A Chicago Italian Beef institution rolls out new items

The Beef it Up Truck will be exclusively available for private events like weddings, large events and parties but will showcase its famous beef at some signature events throughout the city this summer.
The Beef it Up Truck will be exclusively available for private events like weddings, large events and parties but will showcase its famous beef at some signature events throughout the city this summer.

 A Chicago Italian Beef institution rolls out new items

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Buona Beef began in 1981 by Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto.
Forty years later, there are 26 restaurants in locations
and it still owned and operated by the third generation family
members.

Buona Beef has a new food truck it has unveiled. The
Beef it Up Truck will be on the street serving up Buona
Beef’s popular items and also will make appearances at
private events. It will be at Taste of Chicgao and Lolapalooza.
The truck enables the restaurant brand, which began in
1981 by Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto, to have a presence at
community events as part of Summertime Chi.

The idea for the truck has been in the works for five or
so years ago, Buona Beef tried to do a version of the truck
when new restaurants opened. It never really got off the
ground. With new people came new vision for the food truck
concept. Now, it is here and will be on site for new restaurant
openings and community events. The truck allows Buona
Beef to make the beef and other items exactly how it would
be made in the restaurant. The goal is to have a mini Buona
kitchen on the truck, with the same quality and the same
consistency.

“We’re really focused, as a company initiative, to
continue to serve communities in the best way that we can.
Our focus is making sure our guests are really happy and
getting everything they need from us,” said Candice Jordan,
director of marketing for Buona Beef, adding Buona Beef
will continue to put the needs of the guests first.

Buona Beef also has a vegan beef, called the Vegan
“Beefless” Sandwich. People wanted more vegan and plantbased
options. The restaurant took the customer feedback
seriously and made a plan to create menu innovations. Two
years ago, Buona Beef took a look at their menu and decided
what they could do differently and what they could do better
for their guests.

Buona Beef’s executive chef partnered with Upton’s
Natural, a Chicago-based company that specializes in vegan
and plant-based products using soy, seitan and jackfruit.
The result is a vegan beef sandwich that has the same flavor
profile as the original beef.

“A lot of the success goes to his genius behind being
able to come up with that recipe and making it as close to an
Italian Beef as you can get, but still a 100 % plant-based,”
Jordan said, adding there were a lot of taste tests to get the
desired outcome.

Since it has been introduced last April, the vegan beef
is still popular item on the menu, with people still ordering
it. Buona Beef doesn’t see the popularity of it dying down
anytime soon.

Buona Beef is always trying to engage guests in new
ways that are on trend. There are new sandwiches including
the Saucy Beef, Cheesy Cheddar Beef as well as the Buona
Beef Bites. They want to be able to engage with all kinds
of customers who might have different preferences than the
traditional guests.

In two locations, Skokie and Lakemoor, there will be
kiosks of the Original Rainbow Cone where guests can get
the original cone, as well as a vegan sorbet. That partnership
happened in the Beverly location of Buona Beef six years
ago. The owner of Original Rainbow Cone wanted to partner
with a company that would uphold the same standards of
quality and service and tradition. It was a natural fit.

Buona Beef credits its longevity to long tenured team
members, tenured executives, great recipes and a commitment
to quality and service.

“It’s the family values that are instilled, not just in the
corporate team, but within all of our employees, throughout
the organization, our great all-natural recipe that has
been passed down from generation to generation,” Jordan
said. “And, never steering away from the quality of the
product. We have just always wanted to define ourselves to
be separate than a food restaurant. We’re focused on high
quality ingredients and customer service.”

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