Iconic Wonderdog back in business

Joy Vogel worked at the East Peoria Velvet Freeze for 23 years before it closed down on Jan. 26.

So when she got the phone call about getting her old job back at the new Wonderdog restaurant months later, the 61-year-old of East Peoria did not think twice about accepting the position.

“When it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood,” she said, while taking a break at the new Wonderdog. “I’m so glad to be back. It’s a fun place.”

While some of the faces are the same behind the counter, new owners Rob and Lin Terlesky have changed up the menu and are stressing the differences between the old and new restaurant located in the same
building in Fondulac Plaza.

“It’s so important for people to know it’s not Velvet Freeze anymore,” Lin Terlesky said. “It’s a whole different operation.”

Former owner Kevin Thomas said he was forced to close the iconic business because he was “struggling financially.” Both the East Peoria restaurant along with the Campus Town location in Peoria shut down, leaving Peoria area residents without the famous Wonderdog.

The Terleskys also are the owners of Winkler Meats Inc. in Peoria, the supplier of meat sauce on the Wonderdog since 2005.

When Velvet Freeze closed, Winkler Meats received multiple calls from people asking for the meat sauce, the couple said.

And that is how the business venture came to be.

“Our choices were we could do retail and put it in all the stores … or we could just try to open a store ourself,” Lin Terlesky said. “Basically, the reason we opened the store was to recoup our loses.”

The previous owner was in debt to Winkler Meats. But just how much, Lin Terlesky would not say, only that

“It’s an awful lot of money.”

Winkler Meats made a “good profit” distributing to the five Velvet Freeze locations before they closed down, she said. The decline in revenue was another reason for opening the new restaurant.

“There aren’t a whole lot of Ma’ and Pop places out there,” she said. “We’re the last surviving middle man distributor that can sell to everybody else that’s not a national chain.”

While the store has been open since May 17, the restaurant hosted its grand opening on Saturday.

With one health inspection under their belt, just about everything is in place, they said.

“We got a 96 out of 100,” she said. “We were very pleased. Everyone keeps saying, ‘My gosh it’s so clean in here.’”

The restaurant hired back six employees who previously worked at the East Peoria Velvet Freeze, said Rob Terlesky.

“They knew how to make the shakes, they knew how the grill worked,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of training involved.”

As for the changes, the restaurant added “Wonders” (like Dairy Queen’s Blizzards), gyros, Italian beef, pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, Vienna Beef Chicago-style hotdogs and Philly steak sandwiches, among others.

“We tried to incorporate more,” Rob Terlesky said, adding you cannot eat a Wonderdog every day. “We’re happy with the amount of business we’ve received in a short time frame.”

The restaurant is committed to a five-year lease, and already, they are looking to expand to Peoria by the first of the year, they said.

“Eventually, we’d like to get a location opened in Peoria soon,” Lin Terlesky said. “(The Wonderdog has) been around for 45 years. It’s a good quality product.”

The Terleskys’ goal is to eventually pass off the East Peoria business to their daughter and son-in-law.

“The whole goal is to get them trained and let them manage it,” she said.