KENOSHA, Wis. — The iconic downtown eatery Trolley Dogs was shuttered Thursday, with a handwritten “Closed” sign greeting would-be customers at the door. The abrupt closure follows an ownership change earlier this month and what Kenosha County health officials say were licensing oversights.
Mark Melotik of the Kenosha County Health Department confirmed to Kenosha County Eye that the business was operating without a proper food license. “Trolley Dogs was closed because they were operating without a license,” Melotik said. “We received the complaint today that they had changed ownership. We closed them up, let the city know they didn’t have a new occupancy. The city is also on them to get a new occupancy permit. We will not open them until they have an occupancy permit and they apply for a retail food license.”
City Administrator John Morrissey corroborated the timeline and added that the new owner officially applied for an occupancy permit on August 28. “It will take about 4–5 business days to process the permit and make all the required inspections—if they call in to schedule the inspections,” Morrissey said. “If there are issues, the process could be longer.”
Trolley Dogs, a staple on 6th Avenue for nearly two decades, quietly changed ownership on August 1, 2025. The new operator, Robert “Bobby” Warrender, admitted to KCE that he failed to file the necessary paperwork but said it was an honest mistake—not a public health issue. “There were no health code violations,” Warrender insisted. “It was just an oversight. The restaurant was recently inspected.”
He also accused Angela Preston, a former local restaurant operator, of filing the complaint maliciously. “She’s trying to extort me,” Warrender said. “When I didn’t give in, she filed the complaint.” He added that he recently called the police on Preston for stalking and has requested a restraining order.
Preston previously operated Grabs Burger, which shut down and Preston was left owing money to several vendors. She was recently jailed in one such case for contempt of court. In recent days, Preston has taken to multiple local Facebook groups, posting about the Trolley Dogs closure in what Warrender believes is an effort to damage his reputation.
Despite the drama, Warrender says he’s eager to reopen. “I’m looking forward to opening up very soon,” he said.
Health department and city officials both emphasized that once the necessary inspections are completed and licenses approved, the popular hot dog spot can resume operations.
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20 Responses
He’s not a pleasant person at all ! There’s many people talking that worked for him .
Ok preston
My marketing material I’m owed for it literally in the windows… all the vendors have worked with me directly with Rob present and fully consenting that I was doing the work. Who changed all the bills over with old ownership, got you a POS system, menus, HR materials, the list is endless.
One sided view. I truly thought he was a nice guy till I realized everything was a giant lie. There is no second food truck coming, there is no remodel of trolley dogs on the way, your food truck doesn’t even operate properly. I know- we tried fixing it how many times?!?…. I don’t need to ruin your reputation- you did that enough at the Snap On Event, and every other one you have shown up drunk too… seek help and make a plan to pay people back. Seems fair. That isn’t asking for much.
…but anyone that opens a restaurant, by definition should know that all sorts of city licensing, health department certifications and inspections are required.
That said, he said he had an inspection done. All good. Why didn’t that inspector see the lack of correct licenses on the wall ?
Or in the laptop he carries around ?
Isn’t there cross checking being done ?
It doesn’t say that he had an inspection done, only that and inspection was done, so we have no way of knowing exactly when and who the owner was at the time from his comments. I would like to think that a local government that has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into propping up downtown over all other City needs, would at least try and work with a business on this busy holiday weekend. If the previous owner would run it for say two weeks, wouldn’t there have been some way to issue a temporary/conditional permit? I’m thinking of the employees paychecks, not the new owners.
Government needs to look for solutions not roadblocks when “working” through technicalities.
However the previous owner has no obligation to expose themselves to liability for health or legally just because someone doesn’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.
Consequences are learning experiences.
Learn the laws.
He was horrible at the Snap -on event !
I’m suddenly in the mood for a Chicago dog! Where else can we get one in K-Town?
I think out on highway 50 West of 94 interstate dogs. I might have the name slightly wrong. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been out there
Baba’s cheesestekas on 75th near Morelli’s deli. Use to be Standing Room Only.
Simmons Island beach house
Hey fun one sided argument. Imagine just asking for a plan to be paid what you are owed isn’t stalking. It will All come out in the wash. It’s sad your family even said you were like this.
I wish Angela would pay the vendor’s she stuffed and the $200 plus thousand she owes the state of Wisconsin per her website. Karma
is a beautiful thing.
She has a website…? sounds like you’re fishing.
I just hope the place gets cleaned Because the first and last time I was in there, There were flies everywhere and none of the empty tables were washed off it was disgusting. And it wasn’t like they were very busy because there were people standing around doing nothing.And this was probably three years ago.
Tourist trap. [[
Well good luck in your dealings with the 3 stooges.You’d have been better off and open if you bought a politician in Kenosha.
Easiest way to get an occupancy permit is buy a politician. I speak from experience here and also in Milwaukee. Thieves with the protection of .gov
Iconic is a huge stretch
KCE reported there was a history of bad blood between the new owner and Preston. The posted comments demonstrated immediately that the reporting was accurate. My goodness.