In spring of last year, Grace Inspired Living (GIL) transitioned its dining services of both Lutheran Community at Telford and The Community at Rockhill from an outsourced vendor to fully in-house teams under one overarching Culinary Department. Since then, this group has been hard at work bringing more exciting updates to the dining program for our residents. Read on to learn more about these robust enhancements!
Structural Changes & Beyond
When we brought our Culinary program in-house, we restructured our meal plan choices in an effort to create more flexibility and variation for residents, who span many different living options throughout Grace Inspired Living. Residents can now rollover their balance from month to month, “buy up” with more Dining Dollars for their plan, and continue to enjoy a discounted rate even if they spend more than their monthly plan allowance.*
Residents have the capability to track their balances in real time on paper receipts and can change their dining plan on a quarterly basis, if their needs change. For those who utilize our A’la Carte meal plan or live, for example, in one of our new construction cottages at Lutheran Community at Telford, our new-and-improved Culinary program also offers Catering services with advanced notice.
All four of the restaurants between our two continuing care retirement communities are now accepting credit cards as a method of payment so our guests, residents’ family members and loved ones, and future residents can enjoy all the delicious fare that our campuses have to offer! We also offer Gift Cards—our residents can buy them for a neighbor and friend, or their family member can purchase one during a routine visit. The holiday season is fast approaching, and what could be a better gift than more precious time with your loved ones over a delicious meal prepared by Grace Inspired Living chefs?
*Conditions may apply.
What’s in a Name?
Following the rebranding of GIL and its affiliated communities, it was only right that we breathe new life into the identities of our dining venues as well. We assigned three of our restaurants a fitting name, and all four received a dedicated logo that aligns with their parent non-profit organization’s new look and feel.
With all four venues, both the name and the logo concept and design were kept entirely in-house, carefully curated by our resourceful staff—just like our menus. 😌 At the start of 2024, we invited any and all employees to submit up to three creative names for each of our dining rooms over the course of a few weeks. This was a fun, collaborative and healthy competition among the staff at both communities. All participants were entered into a raffle for a complementary lunch or dinner at either campus, and our Senior Leadership team reviewed, narrowed down and “blindly” selected the final restaurant names. The winning employees were awarded ‘Dinner for 6’ at the respective location!
Menus & Signage
In August, The Community at Rockhill introduced new menu books to match its makeover: rich navy leather covers, bound and embossed with the updated logo in rose gold, metallic copper foil. Inside, crisp, off-white stationery holding the month’s rotating menu and house-made specials that vary both weekly and daily. The distinct “identity” of each restaurant extends to its menu offerings, ranging from made-to-order deli sandwiches and salads to brick oven pizza. 🤤 Don’t forget about freshly prepared, conveniently packaged grab-and-go for our busy, hardworking staff and residents enjoying an active on-campus lifestyle.
By late September, sturdy metal signs were installed by Reed Sign Company outside the same dining room at Rockhill, setting the new logo “in stone” (brick 😂). We just love how they turned out—looking as fresh as our ingredients! 🥹 We are looking forward to continuing with installation of signage at our remaining dining rooms in the new year.
Dining Room Renovations
Speaking of spaces, we have been renovating many common areas throughout both communities over the past year. Specifically, a few of the dining areas at Lutheran Community at Telford are getting facelifts! You can view some stunning recent photography from each type of space below.
Pro Tip: Our Culinary department also services a handful of casual coffee lounges throughout the Telford campus in addition to its traditional dining rooms. ☕🫘
Not Just Stylin’ Spaces
New Guide On the Block
Our brand new Graceful Table Dining Guide is a 10-page directory that gets released every quarter of the year and features planned seasonal events and special culinary offerings, available for reference right at our residents’ fingertips. Conception of the publication was a joint effort between the Culinary Department and GIL’s Marketing team, intending to allow residents improved visibility, connectivity and the ability to plan ahead. The guide continues to be a team effort as members of our administrative support team help print and personally deliver color copies to each residents’ mailbox at the time of distribution.
As a thank-you for visiting our blog, we are offering YOU a chance to peel back the curtain and have a look into one of these booklets using the button below. We have featured our Winter 2024-25 issue (including holiday selections) of Graceful Table as an online flipbook for our readers. Dive in! 👇🏼
Special Events & Theming
Within the quarterly Dining Guide, residents will find many special events and uniquely-themed, exciting variations to their regular mealtimes. For starters (get it?) our Life Enrichment & Wellness team overlaps with Culinary to offer LiveWell Cooking Demos to our residents. They receive a separate, monthly “Food for Thought” article written by our Corporate Dietitian, Natalie Snyder, in their resident newsletter. These real-time demonstrations, usually facilitated by one of more of our Executive Chefs, often feature the same food item Natalie selects for the aforementioned article. Additionally, our demos are usually exclusive to current residents, but later this month, we will be opening our figurative kitchen doors to future residents and waitlist members with one for the holidays—and the (recipe) books! 📚📝
If you were able to explore the current issue of Graceful Table above, you may have already uncovered what’s next on the horizon: a Private Chef’s Dinner mini-series. We are planning to host exclusive, 6-course gourmet tasting dinners in January, February and March of 2025! These interactive private events will welcome anywhere from 12 to 18 residents and allow our chefs to “show off” their complex culinary skillsets. Once launched, reservations will be first come, first serve.
To further bridge the gap between our Independent Living residents and their dining program decision-makers, they can also get involved by attending one of our Dining Enhancement Meetings. These provide transparency and collaboration should they take an active role in participating during the in-meeting group discussions.
Finally, some favorite “foodie” memories of both our residents and staff include themed dinners and buffet nights shown in the dining guide, whether held at their favorite on-campus restaurant or community-wide. In 2024, we heard rave reviews about the following: “A Stroll Down the Boardwalk,” an All-American Buffet, a traditional Clam Bake lunch, “A Night in Paris,” Julia Child Dinner Stations, our annual Hawaiian Luau & Pig Roast, “South of the Border” for Cinco de Mayo, “Taste of Asia” Vietnamese cuisine, a live demo in Personal Care for National Cherry Jubilees Day, “Night at the Ballpark” (go, Phils!), Oktoberfest Buffet and “Summer in Tuscany.” Believe it or not, that doesn’t even begin to cover them all!
Our in-house Culinary department and its entire team looks forward to continuing to develop the way residents fulfill a such a vital part of their retirement lifestyle. Likewise, we enjoy serving them just as greatly. It’s all part of our commitment to making mealtime more exciting! 🍽️
