.75 you get a sandwich, a side salad and small dessert." Chips and a drink are extra.
Once the sandwiches are made and wrapped, it is time to pack the day's orders. The boxes have been pre-packaged with a salad and a cookie.
"We have the spread sheet and all the businesses we do on a particular day and I mark them down as the orders come in. This is my master sheet of keeping track of everything," Jones explained.
A sticker with the client's name is then attached. The boxes are packed up in individual company coolers. Then packed in the car. "So, like anything else, preparation is everything -- 'Mis en place' is key to the success of the business and we keep it on time," Jones said.
It's 10:30 a.m. and time to hit the road to deliver the box lunches. Deliveries are made Tuesdays in Colchester, Wednesday and Thursday in Williston and Friday it's South Burlington and Burlington.
Jones says most of his advertising is done by word of mouth and he credits one mouth in particular -- Tammy Bushell, one of his wife's co-workers at Edlund.
"I basically have sent out emails to all my friends, co-workers, peers, acquaintances -- to help him get started and it seems to be really good and effective," Bushell said.
After selling a few extra box lunches on site, it was time to head to his next location to drop off more orders for hungry customers. Then back to the Jones' house to plan a menu, and prepare for next week.
