LunchBox : Fresh and Fun

Two words come to mind when talking about LunchBox: fresh and fun. 

Let’s start by talking about fresh. Two friends, Will Porter and Eric Koch, met in their early 20s when they were working in restaurants together and wanted to start their own business with the fresh idea of a virtual catering company that delivers fresh, homemade sandwiches right to customers wherever they work. 

As if that weren’t fresh enough, Will was fresh out of Algonquin’s Culinary Management Program and, when the catering business took off, they decided to expand into a brick and mortar location. In February 2016, they found the perfect location on St-Joseph Boulevard in a quaint house rezoned as commercial. They continued with sandwiches and expanded their offerings to include more salads, side dishes, and desserts. In their new home, they landed on the fresh theme of 90s schoolhouse. 

That’s where fun enters the story, too. There’s a Nintendo 64 console and VHS player that shows classic 90s movies and tv shows. The walls are adorned with posters of Where’s Waldo and the alphabet. The menu, written out on a chalkboard, is filled with 90s pop culture references that are a whole lot of fun. 

Co-owner Will Porter states, “I’m from a small town and Eric [his business partner] grew up just down the street from here. It feels like we’re part of a community here, getting to know our customers by name. Orleans has all the fun of a small town, while we’re still part of the larger Ottawa community.” 

Eric adds, “We change parts of the menu every spring and fall, keeping the really popular items and substituting in new items to keep things fresh. We didn’t have a huge advertising budget when we started so really appreciate the word of mouth that got out there and got more people coming to us.”  

They are excited about their philanthropic work, too, supporting an event that is a perfect fit for them: CHEO’s Teddy Bear Picnic. 

If you are interested in fresh, fun food, be sure to check out the Course Syllabus, aka, The Menu which features items like The Substitute Teacher, “Schrute” Salad, the Class Clown, The Valedictorian, and The Fire Drill.