ESSEN Catering is opening a location in Tomball. Co-owner Jill Janszen told What Now Houston in an email that they have outgrown their current space in Conroe, so they decided to find another location to expand their team and services in order to reach new markets across the Houston area. “Once we are officially in the new space, we will decide if it makes sense to keep both locations or solely work out of the Tomball location,” Jill said.
Jill owns ESSEN Catering with her husband, Mitchell Janszen. “We decided on Tomball for a number of reasons. Firstly, Mitchell was born in Tomball and graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School in 2011. Additionally, we want to be closer to some of the wedding venues we are already providing our services at while also being closer to the Downtown Houston market. Tomball is a lovely community, and we are so excited to have a building on Main Street!” They currently cater at Tomball wedding venue, Boxwood Manor, so the closer location will be beneficial.
ESSEN Catering provides a variety of services. “We cater for weddings, social events, corporate events, and provide weekly school lunches to Trinity Klein Lutheran School.” Jill said they would like to offer lunches to other local schools, so they are developing a sub-brand, Kinder ESSEN, which translates to “kids food.”
Catering is fully customizable, and the majority of the work is done on-site. “While we have sample menus for clients to browse, we enjoy creating menus based on what our clients are envisioning while keeping the time of the year and in-season foods in mind,” Jill said.
ESSEN Catering will open at 724 W. Main St. in Tomball, possibly in the fall of 2023. “Our new space will have a beautiful tasting room where brides and grooms can taste their wedding menu before they move forward with the booking process. Moreover, we are wanting to offer a Supper Club experience to the community where guests can experience a chef-curated menu with their closest friends and family,” Jill said.
Jill and Mitchell moved to the area from Austin during the COVID Pandemic to be closer to family and start ESSEN Catering. “We’ve been official since May 2021 and have really hit the ground running ever since,” Jill said. They are excited to expand their ESSEN Catering business and look forward to taking on more business and hiring additional hospitality- and food-driven people.
