Meet your Cook County neighbor: Terry Backlund
May 04, 2024 06:48AM ● By Editor
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A Boreal Community Media exclusive - May 4, 2024
Come learn more about Terry Backlund, your Cook County friend and neighbor, owner/broker of Backlund Realty.
A Boreal Community Media exclusive - May 4, 2024
Come learn more about Terry Backlund, your Cook County friend and neighbor, owner/broker of Backlund Realty.
You and your wife, Lori, are such a picture-perfect couple! Will you share your love story with us on how you two met?
We have known each other our whole lives. Our mothers were best friends in high school at CCHS. Lori's father grew up in Ohio and met her mother in Grand Marais as he was stationed at the Coast Guard during WWII. Lori's family has had a cabin on Devil's Track since the 50's, and they'd come to visit every summer. We bumped into each other in the summer of 2006 and the rest is history.
Where are some of your favorite spots that you have traveled to and why?
I like to experience something different. Because of this, I tend to favor Eastern Bloc countries. Budapest, Krakow, Minsk, Prague, and Vilnius are at the top of the list. Looking forward to visiting Minsk again.
As co-founder of Sven and Ole's Pizza, what do you think contributed to its amazing success over the years? What is your favorite pizza there?
Hmmm? A combination of a lot of little things. Betty B's Brownies and fabulous employees. We started with nachos. Then fishcakes. Soon thereafter we started selling our mother (Betty B's) pizza by the slice. We then added readymade slices when you walked through the door. Next came Delivery. Bumper stickers. Daily sales goals. Etc, etc.
The name of the business, the menu, and the taste of the food was all my brother Sid's doing. If it had been up to me, it would have been named Squig's Diner, and Chicken Noodle Soup and PB&J would be the only things on the menu.
I have a boring palate. Nothing but Pepperoni and Green Olive pizza for me.
For those reading this who do not know you, you are the successful owner of Backlund Realty. What are your thoughts on what has happened to the housing market in Cook County over the past few years? What do you predict will happen over the next couple of years?
I'm not surprised. Cook County is a great place to raise a family, as well as start a business or retire. As with any desirable locale, I predict a similar upward trajectory.
Do you ever list houses that you completely fall in love with and want to buy yourself? Or do you ever bring design ideas back to your own home?
Oh boy, do I ever. Constantly. It's a sickness. 
What are some of the things in your life that make you proud and bring you joy?
Our family has made Cook County home since 1893. The 6th generation just started kindergarten this year. Grand Marais has been very good to my family.
