PLAINFIELD, IL — It’s been approximately 14 months since Happy Belly moved into Werk Force Brewing’s kitchen space, and the result has been a partnership that extends beyond the physical and into the food itself.
The restaurant, owned by Cathy Lazuka and Kelly Bailey, got its start primarily as a catering and private chef business before the chefs began serving their hand-crafted creative comfort food at Werk Force in July 2022. Brewery owners Amanda and Brandon Wright wanted someone to come on board and craft delectable bites using their brews, and that’s exactly what they got.
“We had been for a long time searching for the right fit to come in, and we knew we always wanted to have food,” Amanda said. “It took us a long time to find someone with mutual values and passion about their craft as we have here; someone that was excited to come in and work with our beer and push the envelope on made-from-scratch, delicious, home-cooked food.”
Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
She continued: “Their passion [for] cooking and their food comes through just like it does through our beer, so it’s been a great match for us, and I feel like our community and our patrons definitely are appreciative of that partnership.”
Happy Belly owners echoed Amanda’s sentiments, with Lazuka calling the collaboration “nothing short of a dream come true for us.”
Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“To work in collaboration with Amanda and Brandon has been truly the best thing our business has ever done,” Lazuka told Patch. “They’re unbelievably great partners, great people. They have amazing beers; they have a brewery that has an awesome vibe: very community-focused, very family-friendly. Just the best business partners we could ever hope for.”
“They’re supportive partners on every level,” Bailey added.
Happy Belly’s presence at Werk Force isn’t new, but it was never made official with a grand opening party.
The “year-long soft opening,” as Lazuka and Bailey jokingly called the past year, will come to an end Sept. 8 when Happy Belly will host an anniversary party — featuring live music and a special beer collaboration and menu — to celebrate Happy Belly’s year-plus serving Werk Force Brewing patrons.
“We’re hoping this will be a great chance for everyone to come meet us if they haven’t already,” Bailey said.
RELATED: Werk Force Brewing Will Soon Serve Home-Cooked Comfort Food
During their anniversary party, happening from noon to 9:30 p.m. at the brewery, 14903 S. Center St., Lazuka and Bailey will unveil a special menu. It’ll feature the beloved meatballs and mozzarella sandwich, a recipe that dates back to Lazuka’s Italian-American grandparents, and a flatbread topped with mushrooms, Swiss cheese and mozzarella and finished with truffles.
Patrons who fell in love with those dishes previously featured will have only one night to reunite with the “throwback items,” owners said.
Traditionally, Happy Belly’s menu rotates monthly to feature an assortment of beer and family-friendly comfort food ranging from cheese spreads, flatbreads and salads. One of their staples is a braised beef grilled cheese sandwich made with a Werk Force stout.
“You take the flavor profile you’re looking for in the dish and you look at the flavor profile of the beers, and you see if there’s a good match, and usually with their beers, there is,” Lazuka said of the process of using Werk Force beers in Happy Belly’s cooking.
The highlight of the anniversary celebration, Lazuka said, will be the reveal of Happy Belly’s beer collaboration with Werk Force: a lemonade hibiscus sour.
“We kind of went back and forth on recipe creation on that to get a culinary-inspired beer in a drink form, [using] unusual ingredients we don’t normally use,” Amanda said.
The beer, which will be served that night with a mint garnish, similar to a cocktail, will remain only on tap, though patrons will be able to take it home in 32-ounce growlers.
“It was a flavor profile that Kelly and I developed, and Werk Force made happen,” Lazuka said. “We’re just trying to celebrate a year of a pretty unique collaboration in our hometown of Plainfield.”
Happy Belly is open at Werk Force from noon to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.