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The Last Word

Sheila O'Grady

Illinois Restaurant Association

By Marla Cichowski • La Chambre Noire Photography

You might think the president of the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA), Sheila O'Grady, prefers conducting business while dining out around the clock at Chicago's best restaurants. Guess again! "That's what everybody thinks my job is," says Sheila, "but that's just the opposite. We're here working. I only go out to lunch if I have a lunch meeting. Otherwise, I just eat at my desk and keep working, because I want to get things accomplished." Which is exactly the type of work ethic and dedication that makes Sheila a perfect fit for the IRA.

As president, Sheila oversees the Illinois restaurant industry, home to over 400,000 employees, making it the largest private sector employer in the state and a driving force behind Illinois' economy. "When you think about Chicago, you think about food," says Sheila. "Unbelievable culinary superstars have put Chicago on the map. Dining out is one the top three things on people's minds when they visit."

Before joining the IRA in April 2007, Sheila spent over a decade working for the City of Chicago, including over four years as Mayor Richard Daley's chief of staff, a job she describes as "dynamic and energizing. I loved every minute of it." She left her position with the Mayor's Office to start a family; now, the working mother of two (she has an eight month old son and two and a half year old daughter) is tackling new ground advocating on behalf of Illinois' 31,000-plus restaurants. TCW sat down with Sheila at her downtown office to find out what drives her to succeed, the biggest challenge facing the restaurant industry and, of course, her favorite restaurant.

How did you make the decision to return to work after staying home for two years? This was really a great opportunity and good way to have a professional life but also have some balance. I honestly never realized returning to work was going to be as difficult as it is, but you just have to be incredibly organized and disciplined…to make sure you make time for professional responsibilities and your family responsibilities.

How does working for the IRA compare to working for Mayor Daley? The pace is different. I have to say that when I left for a meeting in my other job, I'd come back and have two pages of calls to return. I don't have that here. It's manageable in terms of workload. I think the similarities are it's an exciting place to work. I'm very fortunate to be in a job where I have an opportunity to help people and that's very energizing for me.

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the state's restaurant industry? The economy. I think everyone is struggling now with the increases in prices for commodities and the increase in the sales tax [the new 10.25 percent Cook County sales tax goes into effect this summer]. We'll see what the impact of it is. The biggest concern is just the convention business. It's so important to the industry.

Have you ever worked in a restaurant? No! I got asked that in my interview for this job. One in four Americans has worked in a restaurant at some point, so I'm the exception. I'm pretty sure I could get a job now!

Are you allowed to reveal your favorite restaurant? I love to eat, I really do. I will say that. My favorite restaurant growing up was a restaurant in Chicago called Doro's. That's where my parents used to take me. I loved their fettucine alfredo. It was so good. It was a Chicago institution.

What's most rewarding part of your job? For me it's the things we do to help students interested in a culinary future. We give out more than $150,000 annually. We have a scholarship program. We also offer a summer camp for kids that we underwrite in the city. The restaurant industry is capitalism at its best. There's opportunity for everyone. I think it's an incredibly important field for young people, because there is that opportunity, there's going to be job growth.

So what do you do when you're not working? We just moved to River North a few months ago and I'd be misleading if I said we're all settled. The physical part of moving two little kids and moving our home less than a mile has been just physically exhausting. My big accomplishment in the past three months has been buying a couch!

Did you ever imagine you'd be doing what you're doing now, five or 10 years ago? Not at all. I don't know what I'm going to be doing 10 years from now either, but it's all part of the journey and it's been really exciting so far.