Meet Stephanie Irey of Dream Dinners in Pasadena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Irey.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My career started as a lawyer. I practiced law for 15 years. One day in 2004, I came across information about Dream Dinners. At the time, my son was 5, I was working 60+ hours a week and I was struggling to be able to put a home-cooked meal on the table every night (something I felt was incredibly important in raising our son). I signed up for a session at a local Dream Dinners and sent away for the Magic Wand franchise application. The day of my dinner making session, as I pulled out of my driveway, the postman handed me my mail, which included the Dream Dinners application materials. It turned out to be a good sign! I attended my session and knew that this was what I was supposed to do with the next chapter of my life! While leaving my position as an execution in a large bank was a scary leap, leap I did!

Has it been a smooth road?
The business started out with a huge bang. There was (and still is) a huge desire for families to be able to gather around the dinner table and enjoy home cooked dinners. But, it’s hard for families to find the time to do all the planning, shopping, prep and cooking. So Dream Dinners fills a need. However, it has not always been smooth sailing. The biggest struggle we’ve had is building a great team. Over the years, we’ve had amazing people work with us. But, those amazing folks end up growing and moving on to their ultimate careers. We tend to be a stepping stone…which is terrific, as I feel like we’ve helped so many young people become great assets in the working world. This means that we are often hiring and training, which for a small company can be taxing. Another struggle is getting our name out in the community. We don’t have a big budget to spend on marketing, so we use lots of grassroots marketing methods. We are always looking for ways to let our community know that we are here and about the service we offer.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Dream Dinners story. Tell us more about the business.
Our mission at Dream Dinners is to grow great kids. We are founded on the belief that eating dinner with our children, around the dinner table is an important component to be able to do that. We recognize that families are very busy and often don’t have the time to sit down and eat dinner together. Dream Dinners offers families a way to do just that. A guest spends about an hour in our store assembling ingredients for 12 great dinners. They take the assembled dinners home (all the ingredients are raw and fresh), put them in the freezer and then thaw and cook the dinners over the course of the month. We provide a solution to the ages old “what’s for dinner” question. Our dinners are wholesome and nutritious, delicious and easy and quick to prepare. We are proud that we are helping families address an actual, daily need with a solution that is less expensive and healthier than most other options. We have guests who have been coming to Dream Dinners every month since we opened in 2005. We are part of their family!

Pricing:

• Intro Offer: $84.95 for 18 servings.
• March Menu in Pasadena ranges from $13.25-$23.75 for 3-serving meals and $24.95-$47.95 for 6-serving meals

Contact Info:

• Address: 1274 E Colorado Blvd
  Pasadena, CA 91106
• Website: www.dreamdinners.com
• Phone: 626-796-7863
• Instagram: @dreamdinners
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/dreamdinners
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dreamdinners
• Other: There are several other LA-area Dream Dinners stores, including West LA, Torrance, Granada Hills, La Crescenta. A bit further out, there are also stores in Tustin, Fountain Valley, Lake Forest, and Thousand Oaks. We have more than 80 stores across the country, 27 in California alone.

Image Credit:
Dream Dinners