Werk Force Brewing Will Soon Serve Home-Cooked Comfort Food

PLAINFIELD, IL — A match has been made in "beer-braised short rib heaven." Happy Belly Chefs, a Channahon-based catering service known for frequently popping up at Werk Force Brewing, is joining the family-owned brewery's new kitchen space.

Werk Force owners Amanda and Brandon Wright announced the delicious news Thursday and have been met on Facebook with a growing number of excited comments. Happy Belly specialize in home-cooked comfort food — and it's "damn good," Brandon told Patch.

Happy Belly offers a rotating menu of beer and family-friendly comfort food ranging from cheese spreads, flatbreads and salads to their staples, short rib grilled cheese and barbacoa nachos.

"Their food is exquisite," Brandon said. "I mean, it's really, really good."

As of now, Brandon said the plan is to open the food spot by late March. Werk Force is already equipped to acquire a kitchen permit, and Brandon said he and Amanda were waiting until they found the right people to run the kitchen before adding the space's final touches.

Marking a milestone for the Happy Belly, the new space at the brewery, located at 14903 S. Center St., will its first outpost.

Prior to signing on with Werk Force, Happy Belly, which offers catering, pop-up events and personal chef services, worked out of Hive Creative Kitchen, a culinary incubator based in Channahon. Starting there in 2018, Happy Belly was the first business to sign up to use the kitchen, according to a Facebook post from the owners.

"The owners of Werk Force have created such a warm, family-friendly and community-minded business and we are so excited to put down roots there," owners Cathy Lazuka and Kelly Bailey said in a statement. "We hope to continue to grow with them by providing food for the brewery in addition to continuing the personal chef and small catering services that Happy Belly has become known for since opening in 2017."

Within Werk Force's taproom, the chefs will operate from a dedicated window where customers will place orders and pick up their food.

Currently, Werk Force hosts a rotating selection of food trucks to provide patrons with bites while they enjoy a brew or two. But once Happy Belly is up and running, Werk Force plans to discontinue food trucks, Brandon said. The new in-house restaurant won't mean the complete end of food trucks visiting Werk Force though, as they'll still make an appearance twice a year when Happy Belly owners take time off to spend time with family.

The Wrights began their search for an in-house food supplier about four years ago amid an expanding taproom and growing business. For a while, partnerships with other businesses weren't coming together until about six months ago, when Happy Belly and Werk Force owners began to casually chat before plans were put in motion.

"One thing Amanda and I realized from day one, we're brewery owners," Brandon said. "We're not trained chefs. We don't know how to run a kitchen."

So when they met with Happy Belly's chefs, Brandon said, they knew the match was perfect — one group succeeds at brews, the other at bellies.

"We just don't want to be another typical burger and fry place," he said. "That's one thing Happy Belly is so strong with. It's limited offerings, but it's something unique. There's something for everyone."

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