Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SUGAR RAY'S BBQ
SUGAR RAY'S BBQ. Raymond Sander's began his cooking in Chicago as a child. Years later, he offered his barbecue at local festivals and fairs and was soon involved in catering. In 1997 he sold his barbecue a few nights a week in the bar at the Dubuque Sports Complex. Later he moved the business to a small building on West 12th Street at the edge of the FARMERS' MARKET and opened Sugar Ray's which offered exclusively take-out.
In 2000, Sugar Ray's opened as a dine-in and carry out restaurant at 951 Main Street in Dubuque, Iowa. He moved to KENNEDY MALL for two years using a location at 1106 University in which to smoke meat. In 2004 he moved his entire operation to University Avenue.
During the summer of 2016, the restaurant stopped accepting carry-out orders and dine-in customers. The business remained in the catering business on orders of one hundred dollars or more. In March 2017, owners Ray and Cynthia Sanders announced the business would close in the fall with Ray's retirement. Plans called for travel and competing in more barbecue competitions.
---
Source:
Montgomery, Jeff. "Sugar Ray to Take BBQ on Road," Telegraph Herald, March 20, 2017, p. 1A