The Dock Is Leaving Inwood, Joliet Park District Property

JOLIET, IL — In a bit of a stunner, brothers Mike and Rick Trafton announced late Friday afternoon that The Dock at Inwood is closing after being open for five years at the Joliet Park District property. "It is with sadness we announce that our last day of business at Inwood will be December 31. It is very unfortunate that we have not been able to come to an agreement on our lease."

The Traftons went on to add that "We can't thank you all enough for five wonderful years of support and memories ... from our Flights To Go with our mile long pickup lines which made our margaritas famous, our features on Windy City Live and our three Chartered Flight event trucks ... it was your support that helped us create all of that."

The Dock at Inwood may be ending, but the Trafton brothers are setting their sights on another location.

"Rest assured this not a goodbye. We would not abandon our Dock family and patrons. From this, we realized that we needed a better opportunity and a better location for growth. We are moving! And of course with no flight delays! Onward and upward. Exciting news coming soon! Stay tuned!"

For the past five years, the Dock was operated by Rick Trafton, the brother of one of the former Joliet Police Chiefs, Mike Trafton, who's also involved in the restaurant.

Patch reported that The Dock is nothing like Traditions Restaurant, which ended its lease after 10 years, in the summer of 2018, a mutual parting of ways with the Joliet Park District.

Since then, Rick Trafton did a total renovation of the restaurant and bar. He knocked out the long wall across the hallway from Inwood's Ice Arena.

He installed old barn wood to give the new sit-down restaurant a cozy feel.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in September 2020, Joliet Patch featured The Dock at Inwood in another story, noting how the Trafton brothers are always up to something wacky.

Rick Trafton and Mike Trafton both returned to Joliet with Chartered Flight No. 1, lime-green painted 2002 delivery van that had 209,000 miles on its odometer, but runs great, the Traftons said. "When the coronavirus hit, we had to be agile to keep the business going," Rick Trafton told Joliet Patch during an interview in front of Chartered Flight No. 1.

"And when the governor limited capacity and large gatherings, a food and margarita truck was going to be the way we go."

Since opening in December 2018, the Dock at Inwood featured a full-service kitchen and 21 margarita flavors. The Dock sold thousands of its enormously popular Margarita Flights. Most recently, Patch profiled The Dock at Inwood in March, in a story headlined, "It's Going To Be 1 Of The Best Sandwiches In Joliet."

On the heels of their annual Irish Fest and soda-bread baking contest, the owners of The Dock at Inwood rolled out their new restaurant menu, and co-owner Rick Trafton predicted that one of the new selections is about to become one of Joliet's premier sandwiches.

As of this month, The Dock at Inwood is now home to the pastrami sandwich. But it's not just an ordinary pastrami sandwich, Trafton stressed.

"It's going to be one of the best sandwiches in Joliet," Trafton assured Joliet Patch's editor. "It's house-made pastrami topped with Swiss cheese and fire slaw on Milano marbled rye. We're bringing a little East Coast delicacy here."

Rick Trafton said he was in Florida over the winter, and one of the restaurants he visited featured a pastrami sandwich.

"I tried it, and I went back four times," Trafton said. "Oh My God! I just fell in love with it, and I said, 'This is something we needed to incorporate at The Dock.'"

Related Patch coverage:

'It's Going To Be 1 Of The Best Sandwiches In Joliet': The Dock