Family. Food. Philanthropy.
Those are the cornerstones on which brothers Tim and Tom built Belgio’s, their family-named catering business in Naperville.
“There’s eight of us in the family. So, there are four boys and four girls. We all grew up here, right? So, we thought this was the perfect place to open. We’ve got the connections, the relationships, and we’d love to be right here,” said Tom Belgio, co-owner of Belgio’s Catering.
Belgio brothers got their start in the food industry in high school
The two got their start in the food industry at a Naperville summer staple.
“So, back in high school, Tim and I both worked at Centennial Beach in the concession stand,” said Tom.
Little did they know that foray into food service would set the stage for the catering company to come.
“We started doing things like special events, like a Ribfest, Last Fling. Some of those kinds of big festival events here in town. And then that kind of continued on as we got a little older. And then in 2000, we decided to open up Belgio’s Catering, and this is our 25th year,” said Tom.
Their sister Teri would join the business in May of 2000, becoming the point person for events.
“So I always say it’s easier than a restaurant, but it’s harder at the same time,” said Teri Wagner, manager of Belgio’s Catering.
Wagner says there’s a personal touch that comes with planning someone’s event, a process that can take months, with scheduled celebrations often intertwining.
“I think that for what we have established as a group, about putting customers first and making sure that they know that they are the number one,” said Wagner “We may have 15 events that day, but we don’t want them to know that we have 15 events because we want them to feel like they are the only event that we have to worry about.”
Community connection through food
They’ve become well-known in the community, not just for their business, but for their outreach, which became their calling card early on.
“We were doing magazines and all these advertisers, and we never really saw any result. So we said, ‘Hey, why don’t we look at other opportunities, expand our team dollars, and try to give back more in our community to make our other people in our community and other surrounding communities better?’ And that was a good way to start,” said Tim Belgio, co-owner of Belgio’s Catering.
That philosophy would set them up for success and help carry them through COVID.
“We were fortunate to partner with other groups in town that had a need. So other school districts, hospitals, police, and fire first responders, we actually put together meals for them, whenever they would request them, and they would purchase them and do fundraising and all that,” said Tim.
The effects of the pandemic, they say, still resonate through their business today.
“On the corporate side, it’s a different environment than it was pre-COVID. And we’re just trying to adapt and figuring out what corporate America needs from someone like us,” said Tim.
The shrinking size of corporate gatherings due to an increase in remote workers has changed the number of orders coming in.
“Corporate wasn’t a huge piece of our puzzle, but it was a piece of the puzzle. Right? So you take that little leg out of the table, you know, that one piece is going to kind of flatten on you,” said Tom.
But their commitment to quality has earned them a loyal following and a solid standing in the community.
“We always want to feed our guests as efficiently as we can and make sure that they have a great meal, hot or cold, whichever the item was,” said Tim.
And they’ve become better equipped to do so throughout the years.
“You know, we had one, I think one convection oven in the kitchen when we first started,” said Tom. “And now we’ve got four plus a ten-burner stove and two ovens, and a flat top.”
The secret to the success of Belgio’s Catering
Helping keep that service steady is a long-time staff.
“Some of them have been with us for 25 years,” said Tim. “So having that continuity and that consistency has been really helpful to grow and keep it, really have a balance.”
That includes Raul Armenta, their executive chef, who’s been with the business since day one.
“I love what I do, and it’s a great family to work for. I guess they don’t look at you like an employee. They look like a family. It’s a small kitchen, but with a big heart,” said Armenta.
25 years in, the brothers put their all into their business.
“You know, we’ve always had the mindset of, you know, we wouldn’t ask someone to do something we wouldn’t do,” said Tom. “So they still see us washing dishes, making deliveries, coming in at three in the morning and helping, prepping and delivering, setting up, you know, at 5 a.m. or something.”
That work ethic, along with strong partnerships with other businesses and nonprofits, has helped them grow their catering base over the past 25 years, with a supportive sensibility at the heart of it all.
“Being such a huge family in Naperville and knowing that you do have the back of a lot of people here that are helping you and guiding you and want to see you succeed, and we want to see other people succeed,” said Wagner. “You know, being able to help other people, other groups, other organizations, other businesses, that helps everything. It makes the town grow.”
Photos courtesy of Belgio’s Catering
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