romes joy catering

What romes joy catering does

Rome's Joy Catering is the catering arm of Rome's Joy Companies, a privately held hospitality conglomerate founded by Chef Cliff Rome in 2000 and headquartered at 4455 S King Drive in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. The company provides full-service catering and event planning for private events, corporate functions, weddings, and institutional engagements, with customized menus designed and executed by Executive Chef Trillis Rollins (15+ years of culinary experience). Service delivery is quote-based, with pricing determined by event size, date, type, and location, and customers initiate engagement via the catering request form on romesjoy.com.

The core technology and capability is culinary — recipes, kitchen operations, and event execution — anchored by Chef Rome's 30+ years of experience that includes Spago, Cannes International Film Festival American Pavilion (1998-2003), Paris culinary training, and private yacht consulting. There are no proprietary software products, APIs, or AI/ML components. Rome's Joy Catering operates within a diversified portfolio that includes brick-and-mortar restaurants (Peach's on 47th plus grab-and-go locations inside University of Chicago's Crerar Library and D'Angelo Law Building), RJC Sausage Company (chicken sausage manufacturing), Parkway Social (coworking and event facility), Blanc Art Gallery (fine arts gallery), Mise en Place (hospitality training for at-risk youth), and Rome and a Day Productions (501(c)(3) non-profit).

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: catering service fees, restaurant and grab-and-go food sales, coworking/event-space rental, sausage product sales, and art gallery transactions. Distribution is primarily direct — on-site catering delivery, restaurant storefronts, institutional partnerships, and the 2025 enterprise contract with Bon Appétit to lead food services at the Obama Presidential Center. The customer base spans individual event clients, corporate buyers, higher-education institutions (University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Chicago), and enterprise food service operators (Sodexo Magic, Chartwells, Culinare). The company is privately held, founder-controlled, with no disclosed external funding rounds.

Name

romes joy catering

Legal name

Rome's Joy Companies

Website

https://romesjoy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Rome's Joy Catering, a division of Rome's Joy Companies founded in 2000 in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, provides full-service catering and event planning for private, corporate, and institutional clients, including the Obama Presidential Center via a Bon Appétit partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catering and Event Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (72231), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514)

SIC

Poultry Slaughtering And Processing (2015)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wedding & Social Event Catering (THAHAKAE), Government, Diplomatic & Protocol Event Catering (THAHAKAG), Catering & Events Food Service (EDALADAC)

Keywords

• Full-service catering
• Event catering services
• Corporate event planning
• Institutional food service
• Culinary training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Catering Services: Full-service catering and event planning for private and corporate events. Customers submit catering request forms for event services.
2. Restaurant Operations: Brick-and-mortar restaurant (Peach's on 47th) and grab-and-go concession locations at University of Chicago (Peach's at University, Peach's at Law).
3. RJC Sausage Company: Chicken sausage manufacturing and distribution.
4. Coworking & Event Space: Parkway Social operates as a coworking space and historic event facility generating rental revenue.
5. Art Gallery Sales: Blanc Art Gallery operates as a fine arts gallery in the Bronzeville community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Rome's Joy Catering provides full-service catering and event planning, designing and executing customized menus for private events, corporate functions, weddings, and institutional food service. Executive Chef Trillis Rollins oversees kitchen operations and custom menu development with more than 15 years of culinary expertise. The catering arm is the flagship service of Rome's Joy Companies, a diversified Chicago-based hospitality portfolio headquartered in the Bronzeville community.

Product overview

Rome's Joy Companies operates a diversified portfolio of hospitality businesses with Rome's Joy Catering as a core full-service catering and event planning offering. The portfolio includes brick-and-mortar restaurants (Peach's On 47th, Peach's at University, Peach's at Law), a food manufacturing component (RJC Sausage Company), co-working and event spaces (Parkway Social), arts/cultural ventures (Blanc Art Gallery), workforce development (Mise en Place training program), and a non-profit arm (Rome and a Day Productions). Rome's Joy Catering serves as the primary catering service, providing customized menus and kitchen operations overseen by Executive Chef Trillis Rollins.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Peach's on 47th: Brick-and-mortar restaurant located at 4652 S. King Drive, Chicago, IL
• Peach's at University
• Peach's at Law
• Mise en Place
• Clean Habits
• Rome and a Day Productions

Products and services

• Rome's Joy Catering

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bon AppétitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Chef Rome & Team, in partnership with Bon Appétit, will be leading the food services at the Obama Presidential Center. This is a major enterprise deal for Rome's Joy Companies.
• Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization providing job opportunities and career pathways in culinary arts for youth.
• After School MattersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization for youth development and culinary training programs.
• Healthy Schools CampaignminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization for school nutrition and culinary programs.
• Washburne Culinary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChef Rome serves as an advisory board member. Partnership provides employment pathways for culinary graduates.
• Illinois Restaurant AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerChef Rome serves as an advisory board member for the Illinois Restaurant Association.
• University of ChicagominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEmployment partnerships established. Peach's at University concession location operates inside Crerar Library.
• University of Illinois ChicagominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEmployment partnership established for culinary professionals.
• Northwestern UniversityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEmployment partnership established for culinary professionals.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Aramark: Global food service and uniform services provider operating in education, healthcare, sports, and corporate settings. Competes for the same institutional and event food service contracts Rome's Joy targets via partnerships.
• Bon Appétit Management Company: Compass Group subsidiary operating institutional food service programs at museums, universities, and corporate campuses. Direct enterprise food service incumbent and current Rome's Joy partner on the Obama Presidential Center contract.
• Compass Group: Largest global contract food service and support services company, parent of Bon Appétit and Chartwells. Competes broadly in institutional food services and is the indirect counterparty on the Obama Center contract.
• Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises: Large Chicago-based restaurant group operating multiple dining concepts and event catering services. Comparable in offering event catering and full-service restaurants within the same Chicago market, but operates at significantly larger scale across a broader restaurant portfolio.
• Sodexo: Global food services and facilities management company operating institutional and corporate food service programs worldwide. Listed as a Rome's Joy employment partner and operates a competing institutional food service model.

Direct peers

• Catering by Michaels: Chicago-based full-service caterer serving weddings, corporate, and private events. Closest like-for-like event catering competitor operating in the same metro market with comparable custom menu and event execution model.
• Big Delicious Planet: Chicago-based full-service catering and event planning company serving corporate and private events. Comparable service model and Chicago geographic market, with a similar focus on custom menus and on-site event execution.
• Blue Plate: Established Chicago full-service catering and event company serving weddings, corporate, and social events. Operates in the same Chicago market with comparable custom menu, staffing, and event execution capabilities.

Others

• Chartwells Higher Education: Compass Group subsidiary focused on higher education and K-12 food service. Listed as a Rome's Joy employment partner and operates competing on-campus dining concepts at schools near or overlapping with the University of Chicago.

Emerging players

• Fooda: Chicago-based corporate catering marketplace and pop-up platform connecting workplaces with restaurants and caterers. Overlaps in corporate catering demand and Chicago HQ; uses an asset-light platform model versus Rome's Joy's in-house service delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about romes joy catering