Gourmondo CEO Angela Dunleavy thinks outside the boxed lunch

Gourmondo founder Alissa Leinonen made just one phone call when seeking the CEO that would replace her and lead the catering company she's helmed since 1996.

It was Angela Dunleavy, then-CEO of FareStart, the culinary nonprofit aimed at job training in the restaurant industry and providing meals to local schools and nonprofits. During the pandemic, when catering demand slowed to a halt, the two teamed up to deliver hundreds of thousands of meals to children in need.

"It was an incredible journey and I'm really proud of the work that we did," Dunleavy told the Business Journal.

Now, she is leading Gourmondo's all-female C-suite, with 2023 revenue on track to surpass its 2019 benchmark of $17 million by 20%, as headcount grows to more than 270 employees and the company takes advantage of its new office and production facility in Seattle's Sodo neighborhood — drastically improving its capacity for new business.

Earlier this month, Dunleavy sat down with the Business Journal to talk about Gourmondo's growth and what's next.

About Angela:

What drew you to this position, other than your relationship with (Leinonen)?

I knew I was an entrepreneur at heart, wanting to get back to the business world. I don't think I expected the call that I got from Alissa, but the more and more we got to talk, the more and more it just made sense.

What's it like being the first CEO after the founder?

We have so many synergies and how we operate from a business perspective, from being moms and trying to be there for our kids while running companies. I think that we've just figured out a way to really gel. It's easier to see a growth path when you have a business partner or people in your orbit that you really sync with.

How has the demand from the business community been, with so many employers looking for ways to bring workers back to the office?

That's always been a part of Seattle. That's evident in the Gourmondo business prior to the pandemic. But as the summer went on, there were a lot more retreats, a lot more team building, and it's just natural that you're doing happy hours or lunch buffets. The thing that I think has also been a great opportunity for us, and will continue to be an area of growth, is what we do in private events, whether it's big corporate events or private events. People often think of Gourmondo as, "Oh, yeah, you do the box lunches." But we've been doing a ton of large-scale events as as well those that are more on the high-end style, too.

With those events, staffing can be a limiting factor for a company like Gourmondo. How has that been?

I think that because Alissa was able to keep so much of the team intact during the pandemic, it hasn't been as painful for Gourmondo. I do know that it's hard for a lot of restaurants, and I'm even seeing that less. That's not to say that staffing isn't hard, because it is. But it's always been hard, right? The thing that I was really pleased with when I came in was the longevity of people who've worked here and the retention.

How has inflation affected that growth?

It's starting to ease a bit. But when I came in, the cost of eggs was just through the roof. We have these really lovely deviled eggs that are one of our staple items, and the cost for one egg and then to produce it? We can live with these margins for a little while because we're going to expect the cost of eggs to come down. Luckily, they have. But that was a real pressure, particularly at the beginning of the year. So, margins are a little tighter this year, even though revenues are growing, but from what I can see in the vantage point that I have right now to 2024, I feel pretty good about where we're headed.

There's a lot of optimism that corporate spending is going to continue to rise this year, as we get further away from layoffs. Do you share that view?

I do. I think that part of what is going to happen is we just need it to stabilize. We had such fluctuation of what corporate spending was looking like before the pandemic, in the pandemic. It was just wonky. I think we're seeing a lot more consistency in that we know what's coming ahead, we know what's down the pike.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.