Buffalo Grove couple offers big taste at Big Sherms
When Mark and Jenni Sherman celebrate their first wedding anniversary Monday, they'll most likely toast the opening of their new business as well.
About two months ago, the couple opened Big Sherms, a fast casual eatery, at 136 McHenry Road, not far from where they both went to high school.
The Buffalo High School graduates offer an array of favorites including hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and the favorite Big Sherms BBQ Brisket that's slow cooked for seven hours. The sandwich is served with fresh cut fries and sells for $7.99. The eatery features five salads made to order. The house salad is $4.59 while the salads served with chicken are $6.59. Another popular menu item is the marinated skirt steak that Mark says he orders directly from Dorfler's Butcher shop in Buffalo Grove. It sells for $7.99 while the burgers are $5.39.
The restaurant features a Chicago theme with pictures of the Skyline, the Cubs, the Sox and other popular attractions. The Chicago teams are usually shown on the flat screen TVs as well. "We also serve the Chicago classic Green River (soda) on tap," Mark said. For dessert, the fried Twinkies have been a hit.
Before launching the business, the couple, who now live in Arlington Heights, owned ice cream and sub sandwich franchises in Buffalo Grove for seven years.
They were looking for a change. "We wanted to get out of the franchise business. We also wanted to try something with hot foods," said Mark, 28.
Starting a business in this economy is much like Mark thought it would be. "It's going as anticipated. It's not easy. But we're getting a lot of return customers. We figure if we can make it through this year, then we have a pretty good chance of making it," he said.
The most difficult part of launching a new restaurant is the amount of hours required to run it, he said. "It's a 90-hour workweek."
The business is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For information, call (847) 353-8575.
• kmikus@dailyherald.com