Conversations with a Congressman
Over the summer the team at Dream HUB was contacted by Engine, a California-based business that advocates for small business on a government level. We were honored to be contacted and quickly agreed to meet with our local Congressman to represent the needs of small business. Dream HUB executives Kevin Echevarria, Sybil Ege, and Pedro Echevarria met with Congressman Peter Roskam at his office on August 20th, per our arrangement with Engine. The meeting went fantastically and the Congressman’s office reached out shortly thereafter to schedule a follow-up meeting so that he could tour our facility. Once again, we gladly agreed and the tour and meeting were promptly scheduled.
During the original meeting it was clear that Congressman Roskam was intrigued with the business as a whole, especially the shared kitchen. He was interested in learning about this idea and the team at Dream HUB was excited to have an opportunity to lead him on a tour of the facility.
The Congressman arrived at 1544 Fleetwood Drive promptly at the agreed-upon time and Kevin Echevarria, CEO and Jessica Chamberlain, Community Manager began the tour of Dream Kitchen, starting on the side that is currently operational. As if scripted, there were two very different businesses using kitchen space during the tour; Vegani Groumet, a vegan company and the Sausage Purveyor of Sausage Konig, Peter Andros. The Congressman stopped at the Sausage Konig’s station to ask a few questions and we were all treated to some comedic and genuine banter about the food business, government, and proper grilling techniques. We continued the tour on the side that is currently under construction and were able to show him the new home of the Kane County Food Hub. Once again he was very intrigued with the scope of this operation and the way in which we were serving various populations, from those who receive the prescription produce packages to the farmers that we have connected with for that program. We walked him through the USDA processing station and then over to our gluten-free space, where Kevin described the value in this highly specialized space. The Congressman was impressed at the lengths Dream Kitchen had gone to ensure the safety of the food produced in that space, going above and beyond the basic requirements of the state and county. The Congressman was interested in the trends that have come and gone during Dream Kitchen’s life, noting the population served by the availability of gluten-free foods today because of spaces like Dream Kitchen. Kevin discussed the popularity of highly-specialized businesses, those who may make just a few items but those items are impeccable.
We closed the tour where we began, in the original space that Kevin and Pedro purchased four years ago. The Sausage Konig was just finishing up and had a few samples available, fresh off of the grill station. Driving home the point that these hyper-focused entrepreneurs are wildly popular today, the samples were delicious and thoroughly enjoyed by all. We parted ways with the Congressman, learning that he was confident he would continue to hear about the success of the Dream HUB in years to come.