About Us

The Origin

Takeout 25 was conceived November 2020 in Oak Park, Illinois, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The governor's order to close restaurants to indoor dining caused a downward spiral of anxiety, hopelessness, recrimination, and argument among restaurant owners and residents alike.

Ravi Parakkat

Ravi Parakkat is the Founder of Takeout 25  and serves as its board President. An Engineer and an MBA with business and board experience, Ravi is the Vice President of Digital Transformation with Junior Achievement of Chicago helping this impactful non-profit embrace digital to help young people succeed in life. In a career in consulting spanning over 20 years, 3 continents, and several industries notably Financial Service, Energy and Utilities and Manufacturing, Ravi has had the privilege of working with industries and organizations during transformative years. He has set up and managed profitable multi-million dollar projects and digital transformation focused consulting businesses. Ravi also serves as an elected Trustee on the Oak Park Village board and lives in Oak Park, IL with his wife Amy and their two daughters Rowen and Reva.

John Harris

John Harris is co-founder and CEO of a5 Branding & Digital, and serves as Takeout 25 Oak Park board secretary. A writer and storyteller by trade, Harris champions the development of healthy, sustainable communities through a triple bottom line approach: economic development, environmental effectiveness and social equity. a5 clients include communities and business districts (Oak Park, Woodstock, Niles, Downtown Oak Park), education (Johns Hopkins University), non-profits (Oak Park Homelessness Coalition, Oak Leyden, Beyond Hunger, Oak Park Housing Authority) and parks and recreation (Illinois Park and Recreation Association, Northbrook Park District). He and his wife Clarice moved to Oak Park in 1996 where they raised two children. He is co-founder of GreenTown, an experience that brings people together to create a sustainable community, with Seven Generations Ahead. GreenTown has led to the development of sustainability plans and networks in 20-plus Midwestern communities.

Sean Hennessy

Sean Hennessy is a respected and experienced Hospitality leader. Sean spent over 20 years in the Sports and Entertainment industry with the premier management and restaurant companies, Aramark and Levy Restaurants Sports and Entertainment. In his tenure with those organizations Sean had the opportunity to develop strategies for, and lead the operations some of the largest events, Super Bowls, World Series, Brazil World Cup, and Major Concert Festivals across the U.S. As a Regional Director Sean’s portfolio of accounts had a managed volume of over $200M annually. His oversite responsibility has included some of the busiest and most visible venues in the world including Wells Fargo Center, Prudential Center, Soldier Field, Arrowhead Stadium, Staples Center, McCormick Place, Field Museum, and many others. Sean’s career has been highlighted with significant new business development achievements, leveraging the use of data and technology. He also was at the forefront of bringing local restaurant experiences to venues across the country, working with Celebrity Chefs, Restaurant Groups, and Independent Restaurateurs. He has been recognized as one of the most innovative leaders in Sports and Entertainment by Venues Magazine and Sports Business Journal. Sean resides in Oak Park, Illinois with His wife Jennifer and son Declan. Sean and Jennifer volunteer their time and passion in many ways, but you can generally find Sean coaching baseball throughout the year.

Rob Guenthner

Rob Guenthner serves as the Chief Legal Officer for Oak Street Health, a publicly traded national provider of primary care for adults on Medicare. Rob is also an owner of Kettlestrings Kitchen & Tap, Inc., the operator of Kettlestrings Tavern and soon-to-come new ventures, Kettlestrings Grove and Betty's Pizza & Pasta. Rob and the rest of the Kettlestrings team opened Kettlestrings Tavern in March of 2020 and have witnessed first hand the challenges of running a small business during particularly trying times and, more importantly, the tremendous support that engaged communities are willing to provide to their local businesses. Rob has lived in Oak Park with his wife Katie since 2009 and, in what they are told makes them the longest continuously running family in the school's history, have had a child at Beye Elementary continuously since that time. Older children now attend or have attended Julian Middle School, Jones College Prep and OPRF High School.