NC-13 Small Business Spotlight: Old North State Catering
The holiday season reminds us how a good meal can bring us together, lift spirits, and perfectly punctuate a reunion of family and friends. Old North State Catering provides all three when families and communities need them most.
Based in Harnett County, owner Chris Wrenn left a corporate career in 2010 to chase his twin passions of cooking and serving others.
“I just felt a pull to do something more personal and meaningful. Having the opportunity to impress people with our attention to detail and show them we’re giving our all to make their day special— it’s incredibly fulfilling,” Chris said.
Chris remembers learning to make biscuits with his mother at a young age. Through Old North State Catering, he’s managed to continue multiple family traditions, namely, helping those in need. His parents owned and operated a nonprofit known as the 72 Foundation. Today, Chris’s company partners with Zebra Recovery to respond when disasters strike communities.
His team has traveled to Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, and all around the Carolinas whenever necessary. Last January, as Western North Carolina recovered from Hurricane Helene, Old North State and Zebra Recovery prepared over 17,600 meals for the residents of Burnsville in Yancey County. Our office got to know them as they mobilized in preparation to help Jamaicans reeling from Hurricane Melissa.
“You hope to never get the call because it means something terrible happened, and people are suffering. But at the same time, when it comes, we can’t flinch. We must move quickly to help,” Chris said. “This wasn’t our regular mobilization, though. Several of our team members needed passports, so we turned to Congressman Knott for help.”
Congressman Knott’s constituent services team worked to streamline the process for getting passports approved, a service they extend to all constituents in need.
“They really made it so easy, so timely, and so efficient. While we were dealing with so many other logistical hurdles, it was such a weight lifted off our shoulders to have this help from Knott’s team,” Chris said.
In addition to disaster recovery, Old North State Catering looks for opportunities to serve close to home. They’ve Organized the First Fruits Farm Memorial Balloon Festival and provided meals for Gold Star Families there as well as other Gold Star family events, donated hot meals to first responders and hospital staff during COVID, and catered a send-off for the North Carolina National Guard.
If you ask Chris Wrenn, he’ll tell you it’s simply the right thing to do. And doing it with likeminded people who are passionate about serving others makes it that much better.
The NC-13 Small Business Spotlight is designed to highlight wonderful small businesses and people serving our district. If you know of a great place to feature, please reach out to Congressman Knott’s communications team at quinn.slaven@mail.house.gov.
