Talking about a slab of ribs are, from left, Paco Nero, Ed Nero and Isaiah Nero. Envisioning how his restaurant — Big Ed’s BBQ — will change when it moves from its current Waukegan location a few hundred yards south and becomes more than five times larger, Ed Nero believes it will better be able to serve customers and the community.
Instead of one small kitchen where everything is done, Nero said there will be three kitchens, with each meeting a different purpose. People like Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education President Brandon Ewing said the new facility will do even more for the community than can be done at the current location.
Nero said the renovation will turn the banquet hall into an 18,000-square-foot facility — Big Ed’s is now 3,500 square feet — with a large dining room, a separate bar with dining tables, three kitchens and a private party room. Along with the kitchens serving different purposes, Nero said a space will be devoted to phone and online orders. He does not have the capacity or space to do that now. He knows there is also a market for shipping his food around the country.“We get calls from people who were stationed at the base,” Nero said. “They say they can’t find anything as good where they are. We’ll be able to ship them their order. We get 15 calls like that a month.