'Time To Come Home': Mokena's 'Dock' In Final Push Before Opening

MOKENA, IL — It's been a grind since Rick Trafton leased the space at 11116 S. Front St., but he's sure it will be worth it.

The owner of long-awaited The Dock On Front Street, Trafton knows the pressure is on to deliver a unique addition to Mokena's downtown—something that will inspire other entrepreneurs to try, too. Trafton scooped up a piece of Mokena history, a spot where even he has memories from decades earlier.

"I remember, vaguely in the mid-70s, coming up here with my mom," Trafton told Patch.

He'd ride his bike alongside her, he said, as she stopped in to buy bread or meat.

Touring the space brightened with trendy board and batten walls and a fresh coat of paint, Trafton reminisces on the space that he's held dear for years.

"So, this is cool," he said. "So this is kind of like a coming home tour."

The building has had many iterations: saloon, grocery store, family restaurant. Now in final steps of his own build-out, Trafton touched on what he's hoped to bring out in reinventing it, yet again.

"We feel like there's no place like this in the area," Trafton said.

"We're like the Mayflower on Front Street," he said. "Hopefully this is going to spur a lot more growth."

When Joliet's Dock at Inwood shut the lights off in late-2023, Trafton was already thinking of next steps. Ideally, they'd have found a spot they could slide into with little delay, back up and running within a few months.

The Joliet location closed after difficulties negotiating a lease with the Joliet Park District, which owned the space. As word spread of the closing, many tried to tug Trafton in different directions—nudging him to open in places like Plainfield and New Lenox—but his heart called him home to the town his parents moved to in the '60s, and where they raised their family. He had his heart set on a certain 3,000 square feet, right smack-dab in the middle of the town where he grew up.

Trafton grew up in Mokena, attending first grade at Carpenter School, a building that now houses Mokena's Village Hall. He went on to third grade at Mokena Elementary, fourth and fifth grades at Willowcrest, and his high school years were split between Lincoln-Way East and Central. He later met Julie, married and relocated to Joliet. The Dock at Inwood was a hit locally, notching a successful five years and gaining plenty of fans along the way.

After successfully weathering the COVID-19 pandemic with a little ingenuity and the creation of its margarita "Flights On The Fly," Trafton spun that momentum into a food and beverage truck for special events, complimenting the offerings at its space at Inwood. Since the onset of COVID-19, The Dock has sold more than 500,000 margaritas, and the food truck is booked at 200 events each year, Trafton said. He noticed many of their customers came from the Lincoln-Way area; it was now or never to grab hold of that prime space on Front Street.

From the start, Trafton's wife Julie envisioned barn wood and plenty of white to brighten the space—and that vision came to fruition.

Garage doors facing Front Street flood the bar with natural light—and give nosy passersby a glimpse of the progress inside. The bar is custom-crafted, and its top holds its own history, built of wood from the structure's rafters. The wood dates back to the 1850s, Trafton said.

"We wanted to bring some of the old, some of the history of the building back into the ballgame," Trafton said.

Through a hallway, a private event space is designed with a greenery backdrop against one wall, available for rental and able to accommodate 50 people. The design was largely Julie's, Trafton said, with an aim to meet a need in the area.

"Julie wanted something that's Instagram-worthy," he said. "This was her driving force, too, because private parties are huge. And there's not a lot of space available in the area for these private parties."

Chef Guillermo Garcia is talented, Trafton said, and they'll keep much of the proven favorites from their previous menu—ranging from salads to barbecue, chicken to steak, tacos, burgers and a signature mac and cheese—with some new touches and features. Classics like sausage and peppers and nachos.

"We're going to bring back some of the great stuff we had in Joliet that we're known for," he said. "Like, we smoked the corned beef, and we made it into pastrami."

They'll likely introduce grouper to the menu, and a grouper Reuben sandwich, he said. Weekend menus will see some tweaks and specials, he said.

"That's where he's going to have fun," Trafton said. "We're going to have our core menu, which is going to be really solid. It won't be crazy, but it's going to be solid choices.

"And then once we get to weekends, we're going to be doing the Filet Fridays. We're going to bring in some prime rib. ... We want to introduce some really cool stuff on weekends because we really don't know what the community really wants, because it's been so underserved."

A marinated pork chop will also grab a spot on the menu—special to Trafton, in particular.

"My mom's favorite meal—a pork chop," Trafton said. "So I think that's kind of safe. That's my mom looking down—there's going to be a pork chop on the menu."

Their independence as a business gives them the ability to pivot easily, he said.

"We're not a chain," Trafton said. "So, if we see a trend where someone's going to want something different, we can pretty much do that on the fly."

Trafton hopes to incorporate a "celebrity chef" spot in the future, as well.

"Someone from the community who's got a killer dish," he said. "Bring it in, and we'll throw it out there. ... We'll see how it plays out."

Their perfectly-tweaked margarita mix will stay the same, and they'll offer 25 flavors. He also plans to introduce muddled margaritas.

Classic cocktails like martinis, an old-fashioned, a Manhatan and others will also be featured. Tiered wines will be available—starting with house wines and offering other options priced up from there.

"We're going to have a nice, a nice array for everyone," Trafton said. "I mean, I think that kind of bar kind of tells us we need to do something nice with it. It looks so good, we're going to have to give her some respect, put some good stuff up there."

Final phases of work are underway—flooring was installed last week—and Trafton is mulling a late-June opening. Hiring will begin soon, and he'll have some time planned to train staff.

Mokena Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melissa Fedora said they're eager for the restaurant's opening.

"The Mokena Chamber of Commerce is so happy to welcome this new addition to our downtown!" Fedora said. "Owners Rick and Julie have already shown their commitment to enhancing downtown not only opening their restaurant here, but also through participation in downtown events.

"For the past few years they’ve participated in the Village of Mokena’s Food Trucks on Front Street taking place on the first and third Wednesdays from May to September. Rick was also on the steering committee for the Mokena Chamber’s inaugural Front Street Fest which was held from May 16-18 in the Metra parking lot.

"We have heard loud and clear the community's desire for more nightlife and events in Mokena’s downtown, and this new and exciting business aligns perfectly and complements the existing businesses in the area."

A grand opening in late June or early July, he's thinking. He's eager to swing open this very special door in his childhood hometown.

"It was time to come 'home,'" he said.

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