McWethy's Tavern Is Offering Chef-Made Frozen TV Dinners

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Individually portioned frozen meals were popular in the 1950s, but, this Romeoville eatery has figured out a way to transport diners back to the days of enjoying TV dinners. Only this time, each meal is a special gourmet treat.

McWethy’s Tavern at Mistwood Golf Club, with the help of Executive Chef Dan Casey, is now offering flavorsome meals that are also easy to prepare — all you have to do is turn on the oven, heat, and eat.

"We knew the concept was an American classic and throwback, but you don’t hear about frozen TV Dinners very often. We figured, families are busy, and we could take the worry out of making dinner," Casey said. "By having frozen meals available, they can be popped in the oven and ready 30-45 minutes later. We did extensive testing to see if it was possible to maintain our restaurant quality products through the process, and truly exceeded expectations."

Every meal features a main course, side, dessert, and can stay in the freezer for up to 90 days. Menu staples will be the pot roast dinner, roasted pork, Mediterranean chicken, and the infamous chicken piccata. New menu items will be added periodically.

For children, they are offering chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese, and a chocolate chip skillet. Prices range from $14-$16 per dinner, and meals for kids are free with the purchase of two regular TV dinners.

Jim Koklas, director of food and beverage at McWethy's Tavern, said they created these for two reasons — to keep themselves relevant and in the "spotlight" of the surrounding community, so that when they do get back to indoor dining after the pandemic, their brand will be stronger than it was before, and to give guests another way to consume McWethy’s Tavern in the comfort of their own homes, and at their convenience.

"Although the revenue stream from these TV dinners is welcomed, we never went into it with the mindset that this item will solve all the lost revenue from our restaurant dining room, bar and banquet spaces," he said. "But it certainly helps a little."

These meals are only available for carry out and Koklas hopes that they can re-create the McWethy experience at home, even if just slightly.

"Dining in our dining room and having a freshly made meal will always be the forefront of what we do the best. We can’t compare this with any frozen dinner, no matter how great this product actually is," he said. "For us, having a warm and caring server or bartender take care of your entire dining experience will never be a feeling that can easily be replaced. This is just another opportunity for us to provide a piece of our restaurant to guests that may not feel comfortable returning to dining rooms in the future."

Based on the exceptional response from the Romeoville community, the TV dinners are here to stay indefinitely. Koklas said they will continue offering these even "as we get back to normal business hopefully very soon."

"We’re also taking it a step further and currently working with some packing companies to get these into the freezer sections of some of our local grocery stores," he said. "This will help us create brand awareness of our very strong brand, and hopefully help drive more and more people to McWethy’s Tavern."

Frozen meals are notorious for poor quality, overly processed food, but the chefs at the tavern "actually took the time to make sure these did taste great with wholesome, real ingredients," Koklas said.

"We went into this idea with the saying, if they don’t reflect the quality that our guests have come to expect of McWethy’s Tavern we will immediately stop putting effort into creating these," he said. "It’s not another revenue stream for us, it’s a way to give the meals our guests have come to love from McWethy’s Tavern in another avenue, and within the comforts of your own home."

View the current TV dinners available for purchase here.

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