Beef, it’s what’s for dinner &045;&045; and you don’t even have to cook it. For Goodness Steaks is a revived business in Natchez that cooks steaks and various other entrees and has them ready for patrons to pick up or have delivered to their doorstep.

Joe Eidt began the business in 1990 from his home. With his wife’s death and his own bout with cancer, Eidt closed the business.

He then started Bluff and Bayous with Johnny Junkin and then sold that business as well. But Eidt could not stay still long enough to be retired and at 70 years old, he decided to reopen For Goodness Steaks with partner John T. Ball and his wife, Eileen.

The business was very successful the first time, proven by the number of customers who have been waiting for it to reopen.

&uot;We were waiting on it to come back,&uot; said customer Bennie Buckles, who ordered steaks Thursday night.

Eidt credits the success to the unique nature of delivering steaks to people’s homes, giving them a top quality meal without the hassles.

&uot;The unique thing is you don’t have to get a babysitter, you don’t have to get dressed and you can have a cocktail without driving,&uot; while waiting on the steak to come to the front door, Eidt said.

The reason people liked it so much is for the great taste as much as for the convenience.

&uot;You know they have cooked this homemade,&uot; said Sandra Ellard.

&uot;It’s like going to a restaurant. And you just get tired of fast food.&uot;

So, on Dec. 18, Eidt reopened his once successful business, and has been gaining customers ever since.

Eidt said the business is a family business, with his son, Joe Eidt III, his wife, Emily, and their son Phillip working it at night.

Joe Eidt &045;&045; known as big Joe &045;&045; cooks all the entre/s while Joe and Emily put them together and Phillip is one of three who deliver the food.

But Eidt says the business is &uot;so unique and so simple.&uot;

A monkey could cook a steak, he said, because it is all about a good piece of meat.

&uot;It doesn’t take a genius,&uot; he said. And customers will find nothing less than certified Black Angus beef arriving at their front doors when ordering.

&uot;Gotta have my char marks on them,&uot; Eidt said of the steaks.

But, there is a bit of skill involved &045;&045; knowing when the meat is cooked to the desired doneness and adding the special ingredients, but those are a secret.

&uot;How do I know if it’s done to your likeness? ‘Cause I’ve done it for so long, I can stick the fork in there and tell,&uot; Eidt said.

But don’t worry, when the steak makes it to the dinner table, it won’t be overcooked because Eidt undercooks just enough to allow for travel time. The packaging is another key element in the equation, keeping the steak, potato and roll piping hot and ready to devour.

Eidt enjoys getting feedback from his customers so he knows what he is doing right and what he is doing wrong.

&uot;For the first couple of weeks, we told everybody to call Joe and let him know how it was,&uot; said Joe’s grandson Phillip Eidt, a delivery boy for the business.

And Joe said he checks his tickets the next day and calls any new customers the next day to make sure they were satisfied.

Joe Eidt said one woman from Monterey met them for her steak at the Mississippi River Bridge. Eidt said the woman went to the grocery store before driving home and called about an hour later saying her steak was still hot. So, now he knows the travel time on his steaks is an hour.

But, the business promises customers an hour wait time from the time they call in an order to the time it is delivered to their home for their limited delivery area, about 15 to 20 minutes from the business located at the corner of U.S. 61 South and Highland Boulevard.

If people do want to pick up their order, they can either go inside or go through the drive thru window located behind the business.

But the future goal for the business is not only to succeed at the present location but also to expand.

&uot;Our whole goal when I got sick … I planned to open in Hattiesburg and Jackson …is to franchise For Goodness Steaks,&uot; Eidt said.

&uot;I plan to have two more opened in the next six months.&uot;

Not only did Eidt open For Goodness Steaks but Sampson’s Super Subs and Salads occupies the space by day, serving salads, sandwiches and desserts.

&uot;The steaks alone could not justify&uot; the cost of the high-traffic location, he said, with rent and overhead costs.

Diane Tuccio and Margie Whittington are the co-managers of the sandwich shop and Sandy Reagan also helps with the preparations. Their faces may look familiar because they once ran Diane’s Kitchen on Franklin Street.

The next step beyond franchising is to begin catering groups from 10 to 200, Eidt said. In the next 30 days, they will bring casseroles to the menu, which can be ordered as small as a double serving to a large one to feed many people.

And, they will sell frozen ones too.