DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - For more than two decades, tri-state residents have turned to Sugar Ray’s BBQ when they craved a taste of authentic barbecue.
But with the Dubuque eatery poised to close later this year, Sugar Ray’s loyal customers soon will have to look elsewhere to get their fix.
Co-owners Ray and Cynthia Sanders said they officially will shutter the restaurant this fall, the Telegraph Herald (https://bit.ly/2naqcLi ) reported. They hope to find someone to purchase the business.
In addition to enjoying their retirement, Ray and Cynthia plan to compete in more barbecue competitions, pitting their creations against other culinary experts throughout the Midwest.
“That is my next chapter,” Ray said.
The end of Sugar Ray’s current chapter actually began last summer, when the restaurant stopped accepting carry-out orders and dine-in customers.
The restaurant remains in the catering business, taking orders of $100 or more. The business also will appear at Taste of Dubuque and Summerfest this summer - with the possibility of adding a few other festivals to the list - before officially hanging things up.
Still, even without regular hours, there has been plenty of interest from customers unwilling to come to grips with the prospect of Sugar Ray’s departure, Cynthia said.
“We still get calls every day for orders,” she said. “We are still getting people knocking on the door all the time.”
According to Cynthia, Ray’s passion for being in the kitchen was the driving force behind the restaurant’s success.
“Ray loves to cook,” Cynthia said. “That is the bottom line.”
Ray learned the art of cooking from his grandmother and continued to hone his skills while attending the University of Dubuque, frequently serving up Sunday meals to his classmates.
In the mid-1990s, he began serving his barbecue at the Dubuque Sports Complex a few nights per week. Ray Sanders opened his first restaurant in 1998, where he exclusively offered takeout.
Ray and Cynthia opened Sugar Ray’s BBQ, offering dine-in services for the first time. In 2003, they moved to University Avenue, where they have remained ever since. They also operated a second location at Kennedy Mall from 2009 to 2011.
Ray and Cynthia said they relied heavily on their “regulars.” However, in the last few years of running the business, they started to notice a following from out-of-town customers.
Ray credits the website Yelp for helping spread the positive word about his business.
While Ray was the culinary aficionado, he also made a concerted effort to emerge from the kitchen and interact with customers.
Reflecting on Sugar Ray’s time in Dubuque, those interactions stand out as a special part of owning the restaurant.
“That is probably my favorite part, getting to talk to all the customers who came in,” he recalled.
When analyzing their business’s long run, Ray and Cynthia are quick to deflect the credit for such success.
Ray said his wife has always been his “right-hand man,” noting that she handled the books, worked the register and oversaw the bulk of operations during Sugar Ray’s stint in the mall.
Cynthia noted that the couple’s two sons also made significant contributions to the business along the way.
But at the end of the day, she heaps most of the credit on her husband.
“You hear the expression that people are married to their work . well that’s how it really was,” she said.
Ray juggled his duties at the restaurant with a steady job at John Deere Dubuque Works, where he worked in the security division.
He recalls many days when he would start working at 9 a.m. and continue for 12 consecutive hours. By the time he got home, he barely had the energy to fix a drink and flip on the TV.
The work often was hard, the days exhausting. But as he gets ready to bid farewell to Sugar Ray’s, Ray Sanders regrets nothing.
“I would do it all again if I had the opportunity,” he said.
___
Information from: Telegraph Herald, https://www.thonline.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.