A new sandwich shop will open in downtown Champaign later this winter.

To be called Fatboys Philly Shack, it will be located at 202 S. Neil St., in the small building where Neil Street splits off to Walnut Street.

Bruce Schiel, who retired from University of Illinois Administrative Information Technology Services, said he will operate the sandwich shop with Nick Adams. They plan to serve four or five different kinds of sandwiches and french fries, their specialty a Philly cheesesteak.

Schiel said he plans to have a lease signed soon and will start remodeling after that. He expects to open by late February or early March.

Planning to close

Jackson's Upholstery and Refinishing Co. at 128 E. University Ave., U, will close after the first half of the year, after 45 years in business.

Terry Jackson, the current owner, said he'll be retiring due to his medical condition.

"I had a heart attack, and I just can't get back into the groove of it again," he said.

Jackson said he discontinued taking new work at the shop at 3710 E. University Ave., just east of Urbana, at the end of December. He plans to finish the jobs already in the shop over the next six months or so, and then close and sell his equipment.

His dad, Gerald Jackson, started the business at 128 E. University Ave., C, in 1963.

Moved

Scanics has changed spaces at Illini Plaza. Its new address is 1821 S. Neil St., C.

Owner/managing partner Don Mapes said he is combining two companies under the Scanics name – a Xerox dealership and a document management company – and buying out his partner in the document management company.

Scanics remains a Xerox dealer and also sells scanners and provides such professional services as document imaging, large format imaging, CD and DVD duplication and database storage.

New hours

Browne's Fine Jewelry, 302 W. Kirby Ave., C, has changed its business hours. New hours starting this week are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The store is now closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Store closed for remodeling

Ten Thousand Villages in downtown Champaign will be closed in the week ahead to finish remodeling.

The store at 105 N. Walnut St. will reopen Saturday.

Ten Thousand Villages, which focuses on fairly traded handcrafted items, completed the first phase of its remodeling last summer and is closed this week to install new flooring, according to Nancy Olson, advertising manager.

In keeping with the store's interest in environmental sustainability, the new flooring will include recycled vinyl planking in the entrance area and recyclable carpet tiles in the rest of the retail area, she said.

Are you opening a new business or changing something at your existing business? Debra Pressey can be reached by phone at 351-5229 or 800-252-3346; by e-mail at dpressey@news-gazette.com; or by regular mail at The News-Gazette, c/o It's Your Business column, P.O. Box 677, Champaign, IL 61824-0677.