Way back in ‘07 when we talked about the idea of launching a blog for our Let’s Dish! stores, it seemed like an intimidating task.  Heck, most of us didn’t even know what a “blog” really was … or did… or something.  But as we investigated our options, we learned that a blog would not only give us a way to share news and handy information with the public, it would also open up an easy way to communicate regularly with all of you - the dishing community.  We knew that was worth pursuing!

So with the new year and a new goal, I wrote the first post last January and Food for Thought, the Let’s Dish! blog, was born.  While we hoped it would be a new avenue to talk with our dishers, we had no idea how well-received it would be.  Over 150 posts later, the Let’s Dish! blog has had nearly 50,000 readers (with almost 2,000 of you on a single day!) and hundreds of thoughtful comments from you all.

We’ve touched all kinds of topics over the year, from insights into how we create our menus to tips on how to expand your kids’ palates, thoughts on how we aim to be better corporate citizens, even ideas to stretch your budget and get even more value with Let’s Dish!.  This page has been a place for you to get to know us a little better; we shared our culinary secrets and our personal stories (with a few fun photos added along the way so you might recognize us if you pass us on the street!).  We’ve even worked together through the blog, spreading the word about our efforts to help families coping with breast cancer through the Pink Dish! Campaign.  And, of course, we brought you the inside scoop on lots of Let’s Dish! promotions - free delivery for new Moms, free desserts for parties of five, our popular HALVES promotion for smaller families and more.

We got so hooked on getting to know you better and making it easy to share our news that we even added our own Facebook page last year.  Be sure to become a fan of Let’s Dish! on Facebook - we’ve got hundreds of “friends” so far - join the group!

And we’re looking forward to more in ‘09.  Remember it’s all about you and all about community, so read and subscribe to our blog, then chime in and let us know how Let’s Dish! and Food for Thought make your life a little easier.

Here’s to another year of delicious posts!
(Sorry for the pun…I couldn’t help myself!)