The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast

Episode 5 Catering Designed Around Your Story: Farmacy Cafe and Catering

• James • Season 1 • Episode 5

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What if your wedding menu could tell your story as clearly as your vows? In this episode I sit down with Brian, chef and owner of Pharmacy Cafe & Catering, to explore how custom, on‑site cooking turns food into a living memory—crispy fries at a French fry bar, a Paris trip transformed into a cocktail‑hour bite, and late‑night snacks that refuel the dance floor. Brian shares the winding path from education to culinary school to running a Baltimore cafe, and how one Pennsylvania wedding show sparked a second operation designed around flexibility, teamwork, and true personalization.

Together, we unpack the real differences between cafe service and wedding catering—gear, timing, and the reality of building a kitchen anywhere, from barns to tents. Brian explains how outdoor festivals trained his team to deliver temperature-perfect food with limited power and refrigeration, and why a calm head and a strong crew are the most valuable tools you can bring to an event. For couples, we get tactical: what to ask a caterer about on‑site cooking, travel distance, portion planning for cocktail hour, and how to choose between buffet, plated, stations, or family-style service. We also break down tastings—how to use them to fine‑tune seasoning, texture, and flow whether you’re still deciding or already booked.

The conversation highlights the power of vendor relationships and catering‑forward venues that provide refrigeration, handwashing, parking, and clear floor plans. We look at trends worth keeping—deep personalization and late‑night hits like soft pretzel bars, sliders, and mini crab cakes—and the pitfalls of DIY when food safety and timing are on the line. From first wedding jitters to today’s dialed systems, Brian shows how story, systems, and service combine to create an experience guests remember long after the last song.

Subscribe for more candid conversations with the people who make weddings work. If this helped you plan smarter—or sparked an idea for your menu—share it with a friend and leave a quick review so others can find the show.

Check out Brian and Farmacy Catering here:

https://www.farmacycafeandcatering.com/

https://www.instagram.com/farmacycafeandcatering/

https://www.facebook.com/farmacycafeandcatering

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to The Preferred List, a podcast about the people behind the best wedding days. I'm James, a wedding filmmaker. I've spent years in the industry working alongside incredible vendors, and this show is all about real conversations with the ones who make it happen. Whether you're a vendor or a couple, you'll get honest insight, good stories, and maybe a little inspiration along the way. Let's meet today's wedding vendor. Brian, how's it going?

SPEAKER_00:

Good, James. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, of course. I'm so excited to have our conversation. We're gonna talk all things catering and all that stuff. So we'll get into that in just a second. But before we do, we're here at Historic Ashland. Historic Ashland is an award-winning private wedding and event venue located in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Known for its historic architecture and timeless event spaces. Ashland offers indoor and outdoor spaces to accommodate any event in any season. Ashland is known for its expert staff who provides setup and teardown for each couple, exclusivity for the venue, and modern amenities that all make for a full luxury experience. And I know you work here a lot. We do. You know Leah and her team, they've they've got it figured out.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure.

SPEAKER_02:

And they're in it for the couple.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely, definitely. Definitely. I would I would say one of our favorite venues for sure. A lot of amenities for vendors. So they don't leave us out.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, no, I love that. Um, so Brian, we're here uh to talk all about your catering business, pharmacy.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, pharmacy, cafe, and catering, actually.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, awesome, awesome. It's so funny because I was talking to my wife about the name, and she's in the medical industry, so she's saying pharmacy, and she's like, No, I mean the catering, like tell me all about how everything kind of got started and and kind of gosh, gosh, that's that's that's a long story for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I'll I'll give you the the the the quick pharmacy thing first. Uh so we have a small cafe down in Baltimore where I'm from, um, and we're in a medical complex down there. We're pretty close to uh Franklin Square Hospital and Johns Hopkins. So uh hence the punny name, yeah, pharmacy. Now uh I was just joking with someone the other day and said to them that like our mail is really tough because we actually have a pharmacy in our building. And I'm like, well, the the pH in the F must really throw some mail carriers off.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, but my story, like backstory for me, like is kind of long, but um I'll I'll try to be quick. Uh I went to school up here in York. That's was my connection up here in York from Baltimore. I went to York College um and studied education.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, no way.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, um, met my wife in an after-school program that we worked at together. Um, and to supplement our income on the weekends, we worked in restaurants. So that's so kind of had my taste in food and and in education. But uh as her and I, you know, our relationship went on, we decided that we both would work in the restaurant industry. So um for a while I I like decided to uh to get a real job in a sense. We'll put we'll put air culture on that for a while. Yeah, a real job in a sense, and lived um as a person in a cubicle for about two years. And during that time, I hated my life. Um actually worked for the owner of the Ravens, his his company.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, which was a great company. I won't say their name, but a great company to work for, you know, great benefits, great money. But I just hated my life every day. Yeah. And during that time, I went back to school, got my culinary degree, and immediately from that I had a huge opportunity to run um someone's uh catering business here in Baltimore, and they own multiple catering companies throughout the um East Coast. Uh this guy flew me down on his personal plane uh to Charleston, South Carolina. Yeah, and like I uh interviewed with his wife and him. It was an amazing experience. Uh pretty much took over their business after a couple years of making it profitable. And that's basically how I got cut my teeth in catering. Uh, we did a lot of corporate stuff, we did um some some wedding stuff, but mainly corporate catering with them for for gosh, probably about seven years. Um, we decided to move one from them and open a cafe up back in 2016 um pharmacy. Um yeah, so it was uh it was a crazy ride. Now, I would say wedding-wise, um, especially moving up here with my family, you know, again, having the connection with York, going to school here and kind of knowing the area, knowing the school system up here, we wanted to move our family up in this area as well. So uh when we moved up here, I had no idea about the wedding industry in southern Pennsylvania, man. It's crazy. Yeah, you know, obviously a lot of great venues, a lot of um, you know, great vendors, but I just didn't see the uh the need for this many, you know, wedding people up here. And uh boy was I surprised. Um we we did like one wedding show up here and it just blew up. Yeah. Um, so I was forced to open up another spot up here. Yeah, I mean it it really was. It was like in order to keep growing the way we were, we had to open up a spot and we couldn't continue to cater out of out of Baltimore as our home base and uh using a kitchen trailer, you know, yeah from venue to venue. So that's basically how I got started up here.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so cool. Yeah, it's so funny too because I went to school for education as well. Wow, and uh very cool. I don't yeah, right, don't do that anymore.

SPEAKER_00:

I have to say, I have to say, uh I tell I tell my parents this and I tell my kids this. I was like, I didn't waste money completely because full circle, I teach uh a culinary camp at a like a sleepaway camp that I went to as a kid, and they reached out years later and was like, hey, we come back and do this like culinary camp. So I do I've been doing that for like since 2018. So yeah, yeah, super fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's it is funny because uh I feel the same way. I went to school for music, so um there is part of me that's like it wasn't a waste by any stretch, but it's like uh I'm using it just in a different way. Yeah, definitely. And I met my wife through school. So I mean it's it all worked out. It all worked out, definitely. So you had the cafe in Maryland and you were back here while that was still kind of running.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's still operational. My my wife's a whole thing. Yeah, it's still a whole thing down there. Um, breakfast and lunch there Monday through Friday. Uh, we definitely keep it corporate. Um, you know, for doing food so long, we were like, we don't want to be, you know, Sunday through Saturday, yeah, you know, there every day. It just made sense for us to do it this way and then be able to cater as well. So that's how it birthed. But now it's that's running it and doing its own thing, and I'm up here running a whole separate business.

SPEAKER_02:

So that's so cool. Um, I'd have to imagine that there's some that translates from like cafe to catering, but like there's probably quite a bit that doesn't.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, most definitely. I mean, you're super comfortable cooking food for people out of a commercial kitchen that's right there. And when you're working uh wedding catering, you could be in a tent in somebody's backyard.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Talk to me about how you kind of maybe learned a new way of of preparing the food or like what what stuff was was different.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, we were very fortunate along the way uh in catering and having the cafe to not just kind of pigeonhole ourselves into one type of food. We did huge festivals in Maryland. Um, we you know, Maryland Seafood Festival where we're cooking out at Sandy Point Beach, you know, right by you know the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, you know, and you're out there for three days with like 10,000 plus people coming in a day. So, you know, we learned really quickly what you needed to do to be able to cook great food outside with limited access to things that you normally have. Um, so I I I chalk that up to great experiences along the way and not just going, okay, we're gonna do just corporate catering or we're just gonna do weddings or we're just gonna do this. We've kind of done it all. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So I'm I'm thinking of the person who may be listening that loves food, loves cooking for people, maybe they've been to culinary school, maybe they haven't, and are maybe thinking about it. Where do you get started and trying to figure out like you have the cafe that's going? Catering just kind of like popped in as like it's an option for us to kind of continue growing our business. Like, where does someone start in that whole culinary world and and where do they go?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I mean to get experience. I mean, you just have to get in with a company. I mean, you have to really boots on the ground type thing. You really have to experience it yourself. Um, because it's gonna be things that pop up that you have to be able to figure out quickly. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

And I would imagine the catering side is like, I mean, you're thinking on the fly, you're you're coming up with solutions to problems you didn't know existed.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

Definitely. What are some of those like top tips that you have for other caterers that are maybe just getting started, maybe have a wedding or two under their belt that you're like, I've done a couple and this is where it usually goes wrong.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, I would I would have to say just having a really good team behind you, um, keeping a level head as a chef, that's not always easy. Um, you know, but uh I I would say those two things, having a great team and and having a level head, being able to step back and kind of look at the problem and and figuring out a way for a solution immediately.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And I would also say, you know, working with your your vendors, you know, you gotta be able to lean on some of your vendors. If you have a great coordinator or uh great, you know, other type of vendors that are working there, you know, they're gonna help you out. Nobody wants to see their fellow vendor fail. You know, we're all there as a team. So um I would say lean on people around you as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Well, what is it like to um provide food for a couple on one of their biggest days together?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I know it probably sounds super cheesy and cliche, but like it's an honor. I mean, I really do look at it that way. Like, you know, you're you're in their photo book forever. You know what I mean? Like you're you're a part of that memory, and you at least for me, I want it to be the the best memory of that day. You know, I wanted to compete with those beautiful photos and and and and all the great experiences that you get with with the people that you pick. But uh, you know, it is an honor to be a part of a couple's special day.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Um, I'm just reminded of my my second shooter and I at every wedding, we always rate the food skill. No, that's great. It's so fun though. But it is like um, I mean, it can go overlooked pretty easily, or maybe like a oh yeah, this cater will be fine, or this cater will be fine. Um but like what would you say to a couple who's trying to find the right cater or the best cater for them? What are some things that they should be looking out for, questions they should be asking, um, and and kind of where do they get started?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, I uh everyone is different. And I mean, I definitely like I I I uh I know that, you know what I mean? Uh even as a food guy, yeah. Then I know everyone is different. Food isn't gonna be uh on the top of everyone's list, even though I think it should be. Uh, but it's not going to be. There's things that are higher on that list, you know, the hierarchy list of of what's important to them as a couple. So um I say when food is super important, you should definitely ask a lot of questions, you know, like how your food's being prepared, you know, is it gonna be prepared on site? How far away is your you know, home base from you know the venue that we're working out of? I think those are super important just because, you know, you want the freshest possible food, you want, you know, the best quality. That's how you're gonna get it if people are cooking your food right there on site.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, are you mostly cooking food right on site?

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely, definitely. I mean, unless it's something where it's like a taco bar where there's a lot of braised meats or like we're doing barbecue stuff for certain people, um, you know, that that kind of stuff, you know, takes 12 plus hours to cook, you know, type type deal. So those are gonna be done at our home base, but you know, we do a lot of fun different things where like French Fry Bar, you know what I mean? We're not bringing soggy french fries from our fryer, yeah, you know. Yeah, right there.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so cool. Yeah. Are most couples sort of interested in the same like types of foods, or do you find there's like a big variety in terms of what people are looking for?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'd say like for us specifically, like people search us out because we are a custom-style catering company. So, like what we're doing this week at a at a wedding is completely different than what we're doing next week. I would say the format can be somewhat similar. Gotcha. Um, and you know, you always I would say there's some weddings that we do that we're like, yeah, that's a pretty, you know, standard, you know, meat and potatoes type, you know, basic wedding food with the flair of you know from pharmacy. Um but I would say for the most part, our couples are searching us out because they want an experience, they want something different. Um, they want to pull things from their relationship and show that in their menu. Um, so such a cool idea. Yeah, I love it. I mean, that's what keeps me kind of going, to be honest.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, when couples come to you, um, what's that process? Like, where do they start with you guys? I mean, uh assuming that they're like, yeah, we want to go with you and they're putting together that menu. Like, what's that process look like with you guys?

SPEAKER_00:

So typically how I like onboard a couple is uh they'll reach out, uh, whether it's you know just from our website, you know, vendor you know, recommendations, we get a lot of those, um, or like wedding shows that we do, um, they'll reach out and we'll send them a list of get to know you kind of questions. And I think that's the basis of of what I do when it comes to you know welcoming a new couple is really trying to find out what their needs are, um, you know, what they're into, you know, things obviously we should stay away from, you know, other vendors that they might already have picked out for some of the things that we can provide.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, so you know, just to kind of funnel what we're sending them. Um, so after that, we actually send them out a proposal that we kind of based off of that information they send us. Um, and then we allow them to kind of tweak it how they like it before we finalize everything.

SPEAKER_02:

It's it seems like you're taking like a really personal kind of mindset to it. Whereas I I would imagine that not every caterer is is concerned about what the couples like and and what their interests are and and kind of taking it to that step.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure. And I I kind of laugh about it, but like as a chef, you get asked, and this will correlate, uh, as a chef, you get asked what your signature dish is, what is your favorite thing to cook, blah blah blah. And I look at people most of the time, I'm like, look, I'm a chef. Like, yeah, I can cook everything, you know what I mean? And and I really feel like some caterers do kind of get in this funk of just like, all right, this is my cookie cutter menu, package one, package two, package three. This one's high price, this one's medium price, this one's low price. And I feel like you kind of lose it. I mean, again, some people that's great for them. They're like, you know, we want to dance, we want the best DJ, we want, you know, our photos to be amazing, you know. You know, food's lower on the list. Um, so I mean, there's definitely room for caterers like that. But I feel like for somebody like me, who like you know, we do so many different weddings and so many different events, like what drives me is creating something completely unique um for the couple that they're again, it's an experience that they're gonna remember.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah, I mean I can tell from what you're what you're talking about that that's like top of mind for you. Yeah. Um, when you're thinking through menu creation with your couples, um some of it's probably like, hey, they just like this type of food, maybe they love steak, maybe they love crab cakes, maybe they love whatever else, right? I don't know, some vegetarian dish or something, or maybe you have like some go-to's that they're like, actually, we had this at one of your weddings and we want more of that. Yeah. How do you kind of manage though, like the couple just digging a certain dish versus like trying to kind of serve to the masses of the rest of the guests that might be there too?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, there's a lot of fun ways that you can kind of do that. Like, uh, I'll look at cocktail hour, or maybe even like we'll add like a late night snack in, and those will be like some really fun dishes, like say they traveled to you know Paris and they're like, Oh, we had this dish. Can you recreate it into a you know an appetizer? Um, so we'll do we'll do something like that fun for cocktail hour, and then we might scale it back a little bit with things that might be, you know, like you said, a little bit more universally, you know, accepted by by the you know the guests. Um, so we'll we'll plug those things in in fun areas, but most of the time it's you know fun comfort food. So everybody really likes that.

SPEAKER_02:

Generally it's going pretty well. Yeah, yeah. I gotta say, I love when there's mac and cheese up on the line.

SPEAKER_00:

In any form, right?

SPEAKER_02:

It does not matter what it looks like as long as it's a mac and cheese. Right. Um, but at that point, I it's I usually have not eaten anything all day, and I'll just take whatever's there. Um, but do you are you normally doing tastings with your couples?

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely, definitely. And that can look a lot of different ways. Like sometimes we'll have couples that are, you know, they're looking at a couple different caterers. They're not, okay, we heard about this guy from this vendor or we went to a wedding show and saw this guy, and we just have to kind of like hammer out the the details. We have some couples who are like, no, I'm looking at two or three people, you know what I mean, two or three companies, and we really want to kind of gauge our our um our choice off of a tasting. So we'll definitely set up a tasting. Um, I would say on the flip side where couples come to us and say, no, we definitely know you, we want to book you. Um, we can take care of that tasting down the road. And that's kind of like what we do. We'll set up a menu, and then um months later, you know what I mean, when it gets a little bit closer, we'll finalize details with like a tasting meeting.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so you're doing tasting before they've even decided sometimes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes we'll put together a proposal and like, okay, we know we want to tweak a lot of these menu options or service options, and we'll kind of figure that out after, you know, we've already been kind of contracted for their date.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I mean, it it seems like uh a given it are are there a lot of catering companies that are doing the tastings before like a couple's booked? Is that like a common thing?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I would say yeah. I would say I think, you know, uh for us, I mean we're fortunate we don't get as many of those. Um, but you know, there's definitely couples out there that are they're definitely shopping around, you know, or you know, we're not the only cater that does custom stuff as well. You know, we we actually know a lot of great other caters that we work, you know, side by side with and some instances that you know that are great cut caters that do the same thing that we do.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah. So obviously there's a lot of weddings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There's a lot of wedding venues, there's a lot of weddings that are happening like same day. Um talk to me more about the the process of like having other caters that you mentioned. There's ones that you like out there. What's it like to kind of be in the landscape together? Do you feel like there's a lot of like community over competition? Do you feel like there's a lot of like you know, togetherness in it, or does it kind of feel siloed out?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I guess my experience up here has been a little bit different. I mean, coming from you know, Baltimore, uh, you know, people say small tomorrow, so you know what I mean. It's it is a small town city feel.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, but uh definitely coming up here, small town feel, you know, in southern Pennsylvania. So people definitely talk. So like I definitely got some some hate, you know what I mean, when we first came up here. Um just because you know, we we made a big splash and pretty quick. Um, you know, our presentation is top-notch. And when we do these wedding shows and you're with other, you know, that'll be my first experience with you know being around a lot of other caterers that are, you know, looking to get the same couples, you know, that day.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So I've definitely felt like we got some hate at first. Um, but for the most part, there's a lot of great caters up here. I mean, one and uh specifically shout out to Mountain Laurel, uh catering up in Harrisburg. Um, they hire us to do their their um Christmas party every year. You know what I mean? They just want to take a break, but they recognize you know they like your stuff, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And same same with them. I mean, they they're great people, they send us uh over lead sometimes when they're overbooked, and vice versa. So you know, we love that type of community like feel because we do know there's plenty of work for all of us.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, there is plenty. And you know, I I do feel like even just from our short conversation, like we just met when you showed up here, right? But I could tell just uh like personality-wise, values-wise, I mean, like you seem like a great dude. Thanks, man. And I feel like I feel like when you put enough great people together, even in the same industry, you know, there's not gonna be this like uh you might be bummed if you didn't get that wedding and someone else did, but like there's plenty of weddings to go around for sure. Yeah. Um, when you're uh setting up for a wedding day, uh walk me through the process of like, what's it look like for you guys to like show up and and do the whole thing.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, obviously, just like I'm sure any other part of the industry, you know, there's a lot of lead up to the day. So I mean that that starts, you know, at menu planning to tasting to you know, venue meetings, um, walkthroughs, that type of thing, uh, all the way up until I'd say like the week before the wedding, you know, where we're really hammering out a lot of organization and a lot of prep, um, up until that obviously night before, uh, where we have everything packed up, ready to kind of go for the next day. And I would say, you know, on average, uh ceremony times are about like anywhere from like four o'clock, four thirty-ish. So we're getting on site, uh, depending on what time that is, um, I would say probably like around 11 a.m. to 12. So, and then we're there till 11. That's 11. 11, 12 sometimes. So it just depends on you know where that is. Um, but you know, when we get there and get set up, I mean, our staff are really well trained um to kind of divide and conquer. So we have our kitchen being set up um out of the trailer where all of our kitchen equipment is being set up at the same time. I would say, like, you know, the tableware is getting set up in in the main reception area, and then we're setting up, you know, whether it's uh charcuterie grazing tables, you know, at the cocktail hour where stationary stuff, and then our other staff is you know working on the little small bites that are getting uh you know passed around or butlered around. Um, so there's just a lot of different things. Sometimes I feel like an octopus because I have my hands in every one of those things during the day. Yeah. But my staff is really good, they kind of know we can kind of set them in motion and they can do their thing.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah, I mean it just it's a testament to having the right people around and like that, even just have the same mindset that you do, as much as that's possible. Yeah, as a business owner, we kind of are on our own little like thing, but as much as they can be in the same mindset, for sure, for sure. Set yourself up for success. Uh the logistics for let's just say like 50 people at a wedding versus like 300. If a couple is sitting there thinking, like, what's it look like food-wise? Obviously, the the budgets can be different, but like, what's it look like food-wise, logistics, things that they need to be concerned about with like the number of people that they're having?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I mean, I would have to say, you know, food and workload-wise, from a chef standpoint, you know, doing a 50 to 150 person wedding is still very similar. Okay. Yeah. I mean, honestly, the the you know, the amount of detail that we put into the prep and you know, into the final product is is almost the same. It's just it's just quantity, you know what I mean? Like it's basically just quantity and math, you know, figuring out like how much each portion, you know, is um at from a couple standpoint, you know what I mean, those are definitely questions that you want to be asking your cater. Like, okay, like for a cocktail hour, how many, you know, appetizers per person, you know, of this item, of this item, you know, like just to have kind of have an idea of what you know, food-wise you're gonna have to work with, you know, during the day. So there's definitely good questions to ask.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it are there um are there other questions that couples like it would be helpful for them to know to be asking their catering uh like the options that they might have for caterers?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I mean, definitely like, you know, you can start by saying like what type of services, you know, service do you enjoy, you know, the most, whether it's like a buffet or a plated service or action stations or family style. Um, and just kind of curious if you know their cater can offer those, you know, multitude of of type of services as well. Um, I mean, I would say for the most part, on average, most people are choosing like buffet style. Um, but I mean the ability to do, you know, bring your vision to life, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Um do you feel like most couples have that vision or are they like?

SPEAKER_00:

I I would say like the couples that, you know, are again are kind of like seeking us out, yeah. Do okay um, but I mean, we definitely have some couples that, you know, they want your expertise opinion too. Like, hey, like we we know we want something really cool. You know, this is the information, you know, off of the questions I sent them. Yeah, but come up with something cool. You know, I'm I'm working on one right now that's like a brunch style wedding, and they're like, you know, kind of in between, like, you know, should we do this, should we do that? But they're really looking for they're leaning on me to to kind of come up with some ideas for them.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah, I would imagine the culinary expert in you is like loving the the flexibility for that creativity.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely, definitely. I mean, I first off, it's a it's an honor to be trusted that much, you know, or to be looked at like, okay, this this guy's such a professional that we're just gonna, you know, let him do his thing. You know, that feels great. Um, you know, and and again, going back to the creative part, you know, like that's what gets me up every day, and because I know I'm not doing the the same thing every day.

SPEAKER_02:

Um thinking of like working with other vendors, like more specifically, like venues. Is there anything like what what could a venue do to help make sure that catering can do its thing, go off without a hitch? Like, like give us the tea.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh wow, it could be a lot. Yeah, uh, yeah. I mean, you know, we love when venues are catering forward, obviously. Um, but I mean some places don't have you know an area to wash your hands, you know, some places don't have you know easy access to sinks, um refrigeration, yeah. Um, all those things would be a positive. You know what I mean? Okay, you know, when when you're walking into a scenario, I mean don't mean wrong, again, we're professionals. We can set up in the middle of a cornfield and we will make it work. Um, but uh, you know, when you when you're when the you're going to a venue weekend after weekend and working out of there, it is amazing to be able to have some of these amenities um for a cater just to be able to operate.

SPEAKER_02:

Um so which is what you get here from what I'm told.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, Ashland's great. Again, like you know, it parking for us, yeah. Refrigeration, whole catering area. The whole catering area. You know, I mean, we just did a corporate event out of here, not to like it was super easy, yeah, flawless, you know, because we had what we needed here.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so catering first. I mean, obviously there's the spaces and the things. Um, you know, you're you're looking at like uh the refrigeration, you know, something as simple as a spot to wash your hands. Think, yeah. But like what else is there that, you know, maybe it's a timing thing, communication, like what else could venues or or planners do to help you guys?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, we're very we're very blessed to work with a good stable of venues and and coordinators that, you know, because they recommend us, you know, they know that they're getting top notch service, and vice versa. We've worked with them so much that you know, so I would say those things are super important. And when I'm when a venue reaches out and asks us if we can, you know, have a relationship, you know, those are the things that I'm kind of like wanting to know, is the communication good? You know what I mean? Who's sending these floor plans of how you know it's gonna look? So I mean, those things are definitely important, but we're fortunate right now. The venues that we work out of are are are amazing.

SPEAKER_02:

So you got the inn at the right places. No, I love that. Uh are there what kind of trends are you seeing on the food side of things with weddings? Um, maybe you're loving or like not so much loving.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I mean, I I don't know. Like again, like my thing is is obviously the customization, um, the personalization, you know, really finding out like what was your first date food and like taking that and and flipping it into like a great dish. Um, whether it's like again it's for cocktail hour or or or their their main meal. I would say fun things that I love, I love the trend of late night snack. Because I mean, you know, if you're wanting your wedding to be a nice party, something like that really like I don't know, it it's memorable for your guests too.

SPEAKER_02:

What are the best like late night snacks that you've seen?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I would say, like, up here in Pennsylvania. Like a lot of like soft pretzel bars. Okay. Um, but we do it all, man. Like again, French fries, sliders. You know, I'm a I'm a Baltimore guy, so like our mini crab cakes are awesome at like 10 o'clock at night.

SPEAKER_02:

That sounds amazing, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

But uh we've done soup stations and in colder weather, you know, late night. Um, I mean, I even think it's fun when when they outsource it too, and we've had them bring in happy meals, you know what I mean? It's just fun. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02:

I gotta say the pizza, yeah. The late night pizza is exactly killer. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You can't go wrong with something like that.

SPEAKER_02:

Because I'm totally grabbing like three slices to go home.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And I mean, and again, even when we're not, we're just there to kind of facilitate the setup, yeah, you know, and receive, you know, the the happy meals of the pizza. I mean, not that we don't do pizza, but uh, you know, uh same with us. We're looking forward to that too. Like, yeah, we're like we've been working for like 14 hours plus. Yeah, you know, we don't mind a slice of pizza at 10 o'clock at night, too, or my staff and like there's like a great ice cream truck that comes in late night.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Love the late night snacks. I cannot get enough of them. Uh, are there trends that you're not loving and want to see go?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, yeah, of course. I mean, there's definitely like food stuff that I'm like, all right, we've we've made that a lot, but I would say for the most part, like DIY stuff. Um, and I mean I say that because um, you know, like you can hire professionals that that do this, that focus on this, that know their craft. Um, and my dad would always say, you know, you can't beat a guy at his own game. Um you know what I mean. I really feel like that hits home, and I really feel like that um it it totally kind of elevates every everything around you too when you have all these professionals there on your day taking care of everything, and you're not worrying about Aunt Susie if she brought those cookies to the cookie table or you know, your your best friend who's also in your wedding, you know, walking people directing people down the aisle, that you have professionals to take care of that.

SPEAKER_02:

So yeah, and I will say, um, if you want to DIY it, go ahead and do it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

But if you don't want to worry about it, you don't want to be the one that gets all the questions, yeah. Where's this food go? How's it staying warm? That's where you turn to someone like Brian at pharmacy and you're like, just take care of it. Yeah, yeah. And you'll just show up and do all the stuff. We got you. Yeah, there's no there's no hiccups, there's nothing. Yeah. Um, so starting out, um, obviously there was a point where you had not catered anything. Yeah. And there was a point where you catered your first thing. Uh what was that first catering experience like? And then and then what has changed from that first one to now?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my goodness. I mean, I'm just like thinking back at the first wedding that we ever catered. It was for a big time doctor for uh a big hospital down in Maryland. Um and it was at his house. And this was not his first marriage, but it was you know a smaller wedding, but it's definitely um it you know, it had to be great. It definitely had to be great. And you know, they put a lot of faith in us kind of for being our first wedding. Right. Um, it went amazing. Um I feel like that was a light bulb moment that uh that we could definitely do this, you know, again, outside of you know, restaurant food, uh corporate catering, you know, lunches, that kind of thing. Um that's when I kind of knew that we could we could do this for a living, that we definitely wowed all the people that were there, um, and they loved it. But it definitely looks and feels a lot different than what weddings feel like today. Uh still that wow moment is what I do this for, but um you know, logistics, everything that goes involved in it so much more smoother than thinking about that that first wedding.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, what's helped you grow the most over all these years that you've been catering?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I would have to say connections. Um and I mean, and that definitely starts in the wedding industry with your fellow vendors, right? Um made so many huge jumps in in our growth with just knowing the right people. Um you know, doing well, let's say it this way doing a really good job for the right people.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because, you know, when people refer to you as a fellow vendor, you know, that's part of their name, you know, on your work.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So I would say that was huge for us, uh, especially coming from, you know, in a market that we started out down in Maryland to up here in southern Pennsylvania and not really knowing again anything about the wedding industry up here.

SPEAKER_02:

So are there other habits that or or tools or systems that you use like day to day or maybe on your wedding days that like help you guys run a smooth operation?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, for me personally, personally, is like I'm at the gym six days a week just because I, you know, it's a physical job. I mean, we're there for you know, probably working for 18 hours on a wedding day, to be honest, you know, just from getting there early to you know being the last people to leave. Um, so that's for me. Um, I would say little things that help me get through the day, protein and caffeine for sure. Um all the good stuff. Yeah, none of the back. Well, I don't know about C4, your second C4 of the day, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

But if C4 is deep, you might there might be something up.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. A little eye twitch maybe or something like that. But it's the food. It helps the food come up. It definitely like it just helps you keep going.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, well, if you're cracking your second C4, I'll crack it with you.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, sweet, sweet. Well, cheers to that.

SPEAKER_02:

No, that's awesome. I mean, it it seems like you've been on such a uh a cool journey from you know having your cafe, still keeping that going somehow, yeah, all the way in Maryland and and creating the connection. So if you're listening, you're a vendor, connections.

SPEAKER_00:

Connections, for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

Or doing a good job. Yeah, because you gotta show up, yeah. You gotta show up for those connections. Well, Brian, it's been so great having you on the podcast. I know I've learned a ton, and I hope everyone listening has also learned a ton. Uh where can people follow along with what you're doing with your catering business?

SPEAKER_00:

Awesome, man. Thanks. Yeah, like uh pharmacy, cafe, and catering all spelled out is our handle on Instagram. You can find us uh on Facebook and and also yeah, definitely check us out. Check out our website, pharmacycafeandcatering.com. Uh, get your dev or down in in Maryland, Monday through Friday, you know, seven to three. Go check out some breakfast or lunch at our cafe. Um, and then obviously, you know, you can always hire us for a private chef event or uh, you know, some type of catering.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and all that stuff will be linked down in the description uh below. Is there anything exciting, new, upcoming that you're you're super stoked for?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I'm always into just, you know, I mean, obviously we love weddings, but I'm always into whatever type of cool uh event that you know pops up. We just did a uh peach themed farm to table dinner um out in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in a peach orchard. Oh, that's awesome. Um yeah, like all the produce was provided by the farm and like local meats and all that good stuff. And then we actually have another one, prospective fingers crossed. I'm working with a guy here locally in York, uh, where they're gonna do it right in front of York market. So um he approached us where he met us at an event, and uh so I'm working on a menu right now, so I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so cool.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, uh, make sure if you're listening in, go check out Brian with pharmacy. That's pharmacy with an F. Yep, just to be clear. But all that will be linked down in the description. Um, Brian, it's been so great chatting. Um, and that's all for this episode. Thank you guys for tuning in. Uh, make sure you guys are liking and subscribing to the channel so you get up to date on all the new episodes that are coming out. And that's it. We'll see you next time on the preferred list.