Some stories seem to write their own headlines
The fact that the Reuland family is selling its popular Aurora restaurant and catering service while also celebrating 70 years in business is certainly one of them.
But here’s what gives this story a bit of a twist: As of three weeks ago, the new owners of Reuland Food Services – the Hernandez family from Sugar Grove – took over only the 34% controlled by Jeff Reuland, whose parents Paul and Charleen started the business in 1955.
Jeff’s two children, Ryan and Brigit Reuland, however, will not sell their share of the remaining two-thirds until the end of the year so they can work with the new owners to help ensure the success of the beloved restaurant as it begins a new era.
Maintaining the Reuland name and brand, which has been built as much around good community service as good food, was critical in this decision to sell, said 50-year-old Ryan, who began working in the restaurant as a dishwasher at age 13 and understands as well as anyone the heart and soul that has gone into this family business.
“We want to make sure the Hernandez family has the tools they need to be successful,” he said, referring to the father Emilio Hernandez, who has extensive experience with the Hyatt in Oak Brook and Notable Events in Naperville; his daughter Jazmin, who had been manager of a Verizon store; and his son Carlos, who is an accountant and will take care of the financial aspects of their new venture.
Plus, added Reuland, the way this deal was worked out ensures a viable transition for the half dozen employees of the restaurant, including John Miller, who has been with the business 51 years; Julie Tuma, 41 years; and Dani Reichenbach, 21 years.
“We didn’t want to just close the doors on them,” he said. “A lot have invested a majority of their lives here. We want to make sure they continue to have a place here.”
Ryan Reuland said he and sister Brigit, 49, made the decision to retire from this three-generation family business because there was no fourth generation – in this case, his offspring – to take over. In a situation more common than not these days, both of his adult children “have their own lives” with no desire to keep a family business going, he told me.
“When my dad was 50 I was working with him as a 20-something-year-old,” said Reuland. “There is no one coming in behind me. So we came up with this idea to sell it … but do it in a way that makes the most sense.”
According to Reuland history, Paul and Charleen started the food service cooking for family and friends, then extended it to weekend catering, with their four children becoming part of the business as they got older.
In 1970, the couple bought the old Fruit Juice House at 115 Oak Ave. in Aurora, turning it into a delicatessen and catering facility. Paul continued to work his full-time job at Thor Power Tool, and after oldest son Jeff graduated from Culinary Institute of America that same year, he began working at the business, gradually remodeling the building and taking over management in 1971.
Expansions and improvements followed, including purchasing large gas grills in 1977, which led to on-site grilling for thousands of hungry residents. Over the years the food service continued to grow at its present site with the help of youngest son Dan, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the family business.
In 1995, Jeff bought out his brother, who moved to Wisconsin to begin a catering business there. Brigit began working with her father right after high school, with Ryan coming on board in 2000 after finishing college and working in another field for a few years.
Following Jeff’s retirement in 2023, the restaurant was in the hands of this third generation who “have deliberately” kept the service from growing, noted Ryan, so they could focus on the elements that have served this community so well for so long.
And I’m not just talking about their really good food.
For example, after the devastating tornado of 1990 in Plainfield, Reulands accompanied the Salvation Army to provide food for victims, first responders and volunteers; handed out free hot cocoa at the community vigil following the Henry Pratt mass shooting in Aurora in 2019; provided bag lunches for kids at Mutual Ground’s summer program; contributed to many nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity, Aurora Area Interfaith and Marie Wilkinson food pantries, and to the Paramount Theatre restoration.
And despite taking a heavy hit financially from the pandemic, Reuland Food Services delivered over 12,000 meals at cost to local hospitals, police and other first responders, making up the difference if they fell short of sponsorship.
Every year Reulands also feeds all Hesed House residents a Christmas dinner, which, according to Joe Jackson, executive director of the Aurora homeless shelter, it has been doing for as long as the shelter has been around.
“The holidays can be a very tough time for our guests but the food Reulands has provided just about every Christmas reminds them this community cares about them.” he said. “They represent the very best of what makes this community so great.”
Diane Renner, recently retired executive director of Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora, agrees.
“I will tell you they are champions on their commitment to the community,” Renner said. “Never once did they turn away from helping us, and even went out of their way to fit us in for our fundraiser when they already had a tight schedule.”
Not only would “they deliver coffee machines, serving trays, dishes, utensils, whatever we needed,” she continued, the last couple of years they even picked up and washed dirty dishes from the pantry’s cooking classes “and returned it to us clean and sparkling.”
The family, she concluded, “has been a rock for our community who you could always count on.”
Ryan Reuland said he could “not even begin to list the number of community, school, church and nonprofits we have donated to over the years.” But it does give you an idea why he and his sister “were dedicated” to finding the perfect family to take over the business.
For the last three weeks, he and Brigit, who is in charge of catering 50-plus weddings each year, “have enjoyed” working with the Hernandez family, said Ryan. For example, on Saturday, he, Emilio and Jazmin catered the Fox Valley Park District Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race together, and they all came together that evening to help Brigit with a wedding.
Jim Pilmer, retired Fox Valley Park District executive director, has enjoyed Reulands’ food since 1971 and still appreciates “grandmother’s recipes such as hamburger goulash” or the “roast beef with the special yellow buns.”
Added Pilmer, “I know the quality of food and service is going to be good.”
And it will stay that way, promises 35-year-old Jazmin Hernandez, who is well aware of the big shoes her family will be expected to fill.
Describing Reuland Food Services as “the heart of the community,” Hernandez says she’s certainly aware of its legacy. But she also knows what her family brings to the table, especially her 55-year-old father, who not only has “tons of experience,” but “is a hard-working man who likes to take care of people.”
Eventually, sister Emily, a sophomore in accounting at Northern Illinois University, plans to join the group, as will their mother Claudia, who “loves” working as a waitress at Egg Harbor Cafe in Geneva.
“I’m very grateful they are teaching us” not just the business itself but “how they are important to this community,” Jazmin Hernandez said of the mentorship Ryan and Brigit are providing in these six months.
“We have a lot to learn,” Hernandez said. “But we are ready to jump in and put our heart and soul into it.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
