Merri-Makers Revenue and Competitors

In 1978 on Labor Day weekend, brothers Rick and Andy Bott opened a modest storefront catering facility on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, NJ. The business, which was located close to the Red Bank train station, offered commuters simple breakfasts to eat on the train and take out dinners to pick up on their way home. Local business people could get a good take out lunch. The staffing was simple then. Rick, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, did the cooking. Andy, who held a degree in finance from Lehigh University, worked the counter and cash register. Today the company manages four catering venues: the original Magnolia Inn, the prestigious Reception Center at the PNC Bank Arts Center, an oceanfront beach club Water's Edge in Sea Bright and the largest banquet and meeting facility in northern New Jersey, the NJ Convention Center in Edison. Merri-Makers also maintains its ever growing off-premise division.