Elly Rusconi, right, and her husband, Tony Rusconi, are seen April 16 in the kitchen of Home Baked, a food business they recently opened in the Mercer Community Center kitchen in Mercer. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

MERCER ­— Elly and Tony Rusconi want to cook dinner for you.

The husband and wife, of Fairfield, recently opened Home Baked, offering ready-to-bake meals for pickup and delivery.

“It helps out a variety of different people,” Elly Rusconi said. “There’s plenty of busy people around here. There’s plenty of elderly people that need just that little extra help. You know, it’s hard just to cook for one person. But they still want that homemade-food feel. Or if you’re a shift worker, this is perfect: You’ve got no time to come home and cook a full meal. Or if you just don’t like to cook!”

The business opened just over a month ago, operating out of the kitchen at the Mercer Community Center.

The Rusconis, with the help of Elly Rusconi’s mother, Donna Moore, and nephew Aaron Craig, whip up take-and-bake meals each Wednesday.

The menu features a variety of from-scratch recipes, like loaded baked potatoes, pistachio-crusted salmon, buffalo chicken mac-and-cheese, chicken tikka masala and fresh salads. There are also weekly specials, which are usually posted on Fridays on the business’ Facebook page.

Preorders, which can be placed by texting or calling 207-616-6050, close each week Monday night. Orders can be picked up after 4 p.m. Wednesdays at the community center at 1015 Beech Hill Road or delivered anywhere around Waterville or Skowhegan on Thursdays and Fridays.

The business, for now, is a part-time venture for the couple as they get it off the ground.

“We eventually want to do it full-time,” Elly Rusconi said. “But that’s a scary risk to take.”

Elly Rusconi of Home Baked looks up from paperwork earlier this month as husband chef Tony Rusconi cuts vegetables in the Mercer Community Center kitchen in Mercer, where the business operates. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The two, who celebrated their first wedding anniversary Sunday, have been together for about seven years.

Elly Rusconi, 35, who grew up in Fairfield, works the overnight shift at a group home for people with mental illness. Tony Rusconi, 38, works as one of the head chefs at the Lion’s Den Tavern in Waterville.

Tony Rusconi, originally from Massachusetts, said he has been working in kitchens for most of his adult life, including stints at restaurants in Colorado and at Front & Main in Waterville, among others.

“I always wanted to do my own thing,” he said. “And I was looking on the internet — I was looking for consignment kitchens to work out of — and the town of Mercer had a commercial listing. So, we just went out, we checked it out, and it just felt like it was right.”

Opening Home Baked also meant Elly Rusconi could put her accounting degree from Kennebec Valley Community College to real use for the first time, she said.

In the first month, business has been increasing each week, and people are liking their food, the two said.

“So far, it’s all been great feedback,” Tony Rusconi said.

And in Mercer’s small, rural community, the two believe their business fits in well.

“We are so grateful that we ended up in Mercer,” Elly Rusconi said. “The small town has just welcomed us with open arms. The community has been so supportive and kind.”