Mom Takes Over Easy Dinner Business in Roscoe Village

One mom of three is trying to make life easier for on-the-go families by speeding up the dinner process. 

Jodi Hamilton recently bought the Dream Dinners location at 2124 W. Belmont Ave. in Roscoe Village.

The idea behind Dream Dinners doesn’t include delivered meals, or monthly boxes shipped to a resident’s house.

Customers come in and assemble their own meals, mixing spices and preparing sauces in recyclable baggies. Then, they add the meat and other key ingredients to store in their freezers until ready to eat. Start to finish, the meals take about 30 minutes to prepare.

“It just really changes dinnertime,” Hamilton said. And comparing it to a trip to the grocery: “Not one of our customers come in pissed off because we’re about to make their lives easier.”

The membership accounts for about three dinners a week for a family, leaving room for eating out and of course, the obligatory pizza night.

The average customer spends $180 every four weeks for 36 servings. Meals rotate each month and range from 200 to 500 calories.

A food development team creates recipes like the favorite pub-style chicken with mashed potatoes and all foods are non-hormonal and flash frozen.

For Hamilton, the Wicker Park mom of three, Dream Dinners was the route to a home-cooked meal without a large grocery bill and hours in the kitchen.

She was a customer for three years before starting her own franchise. Her and her husband Scott bought their first Dream Dinners at 740 N. Damen Ave. in March 2011.

When the owner of the Belmont location, Leigh Fish, was ready to retire from the businesses, the Hamiltons were her first choice to take over.

With more than 300 customers in the two stores, Hamilton is looking to expand by 200 at the Belmont store.

To get to know the neighborhood, Hamilton is throwing an open house at her new location, 2124 W. Belmont Ave. From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, she’ll be giving away 50 free dinners and hosting activities for children.

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