Meals on the Go for the Upscale Set

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http://www.theperfectdinner.com/

Forget Boston Market or the prepared-foods section of Jewel or Whole Foods. In Oak Park, there’s Perfect Dinner, a kitchen that prepares “home-style” take-out and delivered meals. The startup is aimed mostly at “El” riders, who can go online to scope out the shop’s menu of 8 to 10 daily entrées and order ahead before exiting Oak Station on the Green Line.

The business was founded by Karen Gruber, 48, who formerly handled the Kraft cheese account at ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and Jill Haas, 47, a onetime food scientist at Kraft Foods.

Perfect Dinner broke even with $500,000 in revenue last year—the average check is $41—and is looking at 8%-to-10% growth this year, Gruber says.

The pair, who started the venture with $250,000 from friends, family, and their own savings, is now trying to drum up $700,000 to open two more sites this fall.

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