Million Recipes sees sustainable future

When Diane Million opened Million Recipes in early February, she was optimistic about her new business. She’s found that that optimism was vindicated.

“We’re doing really well as a food truck, (we) made it easy for people to get food and not have to worry about dining, or walking in somewhere to eat out. We also offered something different, where we have sandwiches all day long. But then each night, starting at five, we have a unique dinner,” Million said. “That was supposed to be different every night, hence the Million Recipes, not just to play on the last name. But through social networks, we get many of our dinners requested for a second, third and even a fourth time, which kind of makes me feel good that people like our recipes and our food.”

Million says she’s just getting started however. Her ultimate aim is to bring a local-first culinary experience to Kodiak.

“I love the idea of resourcing as local as possible. One of my favorite books is ‘The 100-Mile Diet.’ I think we are totally capable of doing that here. And ultimately, as of right now, I (serve) local produce from the high school and from BrightBox. I also utilize the beer at the Brewery for our beer cheese, and our beer battered fish and chips,” Million said.

She thinks that she can do better though. And she sees projects like the proposed Gibson Cove revitalization as the perfect solution.

“That’s my passion. And I am a bit of an activist on it. I speak to anyone who will listen… how great it would be to revitalize Gibson Cove, because it’s an area that we could just do so much with. We sat down and talked about it the other night, and we were just brainstorming, and it would be great to have that animal, seafood and kelp processing facility on the water,” Million said.

In spite of the pandemic and economic hardships of the past year, Million still chose to open her business in 2021- although not without some anxiety. But she says that Kodiak was more than supportive.

“I would encourage anyone, if that’s their passion, and it’s their dream, do it. This island is amazing. People are so supportive… the compliments, the comments, the reviews, everything that everyone has said, just… it’s uplifting, and I’ve never been more happy to have accomplished establishing the food truck,” Million said. “I can’t tell you how many nights of sleep I lost worried if I was making the right decision.”

And she thinks that the risks for small business owners in town are worth it.

“I would say if you’re gonna start a business, (Kodiak is) one of the best places to do it. It’s a strong community presence,” Million said.