OUR STORY

Claye Cantwell, founder of TOP NOTCH LUNCHES, is no stranger to giving San Diegans food they love. Born and raised in San Diego, he ran an area restaurant and bar right out of college. Soon thereafter, he was asked to start a food program for a small school attended by a friend’s daughter. This created the passion Claye has instilled throughout the whole company to focus on child nutrition with a fresh, creative spin on a school meal program.

TopNotch has grown in the past 10 years from providing to 1 school now up to 70 schools and nonprofits all serviced out of our 4,000sq. foot facility in Chula Vista. Our team of almost 50 prep cooks, chefs, managers, and drivers give 100% daily to provide the highest quality service and food program possible to children all over San Diego. 

Our chefs arrive to the kitchen at four o'clock in the morning so that they can create from scratch, healthful food for kids. Because it’s made earlier in the day from scratch — using fresh ingredients, not reheated or defrosted — our food is always tasty, delivered at its peak freshness.

We’ve developed a great rapport with all of our local suppliers that range from
-Local bakeries
-Local tortilla manufacturers
-Organic small farmers.

Our philosophy is to remain local while supporting as many local small businesses as possible to create an ethical economy within San Diego County.

CLAYE