NEWS AND EVENTS

JH Sweis Catering in Mokena just celebrated its two-year anniversary this month. You can help them celebrate by checking out their bistro, open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday at 10110 W. 191st Street.

Stop in and enjoy your meal there or take the food to go. Orders can be taken over the phone, through email or through a fax. Delivery is also available.

Or, if you’re in need of catering and event-planning assistance, use JH Sweis for the work their known best for.

Janet Sweis, owner of JH Sweis, explained that she decided to open the business two years ago after receiving much encouragement from friends. She had been in charge of the hot lunch program at St. Mary’s school in Mokena, where her children went. Before that, Sweis was a stay-at-home mom, school teacher by trade, and her husband was a butcher. The two used to owned grocery stores in the city.

“Everyone told me I should open a catering business, so when my kids went to college, I left the job at St. Mary’s and now I’m here,” Sweis said.

Sweis chose Mokena as her business’s location because it was the location of her parish, it’s where her children went to school and it’s where her friend base is.

“I have a very positive connection with Mokena,” Sweis stated.

In June of this year, Sashah Ruge joined Sweis as executive chef. Ruge has over 20 years of experience in the catering business and was looking for someone to partner up with.

“I had my own catering company, but the economy was hurting me, so I did a general search in the area for a company to partner with and found JH Sweis,” Ruge explained. “I felt that Janet and I could really balance each other’s styles here.”

JH Sweis is a custom catering company for all types of events, from weddings and graduation parties to baby showers, funerals and corporate events. A full list of their catering menu is available on their website.

“We could do anything that the client is interested in, and we can accommodate gluten-free, vegan and kosher options,” Ruge said.

Ruge explained that each client is very different, but the most popular catering items tend to be the steak au poivre, which is a beef tenderloin with peppercorn brandy sauce, the caramelized shallot and onion mashed potatoes, and the southwest grilled chicken salad with fire roasted corn salsa, which is available from the bistro. This comes with freshly fried tortilla chips and fresh salsa.

Clients can choose to cater with the bistro menu, also available on their website. This menu is what is available to everyone for lunch Monday through Friday.

Ruge said they will drive everything out to the client’s location, or the client can host their gathering at JH Sweis. They have a venue available that fits up to 50 people, which includes a full bar.

“In the next coming year, we plan to have larger venues to offer,” Ruge said.

If someone is interested in catering, Ruge said they can stop in, call or email and let them know what they’re interested in.

“We’ll help them select menu items, or they can just tell us exactly what they want,” Ruge explained. “If there are things we think would work better for them, we’ll make suggestions to suit the choices to their needs.”

Ruge also said they don’t limit themselves to how far they’ll drive. He pointed out that they catered a wedding this summer in Munster, Ind. and did appetizers and a sweet station for an event in Palatine.

“We’re all over the place, really,” Ruge said.

Ruge said he does this work because he loves seeing the satisfaction in his client’s faces.

“There is instant gratification, because you work hard, finish the job and then immediately see people enjoying what you did,” Ruge proclaimed.

Ruse said JH Sweis is very flexible.

“We like to take the time to make sure our clients’ events come out exactly how they see them in their mind,” Sweis said.

Also, he said it’s a one-stop shop. They’ll also equip you with linens, rental equipment, and everything else you need for an event, plus a custom menu.

“Really, the sky is the limit here,” Ruge said.

 

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