Fire guts 'mom and pop' catering firm that made meals for the elderly and also served Bulls, Blackhawks

CHICAGO - Flames destroyed a well-known catering business Thursday night in the Clearing neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side.

The fire began around 11:30 p.m. inside of Georgis Gatering at 6:339 S. Central Ave., just blocks away from Midway Airport, according to officials.

"It’s gutted, it’s done," said Becky Walowski, an employee. "Thankfully the building was empty, it happened after everyone left … The last I heard, the roof collapsed. We don’t know how it started."

Georgis Catering has been around for nearly 80 years, providing meals to the elderly as well as serving Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks on their private planes.

Walowski said half of Georgis’ business was serving 2,000 meals a day for the elderly in their homes or at centers across the Chicago area. The other half was providing in-flight meals on private planes.

"We’ve done presidents, we do the Bulls, we do the Blackhawks, we do the Milwaukee Bucks," she said. "We deliver right to their planes. If Warren Buffet is flying out of Palwaukee Airport, we take care of him."

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The business employs 35 workers and the chef has been there for 30 years, according to Walowski

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.