Dean and Sonya Otte had retirement dreams of turning Mimi’s Burger Boat into a reality.
Three years ago the couple started the boat-turned-restaurant in the Quad Cities to take the idea for a test drive.
Around 9:30 Sunday night, after a successful business weekend, the boat hit a wing dam near Clinton on Beaver Island.
The dam ripped a hole into the boat, causing it to quickly take on water through the kitchen floor.
For the Otte family, it was a frustrating rescue process.
“This is a quad cities plea,” said Sonya Otte. “We need a better plan. We need a rescue plan on that water. That wing dam isn’t marked. I was told when they did get us back to land that they have rescued numerous, numerous boats off that same wing dam because it’s not a marked wing dam you can see.”
The family did not make it back to land for about three and a half hours after the initial crash. They said it took up to an hour for anyone to arrive, and they were fearing for their lives.
The couple, a 12-year-old boy and two dogs were rescued from the boat with no serious injuries.
As of Monday evening, the boat is still submerged into the Mississippi. The Otte’s say they are being pressured by the Department of Natural Resources to remove their boat, but they aren’t sure how to affordably do so.
The Otte family has received “overwhelming” support from the community and some boaters have traveled to the scene to see what they can save.
Sonya Otte says they invested around $40,000 to kick start their business, and now it would take a “financial miracle” to save the business and repair damages.
A GoFundMe page has been started for Mimi’s, it can be found here.
Mimi’s Burger Boat also has a Facebook Page. The Otte family says they aren’t sure where to go from here, and are open to tyhe help they can get.
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