By Julia Train
Imagine this: It’s a sunny, summer day in Ocean City, not a cloud in the sky. You’re excited and finally all packed up for a day at the beach. You’re going through your checklist mentally, making sure not to forget anything.
“Chairs? Check.”
“Towels? Check.”
“Toys for the kids? Check.”
“Lunch? Shoot. I knew I was forgetting something important.”
Normally, you would make something quickly, but your kids are anxious for the beach. So you decide to get it delivered.
Beach Bucket Lunch in Ocean City will bring your lunch to the beach in a bucket.
Eleven years ago, Gretchen Ritter, who had been working as an EMT for several years but was injured at the time, started the company after a conversation with her mother.
“We were talking about how much work it was taking kids to the beach and bringing them lunch, and having to go on and off the beach to get something to eat from one of the different markets,” she said.
During that conversation the two came up with the idea to deliver lunch to beachgoers in a bucket.
Ritter decided to partner with Blitz’s Market, where she’d been going since she was a kid and didn’t have a delivery option.
“We always got good food there, and the people were just simply always nice, and they continue to be,” said Ritter.
On Beach Bucket Lunch’s website, there’s a slew of options of sandwiches, salads and a kids menu that customers can choose between from the market. Included in the meal is a bag of chips, a choice between three different Tastykakes and a cold beverage.
The menu can be found at beachbucketlunch.com and orders can be placed by calling the phone number on the website.
After the order is placed, someone from Ritter’s team will pick up the food and send a text when they arrive at the beach, saying to flag them down so they can bring over the beach buckets.
“The whole idea is to save mom from having to leave the beach, having to wait in line and look for parking. It’s about being convenient,” said Ritter. “You shouldn’t have to leave the beach to get your lunch.”
The amount of buckets Ritter delivers per day depends on the beach’s conditions. On cloudy days, it could be a handful, but on a sunny one, it could be hundreds.
Ritter’s favorite part of running her business is interacting with the families that come down each year. She said families that use her service year after year will come to her at the end of the summer with several buckets, wanting to give them to her. Ritter will take the buckets and give the customers a credit to put toward lunch the next summer.
“We’re all about customer service, and we’re all about partnering with who we think is providing the best food, and what we can put on our menu that we think works best on the beach and we can deliver there.”
Ritter also hosts a podcast named The Beach Bucket Podcast, where she sits down with local business owners such as Playland’s Castaway Cove, Varsity Inn, Ocean City Coffee Co. and more.
