East Dundee has approved a five-year contract extension with Duke’s Blues-n-BBQ to operate out of the village’s downtown caboose concession stand. (Rick West | Staff Photographer)
East Dundee officials know it takes a unique tenant to make the village’s caboose concession stand successful.
Cuisine, customer base, flexibility and overhead costs all play a role. So far, they say, Duke’s Blues-n-BBQ seems to have the right recipe.
For the past two years, Terrance “Duke” Seward and his wife, Rhiannon, have run their business seasonally out of the village-owned train car at 112 Railroad St. At their request, the village board voted 5-0 this week to approve a five-year lease extension.
Built in 1952 for the Milwaukee Road, the caboose was purchased by the village and has been used as a concession stand in the heart of downtown since May 2015. It became an attraction for Dundee-area residents and visitors, particularly those passing through on the Fox River Trail, Village President Lael Miller said. Still, the village struggled for a few years to find the right operator.
Read more here, and give them a try since they’re perfectly suited for the “new norm” of our carryout world these days!