By Chelsea Meyer
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — For some Red Robin restaurant goers, hitting the slider in its back parking lot may be their car’s last bite.

There’s only one way into Red Robin in Rockford, through a narrow street that leads in the back parking lot of the restaurant. The turn into the American burger chain’s lot has a curb that once stood empty until cars were running it over.

“The rock was put there because people kept driving over the curb, so they put the rock there so people wouldn’t drive over the curb and bottom out their cars, but now they’re hitting the rock,” said Jessica Strix, assistant manager of Red Robin, who has been working her buns off for the company for 10 years.

Since she’s been there, she says there have been a handful of cheesy mishaps with people crashing their cars.

Until one former employee and local artist, Alexia Schwegler, was asked if she could help solve the problem using a different yet creative approach.

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Schwegler worked for Red Robin as a server for over four years and says she recalls an incident with that same rock.

“Someone was in the corner table over here, waiting for their family to get here, the rest of them, and they just watched them flip their car in the parking lot,” Alexia said while reminiscing on the days she worked at the restaurant with her manager, Strix. “They were all OK, but obviously they were freaking out.”

With that, the 22-year-old Rockford artist ran to the store, grabbed her brushes, outdoor acrylic paint, and got to work on the massive gray stone.

Using UV resistant to spray the bun so it didn’t fade and lots of sealant, now stands a ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ that isn’t on Red Robin’s menu but one you surely can’t miss.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews is located at 7029 E State St.

Too many buns? This article was written by Chelsea Meyer: Email her at Chelsea@b103fm.com