Federal Supply USA Director of Marketing Chelsea Seleveredes Romens is part of a very select group of 1% among people working in a family business. She is the fourth generation of her family to work at the company her great-grandfather — James Seleveredes—founded in 1931
Romens works for her mother, company President Nicole Seleveredes, and her grandfather, Demetrios Seleveredes, is the Chairman of the Board who was president until his daughter succeeded him in 2015.
Spending time in the corporate world at a global advertising agency before joining the family business in 2018, Romens started as its marketing manager, utilizing the skills she gained handling accounts for major companies. The family business felt right for her then.
“I came to help the company,” Romens said. “I felt grateful and empowered. My great-grandmother helped start the company. My grandfather empowered us. My mother is president. I felt empowered by strong women. They all had their influences.”
Federal Supply USA celebrated its 95th anniversary Thursday at its Waukegan headquarters with its annual Customer Appreciation Day, serving lunch to scores of customers to thank them for their loyalty over the years.
A national and local company, Demetrios Seleveredes said it sells commercial kitchen equipment and supplies to customers in the Chicagoland and southern Wisconsin and industrial kitchen equipment to federal government institutions nationally like prisons, hospitals and more.
“We needed a market that was national. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a top customer. They’re dependable and they pay,” Demetrios Seleveredes said. “People want to see what they’re buying,” he added, referring to the local effort. “They don’t buy that stuff on Amazon.”
As a family-owned, privately held business, Federal Supply is unique. U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider started and co-chairs the Family Business Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 to educate his colleagues about the contributions of small businesses.
“Family businesses are the heartbeat of our communities, representing more than 90% of American companies and creating more than 60% of the new jobs each year,” Schneider said in an email Thursday.
Schneider said 59% of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation, but it drops to 10% for the third generation and 1% for the fourth. Nicole Seleveredes said the fifth generation is still young and not ready to go to work.
Laura Calvert, the executive director of Elawa Farm in Lake Forest, and Lee Kuevler, the organization’s chef, were two of the people eating lunch Thursday. She said customer service sets Federal Supply apart.
“We have their cell phone numbers,” Calvert said. “They’re always there for us. They have a lot of expertise. They’re always there with help when we need it.”
Among the local customers is the College of Lake County. Recently, Nicole Seleveredes said the company outfitted the school’s Urban Farm at its Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan. It will open in the fall.
James Beckom, the school’s chief financial officer, said in an email that work like the Urban Farm is awarded on a bidding basis. Federal Supply is a long-standing and consistent bidder for the school’s culinary needs.
“As we equip the kitchen in our new Urban Farm Center in Waukegan with quality culinary equipment, Federal Supply is helping create valuable learning opportunities for CLC students and community members to build new skills,” he said in the email.
Started in 1931 in Chicago, Demetrios Seleveredes said the business originally sold tabletop supplies to restaurants. It moved to Waukegan in 1957. He was a college student at the University of Illinois in Champaign in early 1962 when his father died. He came home to help.
With a desire to go national, Demetrios Seleveredes said the U.S. General Services Administration presented the right opportunity by providing industrial kitchen equipment to places from prisons to veterans’ hospitals.
“I never felt like I was working,” he said.
Nicole Seleveredes said her career started when she was young, doing different jobs around the showroom and warehouse. She took her first management position in 1985 and became president in 2015. Her brother, Demetrios Seleveredes, III, is the vice president.
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“We do different things,” she said. “We have different strengths.”
Considering the people who work for Federal Supply are their extended family, Nicole Seleveredes said the familial attitude prevails throughout the company. When asked the details of her role, she pointed to a small sign on her desk—“Fixer of Everything”
“There are 25 people working here, and they’re all family to us,” Nicole Seleveredes said. “I’m doing this because of family. I enjoy what I do. I get to work with my daughter, my nephews, my brother and my dad.”