Meals in a Flash

MyMenu
Chicago
Founder/chairman:
Mac Voisin
 
 
 
Are you busy, with no time to cook but tired of eating out? Would you prefer to eat a healthy, tasty and affordable meal without having to fuss?

If you live in Fort Wayne, Ind., or Madison, Wis., you’d likely be patronizing MyMenu, a two-year-old chain based on Canadian retail staple M&M Meat Shops. And if Mac Voisin, the founder and chairman of both chains, has his way, there’ll be one near just about everyone within the next five years.

MyMenu boasts an assortment of more than 300 flash-frozen meal items displayed in a single aisle. Product consultants — three to five people stationed behind a long counter in front of a bank of freezer doors — help customers make selections. They offer samples, open packages to show customers what each product looks like, and, if a customer has a particular dietary need, offer personalized shopping lists. Consultants also share thousands of recipes that customers can use to make any MyMenu meal from scratch.

Menu choices are displayed on www.mymenu.com (the chain doesn’t sell or ship meals via the website, but customers can order online for store pickup), in catalogs and on menu boards displayed above the freezers. Portion sizes range from single serve (large enough for two light eaters) up to dinner for eight.

Some top-selling appetizers with 40 to 50 pieces list for $8.99; eight to 12 pieces of boneless, skinless 8-ounce chicken breasts list for $12.99. Customers can take what they need from a package, put the rest back in the freezer and it “maintains its integrity,” says U.S. divisional vice president Jennifer Dodd.

Since the chain was designed for busy people, service is key. “We pride ourselves on being able to get customers in and out in 10 minutes or less,” Dodd says.