Between ready-made meals, wholesale food items, a food truck, catering, and—most recently—a breakfast speakeasy, Down Home EATS delivers comforting meals in a variety of ways, all with a focus on nourishing the soul.
“My core values of my business are making a difference, showing integrity, and being generous,” says Owner and Chef Leah Dow-Sanchez. Known for its “edible hugs,” through nostalgic flavors and hearty plates, food from Down Home EATS evokes feelings only scratch-made comfort foods can deliver.
When did you start cooking?
I’ve been cooking since I was three—on the side of my food trailer I actually have all of my family members who have influenced my cooking. But the first pictures of me cooking are when I was three making pancakes with my grandpa. I got my first degree in culinary arts at a community college, and I have worked in kitchens throughout my life. I was a teacher for 16 years, until last year. Even when I was teaching, I was always providing food for my students on testing days and stuff like that.
What are your favorite foods?
I’ve always liked to cook, but I’m very picky. I like mashed potatoes and gravy, or anything with mashed potatoes and gravy. And macaroni and cheese—that’s a big one. I tell people just pretend I’m six. I’d never had chicken parmesan until I started making it last year for ready-made meals. And I didn’t even try it until the spring. I was prepping dinners, and it smells really good—if it smells good and looks good, then I’m willing to taste it.
What does food mean to you?
I think food is—aside from a necessity—it has all these connections to where you come from and how it makes you feel. So we have two taglines at Down Home EATS: one is “serving comfort one plate at a time,” and the other one is “we provide edible hugs.” Because a lot of people have told me that—that the food is reminiscent of their grandma’s cooking. I had one gal in her eighties or nineties who told me that my apple sauce was exactly like her great grandma made in the early twenties. To be able to connect with people on that level is really awesome.
Tell us about the ready-made meals you offer in the fall and winter…
For the ready-made meals, I meet customers in South Jackson, East Jackson, the West Bank, or I deliver (I have a fee for delivery). Entrees include things like pot roast, chicken pot pie, fried chicken, lasagna… then there are sides that you can order as well. But it’s ala carte—you can just order the entrée, just the sides, or even corn bread… I have people that want full pans of corn bread. Everything can be frozen and reheated except for the mashed potatoes. I’ve got YouTube videos that show people how to reheat things, especially alfredo and stroganoff, because they’re cream-based sauces. So, I have QR codes that bring people to watch videos on how to do it step by step.
Where are you sourcing recipes from?
A lot of them come from my family. Like the cowboy beans—people ask, “What are cowboy beans?” They have four different types of beans in them, hamburger, bacon… it was just something that my family ended up throwing together on a rafting trip back in the fifties or sixties. Having those connections to my past is what makes my food my food. But then I get requests for comfort food like the chicken pot pie, and I actually found four recipes and pulled the ideas that I liked from each of them. Then, I have people taste test it because I’m not going to sell something that somebody else doesn’t absolutely love.
What recipe took you the longest to develop?
Meatloaf took me forever, because everybody’s nostalgia with meatloaf, in my opinion, is negative. They just remember having to eat it. So I went through six different recipes trying to find the meatloaf that would work because I didn’t want a meatloaf that reminded people of that negative component. And so when I finally got the right one, someone tried it and said, “I could eat that every day for the rest of my life.” I don’t want anything that I serve to be mediocre. I want it to be the best that somebody’s ever had.
What would you share about your catering services?
I call my kind of catering “cozy catering,” because people can choose from the main menu of things that I make. Last year, for example, when I did some Christmas parties, they were mostly lasagna and chicken parmesan. Those are probably the fanciest things that I do.
You recently acquired Ski High Bakery—which specialized in gluten-free baked goods and food for individuals with dietary restrictions. How do you foresee that side of your business developing?
It will eventually be called Elevated by Down Home EATS, because I’m going to do the same stuff that I do for Down Home Eats, it’s just going to be elevated with dietary restrictions. In the kitchen location—in the parking lot next to Hoff’s Bikesmith, I’m doing a “speakeasy” breakfast service from 6:30 to 9:15 a.m. Monday through Friday. You can order online or through the QR code on my menu that’s outside my door. I’m not accepting any cash, so it’s all online. I sell cinnamon rolls, breakfast burritos and gluten-free items, right out the door. It’s not a kitchen that’s meant to have a storefront, but I still want to be able to serve people.
Where else can people find your food?
I do dinners at the Elks Lodge on Bingo night. And the last Wednesday of every month at the Elks is breakfast for dinner. So, I do my breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls, and fried French toast.
