When Gigi Irwin first opened The Burger Barge in 2002, she hoped to sell around 30 burgers per day and break even with expenses.







One decade later, the East Peoria institution not only sells 3,000 burgers each week, but is also preparing to open its second location in the coming months.







The Burger Barge’s other location will be at 123 Meadows Ave. after Irwin purchased the property from the East Peoria VFW Post. The building will be kept intact, but will be remodeled over the next several months for the restaurant.

When Gigi Irwin first opened The Burger Barge in 2002, she hoped to sell around 30 burgers per day and break even with expenses.



One decade later, the East Peoria institution not only sells 3,000 burgers each week, but is also preparing to open its second location in the coming months.



The Burger Barge’s other location will be at 123 Meadows Ave. after Irwin purchased the property from the East Peoria VFW Post. The building will be kept intact, but will be remodeled over the next several months for the restaurant.



“For the past four, four-and-a-half years, we’ve been looking very diligently (for a new location,)” Irwin said. “We had no intention of opening two (restaurants) here in East Peoria until we ran across the VFW building.”



Due to the size of the VFW building and its parking lot, Irwin will be incorporating several new ideas in the second Burger Barge.



Four themes will be invoked within the new location. Approximately 7,000-square-feet of the building will be dedicated to a family-friendly boardwalk and arcade area.



The former VFW lounge will become what Irwin called, “The Captain’s Quarters,” an upscale dinner area within the building.



“It will be as upscale as the Burger Barge can get, but we’ll add a few extra items like fresh crab meat on a burger and some different things like that,” Irwin said.



A coco-cabana ice cream venue will be offered on the south side of the building, which will feature both walk-up service and indoor seating.

The south side of the restaurant will become a beach club, which Irwin said will closely resemble the laid-back atmosphere of the current Burger Barge location on the river.



Irwin, who has been working hand-in-hand with her daughter, Jennifer Adams, at the Burger Barge for the last five years, saw several opportunity with the former VFW building.



“The two of us came up with some ideas thinking that it would be a wonderful opportunity for the Burger Barge to expand, offering the boardwalk theme with the arcades,” Irwin said. “With that much space and parking, it allows us to do those four basic concepts under one roof.”



No opening date has been set for the new location, but Irwin said she hopes to have The Captain’s Quarters and main kitchen open in June and implement the other aspects of the restaurant over the subsequent months.