I caught up with Denise Slavitt, the CEO of Checkers Catering and Special Events, after a very busy season of holiday parties. She had asked to schedule the meeting at the last minute before closing for the holidays.

What Led To Starting Checkers Catering? 

Slavitt said she worked at restaurants all through college at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and then as a self-described "ski bum" in Idaho. Later, she returned to San Francisco State University for an MBA in marketing.

A friend had been starting restaurants in business buildings, and even though Slavitt had no experience running a restaurant, she bought one from him in Concord, and opened the doors on September 8, 1988. One month later, she married, then opened her second location in San Ramon at the Bishop Ranch Business Park. 

There were several large clients there such as IBM, and one of them asked Slavitt to provide coffee for 100 people at a meeting. She bought a large coffee urn and began her catering career.

After running both restaurants for more than a year, she closed the Concord shop to concentrate on San Ramon and start her family. After 13 years, she ran out of space, and moved to a location near Club Sport.

After three years, she ran out of space again, and purchased the current location in Livermore, which is a 10,000-square-foot facility with a state-of-the-art kitchen, warehouse, production space and showroom.

She has 21 full-time employees, several part timers and many on-call in her business "family."

What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge?

"As our business has grown, we must have continual growth to maintain the business or we won't be around," Slavitt said, adding that finding a way to grow has been a continuous challenge.

Providing a great place to work is very important to her.

"My team works really hard," Slavitt said.  "And they understand that it's all about the customer."

What Are You Most Proud Of?

"We were the first Alameda County caterer to be green certified in 2006, and we were just recently recertified."

The business must meet California Green Business Standards, including water conservation, solid-waste reduction and recycling, energy conservation and pollution prevention.

Slavitt said her business gives back to the community by supporting the schools' sporting events and through discount programs.

It also is working on developing a relationship with Open Heart Kitchen to donate leftover food that can feed the community, she said.