Chef Cliff Rome talks partnership with Obama Presidential Center (opens in a new tab)
The latest coverage: Chef Rome talks with ABC7 about the partnership. Video interview on abc7chicago.com.
Bronzeville, Chicago · Since 2000
We are restaurants, catering, co-working and event spaces, training, art and community building.
Rome’s Joy Companies is Chef Cliff Rome’s family of businesses: Peach’s Restaurants, Rome’s Joy Catering, Parkway Social, the Mise En Place training program, Blanc Art Gallery and R.J.C. Sausage Company. Our home base is King Drive in Bronzeville, and our work reaches across Chicago.
- Restaurants
- Catering
- Co-working & events
- Training
- Art
- Community building
“When you eat a well prepared meal you should without question order it again.”Chef Cliff Rome
Exciting news
Chef Rome & team, in partnership with Bon Appétit, will lead food services at the Obama Presidential Center.
Together, Rome’s Joy Companies and Bon Appétit Management Company launched BAMJoy, which leads food service operations at the Obama Presidential Center. Here is what Chicago’s press has said.
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Chef Rome and team will lead food services at the Obama Presidential Center
Rome’s Joy Companies, in partnership with Bon Appétit, will be leading the food services at the Obama Presidential Center.
Read the news
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The Dining Table podcast: What’s cooking at the Obama Presidential Center? (opens in a new tab)
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South Side’s Chef Cliff Rome lands major deal for Obama Presidential Center dining (opens in a new tab)
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The Obama Center Brings in Some South Side Pride With Its Food Lineup (opens in a new tab)
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Bronzeville chef to take the lead on Obama Center food offerings (opens in a new tab)
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South Side chef tapped to lead food services at Obama Presidential Center in Chicago (opens in a new tab)
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Peach’s Chef Cliff Rome To Run Obama Presidential Center Food Services With Bon Appétit (opens in a new tab)
Our companies
Six businesses, one family.
Each company stands on its own, and they share a kitchen, a team and a neighborhood. Pick one to explore.
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Restaurants
Peach’s Restaurants
Southern breakfast and brunch on 47th Street, plus two University of Chicago locations.
- Peach’s on 47th 4652 S. King Drive · 773.966.5801
- Peach’s at University Inside Crerar Library (middle of the Quad), 5730 South Ellis · 773.834.6205 · peachsatuniversity.com (opens in a new tab)
- Peach’s at Law (grab & go) Inside the D’Angelo Law Building, 1121 East 60th Street · 773.702.8898
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Catering & event planning
Rome’s Joy Catering
A full-service catering and event planning company, led by Executive Chef Trillis Rollins.
4455 S. King Drive · 773.617.2926
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Co-working & event space
Parkway Social
A co-working space and historic event facility on King Drive.
4455 S. King Drive · 773.617.2926
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Hospitality training
Mise En Place
A culinary and hospitality training program that helps at-risk youth get jobs in the culinary field.
4455 S. King Drive · 773.617.2926
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Food manufacturing
R.J.C. Sausage Company
A chicken sausage manufacturer.
4455 S. King Drive
Explore R.J.C. Sausage Live website coming soon -
Also part of the family
- BAMJoy The Rome’s Joy and Bon Appétit Management Company partnership leading food service at the Obama Presidential Center.
- Rome’s Joy Institute Education and workforce development, recognized by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
- Clean Habits A custodial training program that extends career pathways beyond hospitality.
- Rome and a Day Productions A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
- Founded
- 2000
- Years in food service
- 30+
- Companies
- 6
- Cannes Film Festival, American Pavilion chef
- 1998–2003
About
A chef who came home to build.
Chef Cliff Rome’s culinary experience spans the globe. While working at Spago he studied culinary arts in Paris, spent more than a year as a culinary consultant on a private yacht sailing the Caribbean, and from 1998 to 2003 was one of five chefs selected to cook at the Cannes International Film Festival’s American Pavilion, alongside Roger Vergé, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Todd English.
In 2000 he founded Rome’s Joy Companies. Through Mise En Place and the Clean Habits custodial program, Chef Rome has created job opportunities across Chicagoland, especially for young people of color, and Rome’s Joy Institute, recognized by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, extends that work into education and workforce development. He believes reinvesting in historic Bronzeville will leave a lasting, positive mark on a community with deep roots.
Today the company’s partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company, BAMJoy, leads food service operations at the Obama Presidential Center.
“Rome’s Joy Catering believes in order to maintain ecological integrity between humanity and the natural world that social equity as well as economic efficiency become a standard practice.”
Leadership team
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Cliff Rome
Chef & Proprietor
Founder of Rome’s Joy Companies with more than 30 years in food service. Serves on the advisory board of Washburne Culinary School and the Board of Directors of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
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Summer Powell
General Manager
A South Side native with a BA in Performing Arts from UIC and an MBA focused on project management. She started at Rome’s Joy Catering as an administrative assistant, spent three years at McDonald’s Corporation, and came full circle as General Manager.
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Trillis Rollins
Executive Chef
Executive Chef of Rome’s Joy Catering and Peach’s on 47th, with 15+ years in the industry and a BA in Graphic Design. He also mentors and trains as a Mise En Place instructor.
Community partners
Where our trainees land jobs
Certifications
Rome’s Joy Catering
Planning an event? Let’s cook.
“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”
Full-service catering and event planning from the team behind Peach’s, with customized menus designed by Executive Chef Trillis Rollins. Pair it with an event at Parkway Social.
Contact & partnerships
Let’s work together.
Catering, events, partnerships, hiring from Mise En Place, or press: start here and we’ll route you to the right company.
- Visit
- Rome’s Joy Companies
4455 S King Drive
Chicago, IL 60653 Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab) - Call
- 773.617.2926
- ordering@romesjoy.com