March 28, 2024
Local News | Kendall County Now


Local News

Restaurant approved for former downtown Oswego car dealership building

A former long-time used auto dealership in downtown Oswego is set to become a restaurant following a vote by village trustees.

The village board unanimously voted to approve Freddie's Off The Chain catering of Oswego to open a sitdown restaurant in the now vacant building at 11 Madison Street (Route 34) during its Oct. 20 meeting.

The property is currently zoned for business use and is bordered to the south by My Sister's Lil Donut Shoppe and to the north by Dusty Road Merchants antique store.

The proposed restaurant building has been vacant for approximately a year and one-half and was last used as a storage facility for a garden store, according to a village staff memo.

The memo notes that Freddie's Off the Chain's plans for the restaurant call for the remodeling of the building's interior, construction of a 741 square foot addition, and facade improvements and various other site improvements, including installation of two outdoor seating areas.

Owner Mona Herrada, who has operated Freddie's as a popular area food truck serving Mexican cuisine for several years, explained to the board why she chose Oswego for a restaurant location.

"When I first came to Oswego, I came to the brewery, and I went there with my food truck," she told the board. "My intention was to buy a building in Plainfield, and that's where my restaurant was going to be. But once I came here, I got to know the people, and you guys are wonderful, honest to God."

Herrada said she fell so in love with Oswego, that she has also made the decision to sell her home in Plainfield and move to the village.

While Freddie's will have a brick-and-mortar location in downtown Oswego, Herrada said that she plans to continue offering food truck services.

"My intention is to have 10 trucks," Herrada said. "I have people calling me for weddings, graduations, birthday parties, I can't accommodate them. I need more trucks and we're making them."

"We're going to put Oswego on the map," she joked.