Duke’s Blues N BBQ is moving from its iconic red caboose in downtown East Dundee to a new digs in the building that formerly housed Van’s Frozen Custard.
The move was necessitated by downtown redevelopment plans that include not only the land on which the caboose now sits but the proposed Heritage Station, a mixed-use development for the Railroad Street site on the former Doederlein Lumber Co. property.
East Dundee owns the custard shop building at 16 E. Main St., which it purchased for the future realignment of the Route 72/River Street intersection.
Terrance “Duke” Seward and his wife, Rhiannon, have operated the popular walk-up restaurant out of the village-owned caboose at 112 Railroad St. since 2016. It’s open from March to December and offers catering year-round.
The move will give the couple the opportunity to serve dine-in customers and not have to close for the winter, said Village Administrator Erika Storlie, who has been working with them to find an alternate location.
“Duke’s has a desire to open a brick-and-mortar location. He is very interested in leasing the former Van’s from the village,” Storlie told the East Dundee Village Board at its Monday’s night meeting. “It would be a good opportunity for him to test a brick-and-mortar option while he continues to look for a permanent place downtown.”
Van’s leased the space for seven years until its new owner decided to move to 818 W. Main St. in downtown West Dundee. It held a grand opening at the new location Dec. 6.
Storlie said she knows it’s not ideal to lease a property that may eventually be torn down, but it does give Duke’s the opportunity to try out a new restaurant concept while allowing the village to collect income from a building for which there are no concrete plans.
Seward said Wednesday that he found the new challenge “exciting.” He already has ideas for the new space, including a Friday fish fries, live music and an indoor smoker in addition to his existing outdoor smoker, he said.
“I think it’s good for Duke to have an indoor home. Customers always want to eat our food year-round,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a huge complement to the town. I think it’s going to be the next step we all kind of needed.”
Storlie said staff will develop a lease agreement, which will need to be approved by the village board.
Trustees told Storlie they want to keep the caboose to stay in town because it is tied so closely to downtown East Dundee.
“I really feel the caboose has been a kind of icon in the village that leads to the charge and character and history of the village and the downtown area,” Trustee Kathleen Mahony said.
Mahony suggested placing it somewhere along the Fox River Bike Trail or near Route 72. “I’d like it closer to the downtown area, but we are extending, potentially expanding the whole downtown district,” she said.
A new location can be determined at a later date, especially since construction on Heritage Station won’t start until next fall.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
