A new Mexican cuisine restaurant, Freddie’s Off The Chain, recently opened up in downtown Oswego on Apr. 1. However, Freddie’s is already more than familiar with the food business, starting out as a food truck after the passing of the owner’s son, Freddie.
Freddie’s General Manager, Armando Duran, said, “My older brother’s name was Freddie…he had battled with drug addiction, and he ended up passing in 2017. My mom [Mona Herrada] was kind of lost, but my brother always wanted her to open a restaurant, so that’s kind of how the taco truck started going.”
After six years with the taco truck, Duran and Herrada continue to work as a family and treat the customers as such in their brick-and-mortar location at 11 S. Madison St.
“We’re family-run, family-owned, and we love interacting with the people here, whether it’s me, my mom, my stepdad, or my brother, there’s always somebody that’s part of the family here,” Duran said.
Helping out the community is a high priority for Freddie’s Off The Chain, as they still use their taco trucks to support local events in and around Oswego, like homecoming.
“When we started doing homecoming after the pandemic, we were doing the homecoming dance outside, and so we didn’t want to put the students in a situation where they wouldn’t have food,” OH counselor April Ponte said. “Mona was the first [person] that I reached out to.”
Ever since 2021, Freddie’s Off The Chain has served OH students at the annual homecoming dance. And four years later, their restaurant opened, albeit with a few challenges.
“We had our couple [of] little rough patches in the beginning. Ticket times were taking a little long. We were understaffed in the kitchen, so we were kind of anxious to get the doors open,” said Duran.
However, they persevered and formed a solution.
“We started off with the full menu, and until we get the full-time cook in here and [get] them trained properly, the owners decided to cut back on the menu just to [be] quicker making items and whatnot,” said server Kim Petry.
Despite the slight setback, they fixed a problem so that their customers could have the best experience possible.
“The food came out relatively quickly, relatively standard, and the food was–my food was good,” said OH senior Nathan Barry. “They smashed the chicken out of the park.”
The restaurant is also determined to provide a great outdoor space to eat in Oswego as the weather heats up this summer.
“They’re going to have live music on the weekends and 10 TVs outside, so it’s going to be great for sporting events and everything,” Petry said.
From a food truck to a restaurant with a lively patio, Freddie’s Off The Chain has made great strides to get to where they are now. Oswego is grateful for their support in the community and their delicious food.
“From the very first year at PraireFest, the way Oswego opened up their arms and just welcomed us into the community, there was never a question of what town we were going to put [the restaurant],” said Duran.
I am a senior and this is my first year as a student journalist for 42Fifty. I currently play the trumpet in the OHS Marching Band and I am a member of BIONIC as well. I am excited for learning and gaining experience in journalism this year. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
