CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) showed his support for small businesses by stopping by Husky Hog BBQ Food Truck on Small Business Saturday.

Business owners Joe and Lauren Woodel have deep Southern roots and years of training and experience in competitions sponsored by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and Illinois Barbeque Society. They opened Husky Hog BBQ Food Truck almost two years ago as one of the first businesses to receive a Mobile Food Dispenser license in Chicago when Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved the concept.

“Starting our business was a very long and confusing process, especially because this was a brand new type of small business concept to Chicago,” said Lauren Woodel. “Husky Hog BBQ LLC was formed in February 2012 but the food truck didn’t open until July 2013."

The total cost to get the truck up and running from scratch was just over $100,000. Maintaining the food truck also includes hefty costs, with gas alone averaging $800 every month. Other expenses include food costs, rent for the rented kitchen, insurance, employee/tax fees and more. Lauren Woodel has taken entrepreneurial courses, seminars and training sessions including an intensive business development course through the Small Business Administration.

“The American Dream is alive here in Chicago,” Lauren Woodel said. “There is nothing like owning your own business.”

Husky Hog BBQ placed 9th in the Mobile-Cuisine.com 2014 BBQ Food Truck Of the Year contest out of nearly 2,000 participants. Their success with Husky Hog BBQ Food Truck has led them to open a brick-and-mortar Husky Hog BBQ Restaurant located 335 W. 31st Street in Bridgeport.

“Behind each small business is a family’s hopes and dreams” Senator Kirk said. “Small businesses symbolize the ingenious innovation of Chicago.”

Senator Kirk created the Small Business Bill of Rights which is composed of policies that will create a pro-growth environment giving business owners the certainty and confidence they need to start hiring again. This goal can be achieved by suspending burdensome regulations, reducing healthcare costs, accelerating the exploration and production of domestic energy and enacting tax reform policies that end many of the expenditures in the return for lower overall rates. Senator Kirk is an original cosponsor to Senate Resolution 548, which designated November 29, 2014 at Small Business Saturday.

“Small businesses deserve an environment where the federal government does not stand in the way of their success with overregulation, over taxation and limited access to capital,” Senator Kirk said. “Let’s work together to make Chicago the Small Business Capital of our nation."

Small Business Saturday was created in 2010 by American Express to encourage people to shop at small businesses. Last year, Small Business Saturday generated $5.6 billion in sales nationally for locally-owned retailers and restaurants. In 2013, over 1,670,000 small businesses were registered in Illinois, according to the Small Business Administration.

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