Celebrating 75 years in business

A feature published in the April 1994 issue of Rent Management was titled, “A Vermont Member Brings Four Businesses Together, Not a Fish Tail,” and told the story of White River Junction, Vt.-based Blood Seafood and Catering.

The story traces the founding of the business in 1947 by Denny Blood, a merchant butcher into seafood sales and catering, and the continuation of its services — plus the addition of a seafood restaurant and event rental — by Denny’s son, Michael. He ran the business with his wife, Donna.

75 years after Denny’s Enterprise began operations and 28 years after its profile was published, the company is still going strong, adapting its offerings to meet the needs of the market in 2022 and producing some of the leaders in the event rental industry. on the way.

In the year Discussing the company’s evolution since the mid-1990s, current president Brendan Blood — son of Michael and Donna — said one of the biggest differences was the jettisoning of the retail fish market and seafood restaurant divisions.

“In 1997, we dropped the restaurant division because it was too hard to staff year-round,” Brendon said. “We also realized that we didn’t like it very much, but it was very sad because to this day we have people walking through our doors who can’t believe we don’t have a restaurant.

Then, in 2010, the blood flooded the retail market.

“My dad was getting close to retirement. It was always his desire to open a seafood market because his dad owned one when he was young. It made sense at the time, but it wasn’t something I wanted to run. At one point, we had huge lobster tanks that held 4,000 pounds. Live lobsters at a time. Within 100 miles. “We were the only place that could sell 100 lobsters for a clambake. That was our place at the time. Then the grocery stores started retailing lobsters cheaper than I could wholesale them, so you got to the point where you were competing with the big companies. You just couldn’t compete with them,” Brendon says.

In the year By the 2010s, with services focusing on event rentals and catering, a name change was in order.

“My dad was smart enough to realize that it made sense to say exactly what you were doing, and now I see it,” Brendon says. “I’m not a big social media or Google kind of person, but I understand that if you have your name in it, it helps with Google searches and stuff. It makes sense that we have catering and party rentals as our name, reflecting exactly what we do.”

On the rental side, offerings for blood drives and party rentals have remained unchanged since the 1990s: tents, tables, chairs, catering equipment, china, linens, arches, dance floors and lighting. According to Brendon, what changed was adding a bunch of generators to the lineup, and in terms of number and quantity, “we probably have four times the inventory — it’s amazing how many things have changed.

In the dining area, Blood still prepares his wares for long-time beachcombers like clambakes, but these days, barbecue and other specialty hors d’oeuvres are more in demand in the market.

“We do a lot of barbecue, for sure,” Brendon says. “I’d say it’s the most popular type of food we do, but we really do a lot. We do it almost from scratch. Everything we have is our own recipe, our own creation. All of our hors d’oeuvres are handmade. We make our own sushi standing there—you name it, we do it. On site.” We cook almost everything in. We do a lot of prep work here, but we cook everything at people’s houses or wherever we go, which is fun.

The variety of culinary creations Blood Catering and Banquet Rentals offers today is influenced by Brendan’s years of growing up in the business and his training as a professional chef. “I would say our food has come a long way. When I left culinary school in 1996, we took the menu to a higher level. It changed a lot then,” he says.

When asked the secret to the company’s success over 75 years, Brendan said, “Consistency, of course, and the old adage of ‘under-promising and over-delivering.’ We do what we say we will do. We don’t promise the world, but we promise we’ll do a good job, the food will be great, you’ll love it and your guests will love it. What I tell people who call hard on me is, ‘I guarantee you, I’m the most expensive caterer you’ll ever call. But I am about to reveal myself. If you have a rental question, I’ll answer the phone any Saturday at 4 p.m. If you have a question or want to come in — no other caterer will come to their table at 4pm on a Saturday to talk to you about linen samples or food. So I think it’s an additional service.

In keeping with the company’s commitment, Blood is a family affair. The founders, Michael and Donna, are now retired, while Brendan and his wife, Sarah, founded the company in 2015. While preparing to study business management at Boston College, she was involved in activities around the facility and dining.

Today, Blood’s operates from the same 50 feet by 70 feet. An institution held for decades; But an additional 16,000 square meters of storage space was found nearby, and the staff level will be 14 years old, reaching 60 to 70 in the summer.

As Catering and Banquet Rentals has upped its catering game and rental inventory over the past 25-plus years, its leaders are expected to serve in key leadership positions in the rental industry. Brendan served as the American Rental Association (ARA) Region One Director from 2014-2017, is a past member of the Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the ARA Event Rental Mutual Interest Group. Sarah has served on the Event Rental Advocacy Working Group as a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, and both Brendan and Sarah have served on the ARA of Vermont Board of Directors.

Three generations and 75 years of blood delivery and party rentals have never stopped improving and is looking to the future by positioning itself for more innovation and growth.

“We’ve hired CEO David Davis, and we’re implementing EOS [Entrepreneurial Operating System] Through the book ‘Traction’. That’s really helping our culture,” says Brendan, who hopes that steps toward efficiencies like these will make life a little less hectic. Sarah and I are trying to take it a little easier than last time and maybe not work too hard.