A catered meal is a must for almost any meeting or event, and sometimes, such fare is the most anticipated part of the gathering. When it comes to a sales presentation, a quarterly catchup or even a wedding, Rx Catering in Little Rock can be just what the doctor ordered.
While he was completing an advertising and marketing degree at Oklahoma State University, Jay Ramsey, owner, started working at a bagel shop and soon discovered a zest for cooking. After working in Wichita, Kansas, to learn the ins and outs of the bagel business, he moved to Arkansas, which then had a barren bagel scene, to start his own franchise in 1994.
Jay Ramsey
At one point, he had three bagel shops in Little Rock and North Little Rock. He expanded his work to include catering around 1996, he said, and transitioned to catering completely around 2001.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned about catering is probably just the management of everything,” he said. “There’s a lot of things you have to do as far as the details, I guess I would say, and just making sure because when an order’s due at 11:30, that order’s due at 11:30.”
Smoked meats make up a large portion of the menu, he said, adding that the company has large smokers for brisket, pork butts and chicken. Casseroles are another offering, and the company provides a filling breakfast spread, as well.
The company delivers within an hour-and-a-half radius of Little Rock and as far south as Hot Springs and Pine Bluff.
“We’re not a big chain that has a certain way we have to do things and we can’t deviate from that at all,” he said. “We’re not like that. We work with people, work with our customers any way we can.”
The name, Rx Catering, comes from the business’ clientele, 50 percent of which are in the medical industry, Ramsey said. The company’s first mainstay catering clients were prescription drug reps, and Rx also caters to various departments at medical centers in Little Rock. Companies such as Entergy Arkansas in Little Rock and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Little Rock fill out the rest of the weekday meeting orders, and Rx caters to weddings and other big events on the weekends.
With catering’s natural link to social gatherings, coupled with Rx’s medical bent, it may come as no surprise Ramsey described the COVID-19 pandemic as the most challenging time for his business.
“We went from doing the best business we’ve ever done every month — January, February, March — and it just ended,” he said. “That, by far, was the biggest challenge that I’ve ever experienced because it was the great unknown.”
Leaning on Paycheck Protection Program grants and getting creative by offering boxed meals for families, the business weathered the storm, retained most of its employees and emerged with better sales numbers than ever before, he said.
He added that his proudest accomplishments involve giving back to community organizations such as Lessons for Life, a youth mentoring organization, and Arkansas Enterprises for the Development Disabled.
Jay Ramsey
Small businesses are “the whole backbone of our existence” in Arkansas, he said.
“I know big business gets all the spotlight, but it’s the small business that really keeps everything moving as far as employing people, coming up with new ideas and different stuff like that,” he said. “I’m like most people. We like to try to use a small business first, and I can see a lot of bigger companies — Entergy, Blue Cross Blue Shield — they’re really making an attempt to use small business first.”
He said his plans for the coming years are to continue building the company by improving its systems and enhancing its menu, and he is also considering opening a second location in northwest Arkansas.
To learn more about Rx Catering, click here.
