Chef Cliff Rome of Peach’s Restaurant has been selected to bring South Side flair and flavors to the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
The Obama Foundation announced Tuesday that the restaurateur and Bon Appétit Management Company will oversee a restaurant, cafe and catering services at the center, due to open in 2026. Rome operates his Bronzeville restaurant and other ventures under Rome’s Joy Companies. Branded as BAMJoy, Rome expects the partnership with Bon Appétit to yield quality food as well as employment opportunities for locals.
“It’s a great collaboration,” said Rome, 53, who grew up in Englewood. “The presidential center is just a perfect opportunity to work with the community and bring a whole bunch of folks along for the ride.”
While the menu is in flux, Rome said patrons can expect items that are eclectic, clean, scratch-made and locally sourced and inspired. And those who have dined at Peach’s may recognize some options, he said.
In other words, “it’s food heaven,” he said. “That’s what it’s going to feel like.”
Rome doesn’t know enough about former President Barack Obama’s favorite foods to add them to the lineup, he said.
“But from what I’ve heard, he likes simple [cuisine],” Rome said. “It has to be good and consistent, though.”
Rome hosted a private dinner for the politician and the Obama Foundation’s executive committee last year at the Bronzeville-based Blanc art gallery, another endeavor under Rome’s Joy Companies.
“He’s super cool, just super laid-back,” Rome said. “I didn’t realize how chill he was until I got to talking to him. He’s a great storyteller. And he’s funny.”
Rome also operates the historic Parkway Ballroom in Bronzeville and two Peach’s locations at the University of Chicago. He previously worked with Bon Appétit when the company oversaw the school’s dining services in the past.
Rome’s Joy Companies won’t be the only local food company serving the presidential center. The Home Court athletic and programmatic center on the library campus will feature meals from Big Delicious Planet, ChiFresh Kitchen, Amazing Edibles, Food for Thought, Hyde Park Hospitality/Fuze Catering, Fanfares Catering, Limelight Catering and Paramount Events.
Rome underscored the significance of getting the opportunity to not only work at the presidential center, but inspire others as a Black-owned business on the South Side.
“If we don’t have spaces and places to go where we see people who look just like us, and they’re excelling in the very thing that we want to do, then not only is it disheartening, but sometimes you get disenchanted with the process,” he said.
But it’s also about using the influence to help others along, he added.
“This gives us an opportunity to use workforce development as a vehicle to be able to expose more and more people to food service,” he said. “And I think that we can use this as a landing spot for some of those aspiring artists who really want to get into cuisine. And then it just opens doors for all types of things.”