First let me say I am a difficult customer at best. My definition of good customer service is not doing your job and meeting your commitments. Good customer service means you go above and beyond what is expected/promised; all while staying focused on what is in the best interest of your customer. I don't see that level of customer service very often, if ever. However, my experience with Conn's catering was more than good service, it was superior. I should have realized when I got my first phone call from Brent about 20 minutes after I filled out an on line inquiry that this was no ordinary group of people. They listen attentively to their customers, even when it's only a potential client. I was planning a dual celebration for my mom's 90th birthday and my daughter's doctoral graduation. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew is I wanted it to be as special as they are and for everyone to have a good time. Brent and Sheila walked me through many options, laying out suggestions and recommendations. There was no pressure, just a clear purpose of making sure I had everything I needed. I think I knew even before I got their proposal that I was going to hire them. When I met them and they both commented on the Blackhawks shirt I was wearing, I knew it was destiny and they were the perfect match for us. And all of that was BEFORE I tasted the food. The food which by the way is FANTASTIC. (three words: bacon wrapped dates). My event was last weekend and it was a complete success. The Conn's staff throughout the event was engaged with the guests, but not intrusive. They anticipated basically everything, making the entire evening seamless to we mere mortals. I had nothing but compliments from everyone, most importantly my mom and my daughter. Remember that difficult customer I mentioned in the beginning, well she happens to be a bit of a control freak too; BUT I can honestly say all I did all evening was enjoy myself. So the short review reads as follows: If you are looking for delicious food, reasonable pricing, and superior customer service hire Conn's catering. Otherwise go with someone else! Thanks Brent & Sheila & team. read more

Conn's Catering provided the food, tables, chairs and linens for our October 2011 wedding at Mars Gallery. Geri and Steve were so helpful and fun to work with. They understood we were going for a simple, yet elegant cocktail party and that we were on a limited budget. They never once tried to up-sell us on anything and Geri offered suggestions and recommendations for ways to keep our costs down while still providing our guests with plenty of food and drink options. She linked me directly with Binny's to provide our alcohol (another big money saver) and she basically acted as my wedding coordinator because I did not have one! On the night of our wedding, the Conn's staff was nothing short of AMAZING. Our guests are still raving about the attentiveness and hard work of all the staff. We had a mix of buffet style self-serve food and passed appetizers, but the staff ended up serving our guests and fetching drinks for our guests as well, which was much appreciated by everyone as the gallery had many different areas to socialize in- some of which were not near the food and bar area. The staff were so kind and friendly, our guests treated them like they were a part of the wedding party! They were also checking up on me constantly to make sure I ate enough and had a beverage at all times throughout the night. The food was delicious and favorites among our guests included the bacon wrapped dates, scallops, and the antipasto platter. It was a magical night and we thank Conn's for playing such a huge role! read more

Conn's just catered our daughter's June 29th outdoor wedding at the Emil Bach House in Chicago. They did everything right. Brent, Sheila and Chef Tad are a great team and I can't say enough good things about them. They are a small local business who can throw big parties!. We booked them 6 months in advance. As we got closer to the date, they became more and more attentive and collaborative. They were patient and genuinely listened when we wanted changes or made requests. They knew the venue extremely well and knew what would and wouldn't work there. Our menu was a variety of 13 different passed appetizers. They ranged from mini beef wellingtons to prosciutto wrapped aparagus to spanokopita to meatballs to macaroni and cheese. We had something for eveyone and BOY! was everyone happy. Our guests were so excited to see what amazing appetizer the next server had on their beautifully arranged tray. The servers were so attentive and helpful and seemed genuinely happy to be there. Conn's is a great catering team and just good people!! read more

Brent, Sheila, and Eduardo run a tight, professional ship and we couldn't have been more pleased with the results. Leading up to the day, Brent and Sheila were communicative and helped us walk through what we needed to have figured out and when by. The food was fantastic, both appetizers (meatballs, caprese skewers, and bacon wrapped dates) and the entree (duo of chicken marsala and beef brisket, broccoli, and artichoke mashed potatoes) got rave reviews. On top of the quality of the food, it was like Eduardo and I were telepathic - he knew automatically what I was worried about, and had an answer for me anytime I gave him a worried look! The bartenders even stood their ground with my guests about the "no shot rule," and all leftover alcohol came back accounted for. read more

I had a wonderful experience with Conn's Catering. My husband and I got married August 2016 at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. The Chicago Park District requires that you pick from their list of preferred vendors so I started out by calling about 10 of the caterers on the list at random. Some of them never picked up the phone. Some of them said they would call back and didn't. Some of them were out of this world expensive. I picked Conn's Catering because they were responsive, prompt, and affordable. I never had difficulty getting hold of someone on the phone or getting specific answers to my questions. I dealt primarily with Ivy, who worked her butt off for my wedding. I live out of state, so I emailed her and called her A LOT in the months before the wedding, and she was always courteous and prompt with her responses. I changed my mind about stuff all the time - she was flexible and gave me multiple options for everything, but she also provided her insight and opinions and let me know when she thought something wouldn't work out well the way I was planning it. This was super helpful for me since I did not have a wedding planner and was making all of the decisions on my own. She worked with my schedule to meet me at South Shore on weekends when I came in town. Ultimately on the wedding day, she did a whole lot more than provide the catering services. Since we did not have a wedding planner, she stepped in and helped with organization of all of the vendors (she took the initiative to talk to the DJ and bakery beforehand to coordinate) and even helped with timing of walking down the aisle. Her staff were helpful and friendly. One of the servers asked me at least 4 times if I needed another drink and if everything was going well. The food was tasty and warm. We did it buffet style and got the brisket, chicken piccata, summer veggie medley, cornbread, roast potatoes and salad, all of which were great. She helped us come up with bride's and groom's signature drinks. Many of the guests commented that they were really happy with the food and drinks. I did not hear about a single snafu on the day of, and I think that's because she took care of everything so well. For example, we really wanted our reception outside. She worked with us and kept it outside even though it was intermittently raining and the weather was unpredictable. She could have easily said no. When it started drizzling a bit, they moved the bar inside quickly and without any issues. My parents commented multiple times about how hard she was working. If you are planning a CPD wedding, I highly recommend working with Conn's. We could not have been happier with the service we got. read more

I highly recommend Conn's Catering. We got married at the South Shore Cultural Center, which as a Chicago Park District building, required that we select from the CPD's list of approved vendors. We got quotes from quite a few vendors, and Conn's stood out for being prompt, friendly, and affordable from the beginning. We wanted to do buffet-style service at the wedding, with barbecue pork and brisket. We worked primarily with Ivy. She was always very gracious, down-to-earth, and accommodating as we picked out our menu, and she offered lots of helpful advice along the way, while also being flexible with our wishes. We ended up going with a menu of barbecue chicken, brisket, cornbread muffins, rolls, cole slaw, and baked beans. Conn's worked with us to stay within our budget, and we never felt any pressure to get up sold. During the final few weeks, Conn's was on top of everything to make sure that the day of the wedding would go smoothly. They were always prompt in responding to any questions we had and helped us feel relaxed as the day approached. On the day of the wedding, Conn's could not have done a better job. The food was fantastic, and many guests went out of their way to talk about the meal. The staff was incredibly friendly and made the whole day go off without a hitch. Ivy, in particular, was invaluable; she easily dealt with any last minute issues, and even straightened out the train of my dress when I was about to walk down the aisle with it completely askew--all without any prompting and without calling attention to herself. We were so pleased to have worked with Conn's. read more

The best experience! This is my first time actually hosting a catered event - my wedding no less :) From the initial consultation, to the follow up call a few days after the event, everything was a complete success. Ivy, in particular was a joy to work with. She made sure that my husband and I had everything we needed AND THEN SOME! As frugal weddings go, Ivy and her team were more than helpful in offering solutions to save money while not sacrificing options and elegance. Not only did Conn's Catering deliver to our guests a one of kind dining experience, they handled all necessary rentals. With Ivy as our main coordinator and her talented staff in place, set up - food/bev service - vendor communication - tear down, all went off without a hitch! At one point during the evening I completely forgot the Conn's staff was there since everything just managed to flow so smoothly and I did not have to worry about "this and that". I highly suggest this company to anyone looking for caterer for any type of event. My husband and I hope to use them again, and often! Thank you so much the Conn's Catering Team - keep up the great work! read more

Conns catered our wedding on may 30th over at the copernicus center. We were extremely satisfied with the service and food. Ivy even went above and beyond to help break the long bar line even though conns didn't provide bar service for us. We received numerous compliments from our guests on the quality of the food. I would heartily recommend them in the future. read more

Conn's catered our wedding this weekend at Room 1520 and I cannot say enough good things about the service they provided. They provided us with everything we wanted, their food was fantastic, and they were extremely organized, thorough and efficient throughout the entire wedding process. Most of all they were completely prepared to handle any situation at our wedding. PLUS- the cost was well under other caterers in the city. Thank you Conn's for making our wedding absolutely wonderful. read more

This review is way overdue... Conn's catered our wedding a few years ago at the Dank Haus. They were wonderful! The food was delicious, everything looked beautiful, and the service was friendly and professional. read more

I used Conn's for a non-profit fundraiser, and working with them couldn't have been easier. They were extremely professional and were very pleasant to work with. Communication throughout the planning process was timely and efficient. They made sure everything ran smoothly during the event, and our guests were very pleased with both the food and the service. read more

We hired Conn's Catering to cater our June wedding at the Columbus Park Refectory. We attended one of their tastings and were pleased with their professionalism and how personable their staff was. When we described to Ivy how my husband and I had met at a summer camp, she was full of creative ideas of how we could incorporate the theme into the reception. Prior to the event, Ivy was incredibly responsive to emails and phone calls. She even met with us at the venue to discuss logistics and did a lot to problem-solve how to seat people with our large guest list. All of our vendors had nothing but confidence and positive things to say about Conn's Catering. The day of, Ivy was present (despite the 90 degree heat) and she and the staff had nothing but smiles on their faces. She made herself available and was a calm and helpful presence during all of the reception. Her energies lasted longer than my own!!! read more

I've chosen to not use them for my caterer b/c a.) Geri, Brent Conn (owner), and one other employee have all had somewhat rough bedside manner with me. You can tell that they try very hard to "sell" themselves, but they've been less than polite at least 3-4 times in my dealings with them. b.) went to their tasting... it started a few min's late, details weren't taken care of (serving spoons not yet in dishes, etc.), the set-up was impractical (no garbage bins for waste, not enough cabaret tables for the amount of ppl there, no chairs at all), the food was so bad... we couldn't eat it...so bland, poorly presented (you could tell they were trying, but they failed at the execution... they're a little obsessed with wrapping stuff in pork)...the fish was fishy!...chicken had NO flavor...prosciutto was THICK slices... We tried slinking out, but Geri called me back to give us each a glitter-covered chocolate; we ended up with glitter ALL OVER US... and not in a cute, funny way. One dessert item was a small graham cracker dipped in chocolate and white sprinkles and held with a CLOTHESPIN. Looked like a kindergarten project! My guests wouldn't know what to do if I served that! c.) They're not cheaper than other much better caterers. In fact, their rigidity with the menu makes them more expensive, b/c they're not terribly flexible with the budget. d.) They seriously wanted my peeps to STAND during a 30 minute ceremony and were pretty rigid about it...b/c they didn't want to move the chairs from the ceremony to reception (other caterer says it's not easy but it's totally doable)... They are VERY knowledgeable about Garfield Park Conservatory logistics. The tasting made me feel so much better about the caterer i chose. read more

We recently used Conn's Catering for our wedding, and we could not be happier with their service. I have to admit, I was a little concerned because the first time I met them, I didn't get the best of impression. I felt like all my decisions were being made for me, and I was indirectly being nudged into a direction I wasn't interested in going. I did decide to give them a second chance because they were the most well equiped and well prepared of the caterers we came across. They had everything from tables, linens, and chairs to stands for numbers for our tables. Since it was a dry wedding we thought we would be stuck with the noraml pop and juice option, but they helped us come up with fun Moctail ideas to make things more interesting. I needed Halal meat for religious reasons and their chef personally went out and searched for the best deal for us! The day of our wedding was flawless. They transformed our wedding on a shoestring to a dream. They did a fantastic job with our tables, the service was impecible, and we could not be more pleased with the delicous food. I will highly recommend them to anyone looking to make their wedding go stress free. read more