Restaurant Biz Came Organically for Irish Pig BBQ Owner

Editor's note: This article originally published Feb. 6, 2012. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, we're once again highlighting the Irish Pig BBQ.

It all started with a pot.

"One stupid pot," said Kathy Connolly, owner of and Connolly's Catering.

Connolly spent $2 at a rummage sale in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she used to live, and got a large cooking pot in return, one that would be used in a restaurant. But instead of cooking with it, the owner had used it as a planter.

"I kept the plant in there until it finally died," she said. "Now I cook everything in it. I love it. When I die I want it melted down and buried with me."

She got hooked on cooking, replacing the pot's dirt with anything she could—bacon, chili or her favorite, soups. But with two picky eaters at home (husband Ken and son Kenny, now 14), Connolly often shared the food she made with others.

"I gave it away to all the neighbors and people at the bar," she said. After moving to unincorporated Will County in 2000, Connolly worked as a bartender at the local .

The VFW is actually where Connolly got her start. One year she was asked to fill in and cook for a New Year's party there. Two-hundred and fifty happy tummies later, and people were begging for more.

"It just kind of happened," Connolly said.

So she started her own catering business, at first renting the VFW's kitchen, before moving into her current location off of Route 30, near LA Cafe. In 2010, she decided to expand her offerings and opened the Irish Pig BBQ, a primarily carryout restaurant specializing in barbecue.

"A lot of people just reheat crap," the hard-talking Connolly said. "That's what's wrong in this industry. But I do things from scratch."

Business has been good so far, and the Irish Pig has expanded its hours and plans to do so again. It started as a place for lunch, open 11 to 3, but is now open until 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Starting after Jan. 15, the business will be open on Mondays, too, and might add an hour on Friday and Saturday.

Even while discussing Monday openings with an employee, Connolly was focused on the quality of service.

"I want to have good service, and if it's just you and we have a line out the door, that ain't gonna happen," she said. That emphasis on quality is evident in the food served, too.

Between the Irish Pig and her catering business, Connolly said she's in the kitchen seven days a week and probably works about 200 events a year. The businesses have complimented each other, because in many cases someone will come in and order a full pan of mac and cheese or a bunch of pulled pork, regular items on the Irish Pig menu, but enough food that it counts as a catered gig.

Connolly said customers often comment that they like the homemade ingredients, but a common question is about the name "Irish Pig BBQ."

Her grandmother, who was from Ireland, actually worked as a cook at Harper High School in Chicago for 30 years, and it was always her dream to be a caterer. She asked for help from one of her four daughters, but they all had families by that time.

And although the food isn't Irish, Connolly is proud of her heritage and has shamrocks and other memorabilia throughout the restaurant, including a photo of her grandparents.

"The knock is that historically Irish people aren't good cooks," Connolly said. "But you can say the history of Irish barbecue started here."