Downtown Naperville restaurant launching new dining car concept this weekend
Riff Menza feared his downtown Naperville restaurant was nearing its breaking point.
Features Bar & Grill had so far weathered the economic storm of the COVID-19 pandemic. But an indoor dining ban implemented in late October created a downward spiral and left Menza grappling with how to continue serving customers through the winter.
His new lifeline? Three bright red railcars stationed outside his Chicago Avenue business.
The structures have been transformed into small dining cars, designed to withstand the winter elements and meet state requirements for offering outdoor service, Naperville Public Works Director Dick Dublinski said.
Each is equipped with heating and ventilation systems that circulate air while keeping temperatures at a comfortable level, he said.
One railcar has two booths and a table, each of which can seat four to five people. The second railcar has three tables that can seat four each and two more tables that can seat two each. And the third railcar is set up with a counter, Menza said.
Shields have been installed between each table, and large doors and windows were cut into multiple sides of the boxcars.
"Features' number one concern was to make sure these railcars are a safe environment for their customers to dine in," Dublinski said.
The restaurant is taking reservations and will begin serving customers this weekend in the dining cars, created through a pilot project with city and community partners. The first two were delivered last week, and the third - a locomotive bar car - was installed Friday.
With tents in short supply and not a particularly sustainable option, city officials have been brainstorming creative ways for downtown businesses to offer outdoor dining in the cold weather, Dublinski said.
The boxcar concept stemmed from a photo taken by Dublinski's wife while she was in New York City. If shipping containers could be converted into homes, he said, a similar structure could be used for dining.
Menza fully embraced the idea, agreeing to cover the roughly $7,000 cost of buying and outfitting each boxcar, city officials said. The public works department then worked with private contractors to design and build out the dining cars before delivering them downtown.
Also involved in the pilot project are the Downtown Naperville Alliance and the Naperville Development Partnership, which are gauging interest in expanding the concept at other establishments.
"If it's done nothing else, (the pandemic) has made people think outside the box about what we need to do to survive," Menza said. "I was either going to go all in and make something happen, or sit here and let it fail. I refused to let that happen."