'EXPANDING THE WOLFGANG PUCK BRAND': Spago Catering targets upscale catering events

Spago Catering has a unique advantage of name recognition, but the company's experience launching into business in the Chicago marketplace is fairly typical of any foodservice organization aiming high with catering.

"People know the Spago name, and that makes marketing a little easier," says Carl Schuster, pres. of Wolfgang Puck Catering, the parent company in Los Angeles, who has worked with Spago creator Wolfgang Puck since the inception of the landmark "California-cuisine" restaurant.

A 'special' challenge: "But we also have a huge challenge in meeting the expectations of a very sophisticated clientele."

With Spago restaurants in half-a-dozen cities and a stable of other cutting-edge restaurant concepts including Postrio, Chinois on Main, and Obachine, Puck certainly has a well-heeled following. Catering was born out of customer demand five years ago, with a seated dinner for 1,400 at the Governor's Ball during the Academy Awards.

Now, Schuster and Puck have put together a concentrated business plan that calls for the eventual debut of Spago catering in every city where there's a restaurant. "It's a logical progression in the expansion of the Wolfgang Puck brand," as Schuster notes.

Jon Wool was hand-picked as catering manager in Chicago, the company's first foray out of its L.A. home base.

Open for biz July 1: The new division officially went into business on July 1 of this year, with an ambitious marketing plan and a determination to make a splash in both the corporate and social markets. The effort has been aided by the fact that Spago is an established part of the restaurant scene in the Windy City and has also gained a large clientele for its 300-capacity on-premise private-dining facilities.

"In a city like Chicago, there's a lot of competition, however, and many of our best potential off-premise customers already have long-established loyalties to existing caterers," explains Wool, himself a veteran of the city's catering scene, with a large network of contacts.

"Our challenge now is to win these people over, at the same time that we announce our existence to the world in general."

Setting quality standards: Wool's first order of business has been to ensure delivery of the Spago restaurant experience with the same level of quality and service. To that end, he and Schuster have worked to set standards for the kitchen, translate restaurant menus into off-premise ones, and hire key catering staff, including an executive catering chef, a staffing and events supervisor, a catering sales manager, and an administrative officer/accountant.

Because Spago restaurant in Chicago already operated a separate