by Julia Paulus

Beth Williams, owner of Cuisine d’Art Café and Catering in Creve Coeur and Table Three in Wildwood, has been in the hospitality industry since she was 14. Back then she was working her first job – as a busgirl in a restaurant.

After high school Williams studied culinary arts, and when she was 22 she decided to start her own catering business.

“I ran it out of my mom’s kitchen, and it evolved from there,” she says.

After six months, Williams needed more space. That’s when she opened Cuisine d’Art Café and Catering, a 1,500-square-foot storefront and catering space in Eureka.

The next time she expanded, it was into a larger market. “We moved to a 5,000-square-foot space in Creve Coeur,” she says. “It’s a lunchtime operation, catering space and small event room.”

As Williams grew her cafe and catering business, she moved toward another goal: opening a restaurant to serve the upscale food she provides when catering in clients’ homes. Eight months ago her vision came to fruition with Table Three.

“It was a risk opening Table Three in the declining economic market,” says Williams. “But when you take a risk in today’s economy and have the right experience, quality products and a strong clientele, the true business owners make it and the others are weeded out. And we’re a success because of the 18 years of experience.”

Despite the economic challenges, Williams has grown her businesses from two to 50 employees, and they earned $2.2 million in revenue in 2009.