July/August 2008
By Alison Amoroso
Anise Morrison’s story is certainly a “yam good tale.” In 1979, First Catering Inc. was founded by her parents George and Jane Morrison. Her father, having worked in wholesale food distribution and having various restaurants since 1969 in Georgia and South Carolina, realized there was a need for a homemade, traditional Southern pie. Morrison states, “Dad was always interested in wholesaling and met a retailer who wanted to add to his dessert line. He grew up with the sweet potato – cooking, growing and selling it as a child on the family farm. For three years he developed a sweet potato pie unlike any others. The Southern-grown yam (sweet potato) is richer in color, sweeter and more nutritional than all the others.”
George Morrison’s research and development included interviewing his mother and great aunts and using his catering kitchen for trials before the first of its dessert line was introduced, the sweet potato “Yam Good Pie.” Then, after a 19-month battle with pancreatic cancer, George died in January 2001. Of the many things he left behind was the family-run catering busi¬ness, a fine recipe and the beginnings of a plan. “I catered throughout college and worked in the family restaurants growing up, but didn’t know I’d have my hands in the food business this much. After Dad’s death and then burying my grandmother, I was in a fog. I then realized I needed to do something with my father’s pie recipe.”
After speaking with her mother they decided to develop a prototype and start marketing the Yam Good Pie. They also decided to develop Jane Morrison’s pecan pie made from Georgia choice pecans, naming it the “Georgia Lady Pecan Pie.”
From One Idea Another Is Born
Morrison launched the Yam Good Pie at the Cotton Pickin’ Fair in Gay, GA, in 2002. First Catering, Inc. was moved to LaGrange in 2002, where Morrison lived at the time, which led to the creation of a retail shop in their baking kitchen. Morrison expanded to include purchasing their pies online via their website shortly after. The shop grew into a dessert/coffee shop named Ou la’ la’ in downtown LaGrange, and in 2005 Morrison opened Greenville Street Grill. John Bell was her partner and chef for both ventures. In 2006, Morrison sold Greenville Street Grill, opened a distribution center for her growing wholesale business and moved Ou la’ la’ to the location where it is today, on Main Street. Morrison and Bell expanded the café to include a full lunch and dinner menu while keeping her heavy focus on desserts.
“We are always listening to our customer and allowing them to help us make what we do better,” states Morrison. “John’s talents allowed me to take a leap and invest in the restaurant.” Morrison’s restaurant concept has been influenced by her art education and her frequent visits to New York City and France. She wants visitors to linger and “to compliment life in LaGrange.” As you enter the Parisian Victorian-era decorated restaurant, you notice the sparkling heavy glassware stocking the wooden bar, the massive dessert display and the colored accents, and you may just utter ou la la.
Morrison and her pies may be best known for her two spots on the Food Network. In 2004, she was in an airport lounge with Al Roker and his wife. Morrison told the Rokers the pies she was carrying to the National Association of Specialty Foods trade conference in New York City are “the best pecan and sweet potato pie there is.” After tasting the pies and learning of Morrison’s design experience, Roker booked her on his show, Recipe for Success, featuring people who left a career to go into the food business. When Roker changed show formats, Morrison was featured again. The show still airs in repeats, and Morrison gets a steady stream of orders for the pies and e-mails from fans.
Morrison’s wholesale business continues to grow. They utilize the Home Shopping Network and QVC to bring in direct customer orders while Morrison focuses on business-to-business sales by expanding their dessert line into specialty catalogues. Her desserts are currently private labeled by high-end companies such as William Sonoma, Saks Fifth Avenue, Cushman’s Fruit Company and Neiman Marcus, to name a few.
A new focus is adding a savory line to their dessert line of hors d’oeuvres in response to customers’ requests. Eighty-five percent of the pies, which now include over 13 different varieties, are shipped out of state. In an effort to increase sales, First Catering has negotiated their way into Costco (only Atlanta stores) and is in discussion with Whole Foods Market and Kroger. Morrison’s challenge is to expand the wholesale business at a profitable price point. “Production at this level of quality is not easy or cheap,” says Bell. He balances Morrison’s vision with his calculations. “Suppliers have given notice their costs are going up 10-15%. Currently, the company’s wholesale sales spike in the fourth quarter, which accounts for 75% of the year’s total. At any moment orders could double and we welcome the challenge of figuring out how to make more pies profitably while using the highest quality ingredients.”
Today, about 25-30% of Morrison’s business is still catering through the cafe, with a heavy focus on desserts, specialty cakes and wedding cakes. It is still a local-run business with Morrison putting her artistic talent to work in the presentation, Bell creating the delicacies and Jane Morrison keeping the books. “Catering is nothing but advertising we get paid for,” says Bell. It also has their biggest profit margin. The restaurant business is tough in LaGrange, as Morrison mentions three nearby restaurants that recently closed, including a franchise. “Our niche is a plus. If we can survive LaGrange’s revitalization and preservation, then the mom-and-pop businesses will survive. It’s been a struggle but it’s thriving.” Ou la’ la’ is projected to see a 30-40% increase in sales this year, bringing total restaurant revenue to $500,000. As people are staying closer to home, Morrison’s online and catalog business increases, bringing her total revenue company wide to over the $1 million mark in 2008.
First Catering, Inc. donates some of its profits to fund a scholarship in George’s name at LaGrange College. Morrison was motivated by her father’s support of her creative pursuits, including inspiring her to succeed in business. Money was awarded recently to a female student for the first time in its seven-year history. “I want to continue my father’s legacy by assisting others in pursuits of their passions. May all things in life be yam good!” says Morrison.
