10 years and still chugging along

Diane Fiegen lost her husband, David, earlier this year, but she and her team continue to forge ahead in the business. Submitted photo

It certainly hasn’t always been easy, but Diane Fiegen and her devoted team at The Caboose are excited to be celebrating a decade of business this month

By Trina Thomas

There is a lot on The Caboose’s plate aside from amazing dishes like the Chicken Alfredo Pizza. And even though times are tough as The Caboose family celebrates 10 years of operation this week, they continue to be devoted to keeping things going on the highway.

Being a restaurant owner is a huge commitment and can at times make a person feel like they’re in an exclusive relationship to it. That’s not the only thing the partners have devoted their time to, as the Edwards brothers — John and Doug — farm and Diane Fiegen often had to leave the restaurant unexpectedly to help her late husband, David, with his illness before his death in May.

“We did not know the capacity of his illness when we purchased The Caboose,” said Fiegen. “He had pain standing on his legs for a long time.”

A year-and-a-half into the purchase, David continued to stay on as a partner even though he physically couldn’t work anymore.

“As he got sicker, it pulled me away more and more,” Fiegen said. “If it wasn’t our dream I would have walked away from it. There were a lot of times I couldn’t be there but this was something that I couldn’t control. We’d end up in Rochester and there were a lot of emergency-type situations. Luckily, our staff pulled together and the community helped us out when I was gone. The COVID thing has been a God-send in a way because it gives me something to focus on. After all, the restaurant industry is endless.”

See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.