Not every bar has the desire or ability to serve food alongside its drinks. Sublime Hospitality, which has built a business by operating the once-vacant kitchens at Marz Community Brewing Company, Small Bar, and Little Victories, has a solution for that.
Co-owner Haley Pham, who runs Sublime alongside husband Khaled Simon, says that for many bars and venues it doesn’t make sense to do food, because “they feel like it bleeds money” or they simply don’t want to deal with cooking. Sublime fills in the gap. “We look at trends. We ask, ‘What do people like?’” she says. “Staples like tacos, chicken tenders, chicken fingers, burgers, and pizza are all proven concepts. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. We’re just working to keep the wheel rolling.”
Pham and Simon’s philosophy has fueled the creation of some of the city’s most popular eats.
“There’s been a line every day for the last four months.”
Taco Sublime, the Mexican menu, began as a food truck in 2020 and transitioned to operating out of Marz Community Brewing Company in Bridgeport by 2021. The burger spot, Patty Please, arrived next at Logan Square’s Small Bar in May 2024. Then came Buttermilk, known for its chicken Caesar wrap, at Little Victories, a Wicker Park bar, in March of this year. The big-enough-for-two wrap comes out warm with a toasted exterior. Pita chips are added to the filling mix of romaine lettuce and fried chicken for a bonus sturdy crunch, and it is all coated (not soaked) in a creamy Caesar dressing. The dish’s devoted fandom drew enough attention to inspire a Reddit thread asking, “Why are the lines at Little Victories suddenly out the door?”
Chicken tenders are one of a handful of crowdpleasers Buttermilk’s team serves out of the Little Victories kitchen. Alex Zandro/Buttermilk
“We do a lot of homework before we enter a space to better understand how to increase margins for everyone involved, so we can pay better wages and have better quality food,” Pham says. “Little Victories has been one of the most successful takeovers. There’s been a line every day for the last four months.”
The Sublime team begins their process with an audit of a potential partner. They review product mixes and compare profit margins. At Small Bar, customers asked them not to remove certain menu items. However, sales for those items comprised just 5 percent of sales while costing 15 percent of the total budget. Tough decisions were made in order to provide a better customer experience. Listening to customers and the general market plays a big role in their work, says Pham.
The steak taco from Taco Sublime. Eileen T. Meslar/Taco Sublime
The classic burger from Taco Sublime. Eileen T. Meslar/Taco Sublime
“I love seeing what people have to say about food in general. There are so many critics online, and I understand there are different pedigrees of criticism here, but what social media can do for a place should never be undermined or discounted. I want to hear what it is that people have to say.”
Pham leads operations for Sublime Hospitality, which began as a food truck run by Simon and has grown to a team of more than 40 people. Simon attended Les Roches, a hospitality school in Switzerland. Pham was studying to become a lawyer before transitioning into hospitality to help Simon grow his business. The two have built a business around doing comfort food really well and well-priced. Their most expensive menu item — a chilaquiles shrimp burrito at Taco Sublime — is $18.
Haley Pham torches the top of a banana brulee icebox cake from Buttermilk at Little Victories. Alex Zandro/Burttermilk
“We really want to try to be as accessible as possible without diminishing quality,” says Pham. “I don’t think it’s fair that only the best of the best is fine dining, and it’s going to cost you $300 to eat. There’s a place for that, but people should be able to experience delicious, quality food that doesn’t break the bank.”
Simon was operating the Taco Sublime food truck during the pandemic up until it suffered fire damage and ceased operations in 2021, after which the couple took to cooking in their home kitchen and doing pop-ups. It was during one of these events that they met Ed Marszewski, co-owner of Maria’s Packaged Goods, Kimski, Marz Community Brewing, and the now-shuttered Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream, in February 2022. Marszewski offered them Marz’s kitchen two days a week, which allowed Taco Sublime to make a return. By the end of the year, Taco Sublime’s popularity among guests encouraged Marszewski to hand over the kitchen to them full-time.
Khaled Simon runs an order at Patty Please inside Small Bar. Alex Zandro/Patty Please
Sublime’s food is also popular among industry peers.
“When we opened Feld, my team was looking for an after-dinner, after-service place that the team could just go to and gather,” says chef and owner Jake Potashnick of Feld, which Bon Appétit recently named one of the 20 Best New Restaurants of 2025. “Someone found Small Bar, came back the next day, and said, ‘Guys, I have found the promised land.’ They do everything you want out of a smash burger. It’s a perfectly executed burger that you would not expect out of that location.”
The couple has found success by doing things well, keeping things simple, and pairing it with the joy of finding delicious food tucked away in unsuspecting places.
Hip brewery in a warehouse setting for drinking small-batch local beers with snacks, sandwiches, coffee & tea