Long Beach train-themed restaurant to open soon

LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) - There’s a caboose in Long Beach that’s getting a lot of attention.

With a big part of the construction done, all that is left are few details before the Juicy Caboosy Juice Bar & Restaurant is open for business later this month.

Owners Alisa Von Dobeneck and Tomeka Bryant are longtime friends and still full-time railroad professionals.

So, it stands to reason any business venture of theirs would have a railroad theme.

“We were just sitting around talking about cabooses and Pullman cars and things like that, and this idea kind of just jumped in to our heads,” Bryant said.

The journey started in July 2021, and, right away, they made their biggest investment and commitment.

“We thought about this idea, and we were like, ‘Gosh, the world needs something happy - good vibes,’” Von Dobeneck said. “So, we bought a caboose that day - sight unseen.”

The 1947 caboose came from Pattonsburg, Mo. The residents loved it, but the city needed the space to build a community center.

“The town was so great to us,” Von Dobeneck said. “We showed up to pick up the caboose and there were like, ‘Oh, my gosh!’ They follow us on social media, they check in all the time. They made July 14 Juicy Caboosy Day in Pattonsburg for women in small business.”

The precious cargo arrived in Long Beach late last year.

And as the name implies, it will be a juice bar. But Van Dobeneck has an impressive culinary background with education in London and a stint as a contestant on MasterChef.

So, there will be a lot more on the menu.

“We’re going to have awesome sandwiches, salads,” she said. “We’re going to have charcudery, dips to go. It’s going to be a great casual menu. And then Tomeka is a juicing cocktail genius.”

And the women are happy to be in Long Beach.

“Just to bring this to Long Beach I think is just so special to both of us and I think it will be so special to the Long Beach community,” Bryant said.

Both are excited that their dream is about to come true.

“I mean this was a great business idea and, I mean, we are such great friends it has been so much fun and such a great journey for us to be on,” Bryant added.

The Juicy Caboosy will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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