Elkibou’s Great Outdoor Food Cart Park has been in the making for three years. There have been setbacks, sidesteps, contractor hoops, and permit hurdles— but the dream has endured.

A great deal of credit must be given to Mike McGinn, who has labored over this project while remaining positive and chewing through frustrations without ever losing enthusiasm. The project required flexibility, but McGinn has shown great integrity in his refusal to cut corners.

Walking through the nearly completed food cart park last month, located behind the Sunriver Post Office on Enterprise Drive, McGinn made notes on the different parts of the property, which was teeming with construction workers busy leveling and pouring pavement.

“All underground utilities. Very clean. Very modern. Very expensive and very complicated,” McGinn said with a laugh. “But these guys figured it out,” he added, gesturing toward the hard-working men in orange shirts.

McGinn painted the picture of the Oregon Trail theme that he had envisioned for so long. Similar to the way covered wagons would form a circle in the evenings, with a bonfire in the middle, his assortment of food carts are set up to surround two custom-built firepits.

Two hundred years ago, travelers on the Oregon Trail would have gathered in the evenings to share stories in the glow of the firelight. Elkibou’s provides a modern-era venue for gatherings, music, food, and plenty of tales.

“Nothing pretentious. Come here all sweaty, get off your bikes, or off the course, straight from fishing, stinky. That’s why we’re here,” said McGinn.

Elkibou’s will hold four food carts, plus two more beverage carts. One space is currently being held in hopes of a promising Thai cuisine cart, which Sunriver currently lacks. McGinn plans to have one or two additional rotating carts to keep things fresh and interesting.

Even in the thick of construction, before the food carts were parked or open for business, McGinn made it easy to visualize—the smell of barbecue, fresh-cut grass, excited children and adults relaxing in the colorful retro chairs. The acoustics of a band echoing from the pavilion, friendly chatter from cornhole games, and a soothing Old West water feature to ground it all.

Although McGinn flies airplanes full-time for a living, he has poured hours of time, energy, and passion into Elkibou’s. He knows the park down to the square inch. Under the warmth of the summer sun, or sipping a beer under the stars at night, the three-year-long dream has become a reality.

Plans to expand will continue since Elkibou’s is constructed to provide space to grow. There’s an ongoing vision of indoor seating areas with televisions, additional restroom facilities, and many more perks such as an inflatable projection screen for community movie nights.

“We’re excited to get some lower priced eats,” said Kent Elliot, executive director of the Sunriver Chamber of Commerce.

Elliot prodded McGinn to explain the origin of the Elkibou moniker. McGinn grinned and went into his story.

“My brother’s a doctor in Southern California. He comes up here and visits and loves it. He sees the elk in my backyard and he calls them caribou. I say, ‘No, those are elk.’ And the next time he goes, ‘Look, caribou.’ I tell him there are no caribou in Oregon, as far as I know. It’s been an ongoing joke for 10 years now. So it’s half elk, half caribou. Elkibou’s.”

A silly joke between siblings, turned dream, trimmed and toiled and brought into reality with the hard work of many. Ultimately, thanks to McGinn, Elkibou’s will feed and entertain residents from Sunriver, La Pine, and Bend, along with all of those traveling through, making their own Oregon journeys. •