“It
is a dream come true.” That’s how Jane Landry
and Linda Cunningham describe the opening of their business
J’Lin Catering.
The two
friends have been catering events for 10 years, but recently
made the decision to move their operation into a centrally
located facility. They have purchased the former drive
through for Peoples Trust Bank at the corner of South
Lawton and Main Streets. “This has always been a
goal of ours.” Cunningham explained.
It seems
pretty fitting that the women are working in a former
bank as they were employed at banks themselves a few years
ago, at Union Planters Bank in Linton and Cunningham at
the Bloomfield State Bank. Landry now works solely in
their catering business and still finds quality time to
baby sit her beautiful grand children as Cunningham works
for Mark Miller real estate office. Cunningham noted,
“The timing was right and everything fell into place
for us.”
So how
did they go from doing dinners at church to catering events
for over 200 people?
“We
were at a wedding and I told Linda, “we can do this.’
We got the opportunity and that is how we got started.”
Landry explained. “It started as a hobby and grew
into a business,” Cunningham added. J’Lin
Catering is a licensed and insured caterer. For a while
they did everything out of their own kitchens until their
friend Kathy May offered her restaurant, Pizza Villa II,
as a place to prepare their meals. “The busier we
got the more inconvenient it became for all of us,”
Landry said.
The women
even looked at constructing a building near their homes.
They looked at one building, but it was out of their price
range. When they looked at the small building downtown
they both knew it was the one they needed.
During
the Jasonville - Shakamak Homecoming, Landry and Cunningham
showed off their building by offering free samples from
their menu.
J’Lin
Catering offers the motto “Home cooked with pride.”
“We can do something fancy. Whatever we make, it’s
homemade,” Landry explained.
Cunningham
gives her mother and grandmother credit for her love of
cooking. “They were both wonderful cooks. I was
also involved in 4-H food classes and I enjoyed cooking
class in high school,” Cunningham said. Landry,
who has always loved to cook, finds catering to be satisfying.
“The most satisfying part for me is seeing it all
set up and completed,” Landry said.
After the
dinner is over, and the stacks of dirty dishes are facing
them, the ladies receive encouragement. “We will
have someone come up and tell us how much they enjoyed
the meal.” Landry said. The opportunity to work
with a variety of people is Landry’s favorite part
of the business.
Both ladies
“thank God and our families for their support.”
Their husbands are involved in making sure the catering
jobs run smoothly. Art Cunningham and Dennis Landry can
be seen loading and unloading for an event. “They
are both so supportive of us,” Landry said. Jane
and Dennis have three sons, Kris (wife Brenda, son Rylee,
and daughter Lauren), Greg (wife Amy and daughter Ashlyn)
and Drew, who is a graduate of the University of Evansville.
Art and Linda have three children, Brian (wife Kelli and
their children Mallory, Logan and Collin), Brenda (husband
Steve and their children Tyler and Makenna), and Bethany
(husband Josh).
“We
feel like God’s hand has been on us through this.
We want to also thank our customers for their support.
The support from the community has been really great,”
Landry said.
