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Integrity
Honesty
Professionalism
Family
Friendship
Happiness
Passion
We care mightily about
what we do and how we
do it. We have a genuine
love for our business and
a desire to make people
happy. We enjoy creating
lasting memories.
Commitment
To our ourselves
To our team
To our guests
To our community
Quality
We use the best available
and most appropriate
products for each purpose.
Hospitality
Our goal is to elevate your
guests experience through
warm, friendly, and
comfortable hospitality.
We work with our family
and our friends, so
employees embrace
our culture. We are for
you and your guests.
Service
Our high caliber staff
works as a team to
anticipate guest’s needs.
We continuously train our
staff which is ultimately
reflected in superior
guest service.
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Dave Raymond, aka Sweet Baby Ray, namesake of the second best selling barbecue sauce in the nation, opened Sweet Baby Ray's Wood Dale Barbecue Restaurant in June of 2005. Raymond negotiated the opportunity to open four restaurants with the Sweet Baby Ray's banner when they sold the sauce business a few years ago. Wood Dale was a natural, since it is only a half-mile from his home.
The 36-seat space reveals Raymond's attention to every aspect of the business, from the décor to the menu. Booths are hand-carved out of solid blocks of wood. The cherry red floor comes from a plantation in Louisiana. Food trays are galvanized tin, to imitate the décor of Chicago-style barbecue restaurants from the '50s and '60s. A bookcase full of barbecue books, barbecue posters, and even a chronological historical series of Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce bottles adorn the walls. Other accents depict Chicago landmarks. A display of sports memorabilia includes the last Cubs banner to hang in Candlestick Park traded by the field crew for five pork sandwiches. There is also a unique collection of Sweet Baby Ray's personal memorabilia from the "West Side, Best Side" where he was raised.
The counter service restaurant features an authentic urban barbecue menu with a southern flair and Cajun influence. Menu items include the expected: such as hand-pulled pork sandwiches, smoked beef brisket, baby back and St. Louis Ribs and smoked chicken all slathered with Chicago's favorite Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce, and of course Sweet Baby Ray's baked beans. Guests will also find the unexpected: corn maque choux (whole kernel cream corn simmered in heavy cream with ham), onion, garlic and Cajun spices; Jamaican jerk chicken and excellent shrimp po' boy sandwiches. And then there's the completely unexpected: green chile mac n' cheese or guests might try "The Duce," a grilled all beef bologna sandwich topped with pulled pork, coleslaw and a money-back guarantee. One might also not expect to find great desserts at a BBQ joint like this, but don't miss the banana pudding or the chocolate mud pie - they are definite pleasers.
Dave Raymond has a passion for excellence and authenticity. "Our business is committed to serving only the very best quality products, providing great service, and warm friendly hospitality - the kind that you would offer to someone in your own home. Our core values are to always do the do the right things for the right reasons." To that end, Sweet Baby Ray's has a very highly talented staff of employees from top to bottom that differentiates them from other typical restaurant businesses you might be familiar with. "How many barbecue restaurants do you know that have a whole staff of professionally trained chefs?" asks Dave Raymond.
Raymond feels that he has the winning formula; since the opening, the operation has received regular accolades as one of the top barbeque joints in Chicagoland fueling rapid growth and creating a demand for expansion into Catering, requiring an increase in the size of the original restaurant.
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