When a Chicago-area mom started mixing dried dressing blends in their garage, the goal was simple: get dinner on the table without another trip to the store or another night of takeout.
What grew from that everyday challenge is After Noon Foods, a Deerfield-based food brand built on family recipes, real ingredients and the belief that homemade flavor shouldn’t require extra time or stress.
Inspired by generations of family meals and shaped by busy parent life, After Noon Foods offers dried dressing blends that come together in under a minute. Just add olive oil and vinegar, shake and serve. The result feels familiar, the kind of dressing that tastes like it’s always been part of the table.
From childhood dinners to a business idea
The idea traces back to founder Erica Gendell’s childhood kitchen.
“Growing up, my mom made all her dressings from scratch,” she says. “She’d shake them up in old salsa jars as the finishing touch to dinner.”
Years later, living on her own and missing that ritual, she asked her mom how to recreate those flavors. The solution was practical and personal: her mom mailed dried spice blends so the same dressings could be made anywhere.
Soon, those recipes became a staple at dinner parties.
“My friends loved whenever I made one of her ‘baggie dressings,’” Gendell remembers. “That’s when it clicked that this could be something bigger.”
She brought the idea to her best friend from college, Kelly Duerr — a fellow wellness enthusiast and home cook — and together they began testing blends that honored the original recipes while fitting modern, busy lives.
Why Chicago, and why Deerfield?
Although After Noon Foods is now based in Deerfield, its roots are firmly planted in Chicago.
“I’ve lived in Chicago since college and really grew up in the city professionally,” the founder says. Her career included time at 1871, Chicago-based unicorn Avant, and Remote Year, a travel startup founded by two Chicagoans.
She says Chicago’s mix of scrappiness and innovation has shaped how people build businesses in the city.
When she and her husband started a family, moving to the suburbs felt like a natural next step, without losing that city mindset. From product development to photography to manufacturing, the founders have partnered with small Chicago-area businesses. Early on, they even hand-packed their first production run at The Hatchery on the city’s West Side.
A reflection of Chicago’s food culture
Chicago’s food scene, equal parts health-conscious and no-nonsense, shows up clearly in After Noon Foods’ approach.
She says many people in Chicago care about what they eat while balancing busy schedules.
She points to the city’s farmers markets, neighborhood coffee shops, rooftop farms and ingredient-driven restaurants as ongoing inspiration. The goal isn’t trendiness, she says, but balance.
That philosophy carries into the product itself: Real ingredients, simple preparation and flavors that work just as well on a weeknight salad as they do at a weekend gathering.
Growing with the community
Like many small food brands, After Noon Foods grew with hands-on help from the people closest to it.
“Friends, neighbors, and even our two-year-old were helping pack boxes on the living room floor,” the founder says with a laugh.
Beyond that early support, guidance from Chicago’s consumer packaged goods community played a key role.
She describes Chicago’s consumer packaged goods community as collaborative and supportive, with founders who readily share advice, connections, and encouragement.
Where to find After Noon Foods
After Noon Foods is available online at afternoonfoods.com, with orders shipping directly from the Chicago area. Readers can use the code CHICAGO15 for 15% off their order.
The brand plans to join local farmers markets next summer, with updates shared on Instagram at @afternoonfoods.
Advice for parents thinking about starting something new
For Chicago-area parents considering starting a business from home, Gendell’s advice is straightforward: “Don’t wait for the perfect time,” she says. “It doesn’t exist.”
Instead, she encourages building in the margins of the day: during nap time, after bedtime or whenever space opens up.
“You can build something meaningful while being fully present for your family – it just takes creativity, patience and a lot of grace,” she says.
