Infinity Restaurant Group operates two well-known Fort Dodge restaurants – Community Tap and Pizza, 2026 Fifth Ave. S. and Sneakers Eatery & Pub, 1317 Central Ave. A third venture – Smokeworx – was recently combined with Community. Since Feb. 1, the unique Smokeworx barbecue menu is has been available at Community along with that restaurant’s regular offerings since.

For several years, Infinity has been a popular choice locally for anyone who needs a caterer. During the last year, however, the company has massively expanded its catering business and now also handles jobs far from its home base.

“We do catering across Iowa and we’ve been to other states, too,” said Mychael Mueller, Infinity’s president and chief executive officer. “This is probably a quarter of our business and it is growing. We’ve been to Sioux City, Iowa City, Davenport and Dubuque. We have been all the way to South Dakota.”

He said that during the last year or so, Infinity Restaurant Group has provided “hundreds of thousands” of meals at its customers’ events.

Helping various government agencies, including military units, address dining needs in assorted – and sometimes challenging – venues has emerged in recent months as a major focus for Infinity, according to Mueller.

“We’ve done work for both the federal government and state government,” he said, noting that these opportunities usually come about through a competitive bidding process. “We did the first military contract last summer in Boone at an armory where there was training taking place.”

In addition to providing meals for the armed forces, Infinity has also handled food requirements related to responses by government and private sector agencies to natural disasters. Mueller said, as an example, that his company’s catering project in South Dakota was as a subcontractor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture related to the response to the bird flu crisis a year ago.

The scale of these undertakings can be far larger than the typical wedding or event catering restaurants typically handle.

“We’ve done anywhere up to 7,000 meals a week in one location,” Mueller said. “That one, we prepared it individually and boxed it and wrapped it in foil.”

Infinity Restaurant Group is becoming a well-regarded caterer statewide because it has demonstrated the flexibility to produce topnotch results in diverse situations, he said.

“Every meal is different,” Mueller said. “We have a mobile cooking unit that we use. We can also cook at the site using their equipment. Nothing is too small. Nothing is too big. If I can handle 7,000 meals on the road, I can do anything. When you are on the road you don’t have your normal resources and equipment.”

He said the key to producing results that please clients is to pay careful attention to how each catering venture is organized and recognize that the approach must be customized to the nature of the job.

“You need to know how to cook food in different environments,” Mueller said. “Every cater is different. Every meal is different.”

He said Infinity has two or three employees whose time is dedicated exclusively to its catering component, but because the company operates restaurants it has a large pool of experienced professionals who can augment its field operations as needed.

“If a customer wants full service for a catering event, we’ll pull wait staff and bartenders from the restaurants,” Mueller said. “We do house parties where people want a mixologist.”

He said that one of the company’s strengths as a caterer is that it has the ability to address multiple projects simultaneously.

We can handle jobs at multiple locations on the same day,” Mueller said. “We have two or three catering vans.”

Many of the catering projects for which Infinity is retained are single events. Others are part of a long-term relationship with a client. For example, Infinity Restaurant Group has an ongoing partnership with Soldier Creek Winery, 1584 Paragon Ave., to provide food at its Friday Vineyard Vibrations gatherings and to help with other winery undertakings.

“We go out to the winery every Friday,” Mueller said. “Soldier Creek selects a couple of their wines and we prepare a meal for those wines. On some Sundays, we go out there and show people who attend how to cook.”

Meet Mychael Mueller

Mueller graduated from Manson Northwest Webster High School and almost immediately entered the restaurant world.

“I first started in Humboldt at age 19,” he said. “I bought a failed restaurant. Six years ago, I started Infinity Restaurant Group with Sneakers. A year and a half later, I got involved with Community.”

Mueller’s family has a long history with Community Tap and Pizza. Many years ago it was acquired by his grandfather, Truman Hart, and subsequently owned by his mother, Sally Hart, before he became the proprietor.

Infinity Restaurant Group is poised for further expansion according to its CEO.

“We want to keep on growing, maybe open up more stores,” Mueller said. “We’re looking at options to grow.”

He said the restaurant world is an extremely challenging business sector.

“There is a high failure rate,” Mueller said. “You have to stay relevant. It’s a new millennium out there. People want variety. People want fresh, not frozen. You’ve got to put in a lot of hours getting to know what your market is and staying current.”

As a very hands-on executive, he said he finds being part of the daily operations of the business both fun and demanding.

“I get to meet new people every day and hopefully put a smile on their face,” Mueller said. “It’s a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week job. When you are a manager, you are always on call.”