“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do out of high school, but I’ve always liked cooking and everybody in my family cooks,” says Quinn, co-owner of Superior Frozen Foods. “My grandma has her own business, she cooks, and I’ve always been around food.” (Siver’s grandmother is Tami Siver, who owns the Little Pie Shop.)
“So my dad and I thought this would be a cool thing to start doing together,” he says.
Superior Frozen Foods sells fully cooked and frozen meals that come in family sizes or individual portions. Their lasagnas and shepherds pies are perfect for busy families and are best sellers. Individual servings are popular with elderly clients, because they are easy to heat in the microwave or oven.
Many of the items on the menu are food the Sivers love themselves. “We looked at foods we all enjoy eating; our lasagnas, our shepherds pies, our corn dogs. And every time we eat food, we’d try to think of ways we could improve on it. We just made it the best way we thought possible, and everybody seems to enjoy it,” says Quinn.
Corn dogs are a recent addition to the menu and have become a hit. “Because the CLE is cancelled, you can’t really get corn dogs anymore, so everybody comes to us for the jumbo CLE-style corn dogs,” he explains.
When Superior Frozen Foods first launched, the Sivers tried to sell their food through a couple of retail locations. “We were in Renco Foods for a bit, but it took a while to sell our stock, because not many people noticed us,” Quinn explains.
The two pivoted to marketing on social media, and Quinn says most of their customers now find them on Facebook or by word of mouth. (Superior Frozen Foods no longer sells in retail locations, except for the corn dogs at Half Stacks on Syndicate Avenue.) Customers can check out the menu on Superior Frozen Foods’ Facebook page and place an order for pickup or delivery within city limits.
Owning a home-based business can be hectic, but has its upsides, the young entrepreneur says. “It’s less stressful doing it at home than at an actual restaurant,” he says. “We can work anytime we want.”
Although the Sivers intend to continue cooking and selling out of their home on Shipley Street, they recently purchased a trailer so that they can take their food on the road as well. “We’re going to convert it so that we can be selling corn dogs; pull it anywhere in the city we want,” he says. The food truck will also carry their frozen items for reheating.
“Once COVID clears up and people start going out to parks and lakes more, we’ll see what people want during the summer and fall,” he adds optimistically.
