Corn Crib Creations is an always homemade-never frozen catering business located in Grundy Center. Owner Tammy Venenga has always loved cooking, starting off early with ten years of 4-H in her home state of South Dakota. When her son graduated high school in 2002, she channeled her love of cooking into catering for friends and family while still working full time at a dental office.  As word spread and her following grew, the requests kept growing and growing.

In 2014, she knew she needed to get a state-certified kitchen and a remodeled space in her basement would have to do.  Quickly the business outgrew that space and Tammy started to play with the idea of a brick and mortar location. As she reflected on the reality of 10-12-hour days in the kitchen, Tammy decided the best solution would be to have that kitchen at home on their rural property. Instead of investing in someone else’s building, Tammy and her husband started the 25×50 addition to their home in 2018. With her husband building and cutting the lumber with his sawmill, he made her dream come true – a big airy kitchen that checked all of the boxes for the cook – and the state inspector!

Since her new space was completed, Tammy has started hosting classes, with hopes to have her kitchen be a learning and catering kitchen. She wants to teach people how to cook with spices and about the health benefits that come from them. Along with cooking classes, she would like to expand the building addition to include a small event venue where they can hold catered events inside and outside on their acreage.

Tammy is a member of the Grundy Center Chamber and Main Street so she can stay in the loop on the activities in the community and often donates items, cake or meals, to various causes. She has worked with Amy Dutton, Regional Director of the UNI SBDC for help with startup financials, industry research, and important business decisions. “Amy Dutton and the SBDC have been a great help. The advice and direction they can give your business is top-notch!” Tammy said.

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