Popular MS Coast meal prep business will close as grocery prices skyrocket
The vibrant green building on Thorn Street in Ocean Springs where thousands have been fed healthy meals for nearly five years is closing next week.
Kristin Grizzard, owner of Prep by KUG, faced a tough choice — she didn’t want to raise prices on her food, but also could not afford the price of skyrocketing groceries.
Grizzard, who has operated the meal prep business since 2015, made the decision to close so she could watch how inflation affects the local economy before deciding what to do next.
“It’s been heavy on my heart for about six months,” Grizzard told the Sun Herald earlier this week while cooking her famous Mississippi pot roast. “I could raise my prices, but I’d feel guilty about that. I don’t want to charge $10 for a container of chicken salad.”
Prep by KUG offers macro-based and paleo meals weekly to customers. Each meal plan has five menu items per week for $15 per meal. Many customers say one meal can easily be two-three servings.
Macro meals are based on a combination of fats, proteins and carbs, while paleo meals are free of refined sugar and dairy and are good for people with dietary restrictions.
Grizzard also makes grab-and-go items that she keeps regularly stocked, like a famous spaghetti and her beloved chicken salad.
Grizzard sells hundreds of meals every week, and customers have been coming in the store to check on her since she made the announcement to close on Facebook. One client came in and was wiping away tears.
“For the most part, everybody just wants to make sure we’re OK,” Grizzard said.
Inflation affects cost, grocery prices
When Grizzard and her husband, David, started the company, they were first cooking in the kitchen at South Coast Seafood before getting their own storefront.
Prep by KUG was originally a side hustle to help them get out of debt and pay off their student loans.
But the customers kept coming. Grizzard said in her busiest week ever, she sold about 600 meals. The Grizzards were able to go debt-free and pay for their business and equipment in cash before signing a lease on their own brick and mortar.
Shopping local has been important to the Grizzards as well. She buys most of her meat from Rouses and all of her produce from Four Seasons in Moss Point. Her seafood comes from South Coast.
“The only thing I bought from U.S. Foods was sanitizer,” Grizzard said.
In mid May, Grizzard starting seeing the affects of inflation in grocery prices.
“I would buy 15 dozen eggs for about $24. Now, they’re $56,” she said. Chicken prices have doubled. The to-go containers she uses have nearly tripled.
‘Its been very hard’
The cost of product was getting so high, Grizzard was only paying herself $400 per week. And while she was still in the green, she made the choice to close when her lease on the building was up.
“We’re not in a bad position, but I see an opportunity and I’m going to take it because it’s the best thing for my family,” she said. The Grizzards have three children and live in Ocean Springs.
Prep by KUG is offering one last meal prep — orders for macro meals go out on June 21, paleo on June 23. The following week, Grizzard will sell whatever items are left in the cooler before closing her doors.
“Everybody is sad that a local business is closing,” Grizzard said, including her family. “It’s been very hard emotionally.”
Cooking is Grizzard’s passion, and she doesn’t see herself getting out of the kitchen any time soon. She’s still deciding what comes next. For now, she’ll be focusing on her family.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 11:56 AM.
