Homestyle Gourmet, Inc. was born in my basement in 2003. My husband Steve (a contractor) gutted our basement and transformed it into a commercial kitchen. We are inspected by the Health Department and meet the same criteria as any other Illinois foodservice providers.

I came up with the idea (for Homestyle) after I had Nick, my son. I wanted to do something from home so I could be around more during his early years. I knew I had some great recipes, and I knew there is always a market for great food!

My initial menu was heavy on boxed lunches. I had researched my competitors, and knew about the pharmaceutical reps that brought lunches to doctors’ offices. I went to my pediatrician and asked for business cards. I began calling any and every “drug rep” I could find, and the orders starting streaming in.

Surprisingly, to me, the majority of orders were for hot items on my menu. I realized that I had found my own niche and that my food stood apart from others.  I got so busy so fast that after 6 weeks I hired (Amanda) my first employee. Soon after, I added (Charley) a delivery person. For the first few years we barely kept our heads above water. We were up to 7 employees, and worked night and day, it seemed!

We got better and faster, always keeping the quality of the product very high. “If we don’t make it ourselves, it’s because we’ve found someone who does it better than we do! “ As word about us spread, our client base grew. Although our main business is corporate lunches, we now have experience with weddings, schools, church functions and much more!

Our future goals include more weddings and large-scale events.  We have been successful by being prepared, organized and by working well as a team. We don’t look for reasons why it can’t be done…we look for ways it can be done! References are always available!