Dec. 8—STERLING — After 15 years of climbing up in the food service industry, Edgar Xique has finally realized his dream of owning a family-run restaurant.
Primo’s Bar & Grill opened Friday in the former Wagon Wheel restaurant at 1711 W. Fourth St. The restaurant serves old-fashioned American cuisine, including omelets, pancakes, breakfast skillets, as well as dinner platters and sandwiches.
Xique started his food service career as a dishwasher but was always hungry to learn more.
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“In most kitchens, everyone typically starts out as a dishwasher,” Xique said. “As time goes by, you learn and move on to become the prep guy and then the cook. But after 15 years in the restaurant business, I decided it was time I opened my own.”
Xique also works as a department manager at Buffalo Wild Wings in Sterling. He said he started looking for a location for his restaurant a few years ago but had trouble finding the right place until last summer.
“Either the rent would be too high or the location was too far away from town,” Xique said. “There’s not a lot of places to eat on this side of Sterling, and this place gives people another option without having to drive across town.”
Although Xique knew how to run a restaurant, starting and operating a business was new. That is where the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Dixon’s Sauk Valley Community College stepped in.
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The center is part of a statewide network of small-business development centers receiving grant funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration. It provides no-cost business consulting, training and resources to help small businesses grow and succeed.
SBDC Director Justin Bergman said the center serves businesses across northwest Illinois, including Lee, Whiteside, Ogle, Carroll, Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties. He said that over the past year, the center has helped 20 new businesses and advised more than 200 clients while helping them secure over $2 million in funding.
“We help anyone with a business idea in all phases of development,” Bergman said. “We can be a sounding board, help with a feasibility study, conduct market research and more. In Edgar’s case, we helped get his LLC started and helped map out all of the requirements for starting the restaurant and obtaining financing.”
Bergman said aspiring entrepreneurs can visit the SBDC website at sauksbdc.com to request a consultation for services.
Primo’s Bar & Grill will hold a ribbon-cutting at noon Monday, Dec. 16. The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, and Xique said the bar will open soon, operating from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
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