Hanna-Que, Inc. works within this reality. Having grown from within the Notre Dame High School community, it aligns meal service with daily school cafeteria requirements.
The Hanna family has been part of the Notre Dame community since 1999, volunteering at campus sports events where its homemade grilled hamburgers and hot dogs became a favorite part of school gatherings. The nickname ‘Hanna-Que,’ coined by students during baseball doubleheaders, eventually became the company’s identity when the family took over cafeteria operations. Over the last two decades, Hanna-Que has grown to serve 97 percent of students at Notre Dame and has also established operations at St. Mel Elementary School.
“We’re passionate about the food we serve, and that enthusiasm carries into the school environment,” says Brenda Hanna, president and owner.
Managing Scale with Cost Efficiency
With prior experience in cooking at scale, the early stages focused on testing food items within a daily operating system. The focus was on cooking in volume while keeping costs manageable. A key part of this was balancing supply and demand to avoid waste while ensuring sufficient availability. As items sold out faster than expected, quantities were accordingly adjusted.
Across its operations, Hanna-Que’s focus remains on freshness. Ingredients are delivered daily to manage storage constraints. It also evaluates vendors to keep sourcing cost-effective without compromising quality.
Meal Services Designed for Student Needs
At Notre Dame, Hanna-Que serves nearly 1,500 students within a 35-minute lunch period, completing most transactions in the first 12 minutes through ten serving lines. Service runs from breakfast at 7 AM through after-school hours till 4 PM. It also operates an on-campus coffee shop—St. Joe’s—offering lattes, breakfast burritos and pastries.
We’re passionate about the food we serve, and that enthusiasm carries into the school environment.
It also supports students enrolled in food access programs through daily pre-orders based on school-supported meal allowances.
At St. Mel Elementary School, it enables parents to select meals for children through HotLunch.com.
“We make sure we’re serving clean meals prepared in clean kitchens,” says Phil Hanna, vice president.
Each menu is curated to align with student preferences and trends, including specials like craft barbecue, ramen, birria tacos and tikka masala chicken skewers. Healthy choices like beans, salads, fresh fruit and Greek yogurt are also served. During Lent, we follow the Catholic tradition of abstinence by observing no-meat Fridays. It adapts the menu to comply with these restrictions while providing interesting choices for children.
The team also prioritizes familiarity and consistency in student interactions. With many students visiting the cafeteria multiple times a day, staff members often recognize them by name, creating an environment that feels approachable and community-oriented.
A Family-Like Work Structure
At Hanna-Que, employee retention and continuity are prioritized. The head cook has been working at the company since its inception in 2006. Many employees bring family members or friends into the organization, reinforcing a workplace culture centered on trust, flexibility and long-term continuity.
Work schedules are aligned with the school day, which suits members who have children. It grants sick days to employees and family members, allowing flexibility without disrupting operations.
At Hanna-Que, expansion plans are considered only when the location supports its operating model, ensuring complete control over service quality. Underpinning this approach is its commitment to serving fresh, homemade food while remaining closely connected to the school communities it supports every day.
