Today’s featured members, Paul and Stephanie Staley, owners of CHOMP! Foods catering said they renovated The Canal, a long-time staple overlooking the Ballard Locks, where they host events, pop-ups and a weekly market for small businesses.
Tell us about your business
I, Paul, am a self-taught chef and while I am versed in many cuisine types, I specialize in a rustic gourmet style of cooking featuring Pacific Northwest ingredients and flair. Growing up without electricity, running water or a telephone gave me an appreciation for the little things, and has greatly influenced my cooking style over the years.
We own a catering company, Chomp! Foods and have been servicing the greater Seattle area for over 17 years. Moving into a venue space was the next step for us organically to grow. We moved into the space in July of 2022 after the prior tenant vacated in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve done most of the improvements and projects ourselves and spent the first year peeling back decades of neglect and old technology and refreshing the space. New paint, woodwork, a few pieces of art from local artist Henry, tile work, updated lighting fixtures, flooring, a massive landscape undertaking, and many other projects were taken on, bringing some new life to this historic and iconic space. (Take a virtual tour of the space here!) We were cleared for occupancy in June of last year and have been working to book events and fill our calendar. We’ve been fortunate to have hosted a wide variety of events in our space already: weddings, birthday parties, celebrations of life, graduations, high school proms, grad nights, sorority formals, corporate retreats, corporate networking events, corporate board meetings, holiday parties, burlesque shows, drag brunches, art shows, artisan markets, sober mocktail parties, album release parties and more. We really focused on making the venue welcoming to all.
Why did you join the Chamber?
We joined the Chamber so that we could network and to promote our businesses among the other members. We are a fairly small business that took on a huge project. KING 5 even featured our story!
What are you/is your business interested in – or – what do you need currently?
We are really needing to book more clients and get more reservations at The Canal and thought that joining the Chamber might help us in increasing corporate clients. We are also hoping that we might find someone interested in investing or finding sources for financing to help us finish the kitchen build-out and finally get open for regular brunch service.
The Seattle Metro Chamber’s annual Member Appreciation Reception, where we celebrate our incredible members, will be hosted at The Canal on Aug. 14. Join us and to enjoy delicious appetizers provided by Chomp! Foods, take in the views overlooking the Ballard Locks and get to know your fellow members. Register today.
To learn more about membership with the Seattle Metro Chamber, please visit our membership page.
Thank you to the Chomp! and The Canal for being part of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce network. Here at the Chamber, we have 2,500 companies across the region and 13 different business sectors, from your favorite neighborhood restaurant to brands known around the world. Our member feature program is based on referrals. If you would like to learn more about how to be featured in our member features series, please contact Cori Lumens.