A family-owned, event planning business that successfully navigated through the pandemic has expanded to offer some unique sweet concoctions in the south suburbs. A Trio of Creations Gourmet Shake Bar in Matteson has a menu of 22 shakes, among them its peach cobbler shake, a banana pudding shake that includes vanilla wafers, the lemonade shake that features Lemonhead candy and the strawberry shortcake that includes a strawberry short-cake ice cream bar. The enterprise is among Black, women-owned businesses featured in the vendor guide directory for the Democratic National Convention taking place in Chicago in August.
Tramaine Hampton-Brown and her first cousins, sisters Truddie Woodard and Crystal Jackson, are partners in the business, which marked its one-year anniversary in April. The trio’s goal was to bring something unique to the south suburbs. “We’ve always been extra anyway,” said Jackson.
“ A gourmet shake bar, that’s something different outside of regular restaurants,” said Jackson. But necessity also was the mother of invention for the shake enterprise as their event planning services business, called A Trio of Creations, evolved, they explained. Monee resident Hampton-Brown said the three decided to launch the event planning business after producing a birthday party event for a close friend that drew rave reviews from attendees.
“Everybody said it was above and beyond, it was beautiful and we should do this for a living,” said Hampton-Brown. She h.
