Lifelong dream realized with opening of catering and takeout business in Battle Creek

Cooking from scratch is my expertise, and I have a deep passion for every aspect of it. — Chef Benny

Mitts 2 Pits Catering is the latest tenant in a building at 78 Calhoun Street that has incubated dreams for several restaurateurs in Battle Creek. Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Benjamin and Denise Young, the catering and take-out business opened its first brick-and-mortar location in April. The Youngs recently carved out some time from their busy holiday schedule to speak with “On the Ground Battle Creek” about making their dream a reality.

Q. How did you end up with your own dining establishment?

A. In September 2020, we started doing “catering only” using licensed kitchens like the VFW Hall. From 2023 to April of this year, we were using the Sprout Incubator Kitchen in Springfield, which gave us an opportunity to cultivate our menu. We wanted to make sure we could bring soul food to people that could be scratch-made. Within Sprout, we did catering, and on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., we offered lunch and dinner, which people could pre-order or walk in to order.

This gave us a chance to get our name out there, cultivate a menu, and get a following. Eventually, we added Sunday service and called it “Soulful Sunday.” We opened at noon to give people the opportunity to come in right after church. We also did a small number of deliveries geared towards seniors and the disabled.

Q. Why did you decide to open Mitts 2 Pits at the Calhoun Street location?

A. We looked at what our finances were and based on that, where we could have a small brick and mortar presence, where we could be open a couple more days a week without it being a shared space. We wanted to be able to control the flow of people coming and going, and how much we could store. We were looking and looked at this place, which we don’t live too far from. A lot of people were interested in this space, and we had already been in contact with John Hart (Small Business Director for the City of Battle Creek) who we met while we were part of a Northern Initiatives cohort to refine our business. John said he had an opportunity to rent it out to upcoming entrepreneurs and had a meeting with us.

(In addition to the SBD and Northern Initiatives, the Youngs also have a relationship with Battle Creek Food Re-Imagined.)

We will eventually need more space, and we have things in the works for the future.

Q. What made you decide to open the store?

A. Since the age of 10, Ben has always cooked. His father was a pastor at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, and his mother was a teacher. Being a pastor and a teacher, there were a lot of late nights coming home. He went on to study Culinary Arts at the Calhoun Area Career Center and later attended Baker College for Culinary Arts as well. We met in 2009 inside of a kitchen at a nursing home. He was the Head Cook, and I was an Assistant Dietary Manager.

When we were dating, we had talked about always wanting to open a catering business called Mitts 2 Pits – from my mitten to your pit. I LLC’d the name, got insurance, and that was the Christmas gift I gave him in 2018. The following year, we were married. At the time, we were doing some catering while Ben worked as a cook at Arlene’s Truck Stop, and I was working in Tool and Die manufacturing and also as a Lactation Specialist with “Milk Like Mine.”

He was like, ‘We have a 16-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 3-year-old,’ and I said, ‘I think it’s time to do it.’ In 2023, he quit his job, and we focused solely on the business, which allowed us to start up a following. We dug in, and here we are now. I work solely with Milk Like Mine and here at the restaurant.

Q. What was the total cost to build out the space?

A. We spent about $60,000, mostly on equipment to get started and a hot water tank. We also had to repair the back door, which was sticking on us. The space already had a stove and hood vent.

Q. What percentage of your biz is catering?

A. When we first opened to the public, about 40 percent of our business was catering, and 60 percent was take-out. Now it’s more like 50/50.

The takeout business is handled by Ben, who does the cooking. I take care of the front of the house and handle the business end of things. We have a part-time employee who handles the cash register.

For a catering event for 400 people, we asked our daughter in the CACC (Calhoun Area Career Center) Culinary Arts Program to help us find students to help us out. We had a group of 10 students who had never met before. During the summer, we partnered with young people in the Goodwill (Goodwill Industries of Central Michigan’s Heartland) summer employment program.

Q. What does your takeout business look like?

A. We are open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner takeout. On these days, we offer more of a quick menu. One of our biggest sellers is our Philly Club. After 4 p.m., we have our steam table with rotating food options, including ribs and salads, and a pasta bar.

On Friday, we do our “Soul Bowl,” which customers can fill up with ribs, ribs tips, chicken, and salmon croquettes, and sides like greens, cabbage, cornbread, or fries. Saturdays, we offer chicken wings and chicken and fish platters with whiting, catfish, cod, or pollock. Sunday is Soul Food Sunday.

That menu rotates, but an item that will always be on there will be mac and cheese. On a recent Sunday, we had smothered and fried chicken, black eye peas and rice, cornbread, and Brussel sprouts. We always want to bring out more of that comfort food style cafeteria style.

Our top three items are our chicken philly sandwiches, fish and smash burgers.

Q. What makes Mitts 2 Pits unique?

A. We are gluten-free for all of our fryers. We use rice flour for our breading, and we have gluten-free buns.

All of our food is scratch-made so everything has to be prepared.

We use everything. The onion peels and parts of the bell peppers that most people throw away or compost are put in a bucket, and Ben cooks them down to make stock for cooking. At Thanksgiving, we made 300 pounds of turkey, and some people wanted it deboned. He used those bones to make stock. Leftover bread is put in a food processor for use later.

We cook with beef tallow, which Ben also makes. He has a variety of things he can cook, so he’s willing to try everything. I do all of the baking.

Q. Why is it important to have a place like Mitts 2 Pits?

A. It gives you a chance to try something different and have a rotating menu. Ben grew up going to Shranks and worked there as a child. We wanted to have a cafeteria-style atmosphere with homestyle cooking and bring the nostalgia back for our customers.

We wanted a gluten-free option because a lot of restaurants will have vegetarian options but not gluten-free. Using rice flour in our gravies and roux makes them less heavy-tasting.

Q. Where are your customers coming from?

A. We have a lot of people from Battle Creek, of course. Because we post a lot on social media, we’ve had people come from Kalamazoo, and a few people have come from Grand Rapids. We see people who we went to church with come in on a random Sunday. The support has been amazing.

This story is part of Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative’s coverage of equitable community development. SWMJC is a group of 12 regional organizations dedicated to strengthening local journalism. Visit swmichjournalism.com to learn more.