Photo by Scott Crowder

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Maria has been a staple in the Greensboro restaurant community since she first opened Mr. Dunderbak’s in 1974. After successfully launching Liberty Oak and O. Henry’s Café, the Croatian native decided in 1997 to turn her sights to a new trend in the food business – meals to go. Now Maria’s Gourmet Catering is a favorite with busy families who want fast, fresh meals for not a lot of dough. “It’s wonderful for people who don’t have time to cook, and it’s very reasonable, because for $7.50 you have a meal and a half.” Her catering business, once an afterthought, now accounts for 80 percent of the company, and brides across the Triad praise her for her flexible menus and reasonable rates. Maria enjoys the creativity that cooking allows her, and simply put, she just loves food. “I’m an equal opportunity eater. There are very few things that I don’t enjoy, as long as it’s made well.”