It's your business: B&B plans Sweet Dreams in Pesotum

When Cheryl and Fred Smitley retired and decided to return to Fred's native central Illinois, they also took on a second career as innkeepers.

The Smitleys are now the proprietors of Sweet Dreams Bed & Breakfast, which opened recently in a restored 1902 Queen Anne-style home at 300 E. Adams St., Pesotum.

Sweet Dreams has three bedrooms – two with queen-size beds and one with a king-size – and two bathrooms.

Cheryl Smitley, a retired high school teacher from California, serves muffins and coffee and tea upstairs first thing in the morning and a full cooked breakfast downstairs at 9 a.m., she said.

Guests are also served a dessert and beverage in the evening.

Cheryl Smitley said her husband, a retired banker who also had a landscaping business, hails from Paris and still has family there. He wanted to live closer to them, and Pesotum offered just the house they were looking for to restore for a bed and breakfast.

"We looked at about 30 different properties. The house in Pesotum was definitely the best of the lot and was in good shape," she said.

The house still has its original woodwork and also offers gardens and sitting areas around the property.

For more information, call 722-5109, or see the Web site at www.sweetdreamsbnb.com.

Restaurant updates

Eastern Taste, an Asian restaurant at Savoy Plaza, is under new ownership and has changed its name to Saigon.

It features Chinese and Vietnamese food, including 30 kinds of dim sum, and there is no longer a buffet, said manager Nancy Young.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Jittrs Restaurant opened this past week at 106 S. Charter St. – the former location of The Bistro – on Monticello's downtown square.

Proprietor Tonya Reno is serving three meals a day, plus coffee and espresso drinks.

In addition to a variety of breakfast dishes, the menu includes burgers, grilled and fried chicken, sandwiches, create-your-own pasta, salmon, steak and pork chops.

Reno, also a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician, named the restaurant after her personality, she said. (And she left out the "e" in the name of her restaurant for a text-message effect.)

The restaurant has some computers for customers to use, along with Wi-Fi access.

Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Recent openings

Pet Supplies Plus, at the retail plaza at Kirby Avenue and Duncan Road in Champaign, is now open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Part of a national chain, the new Champaign store is a franchise venture by the company that owns local County Market groceries. It carries pet food for dogs, cats and small animals, cages and other supplies, plus fish and birds, said manager Donald Lane.

Community Plus Federal Credit Union's new branch at 1005 Bloomington Road, C, is now open. It has a lobby and drive-up window, and its financial services are available to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Champaign, Ford or Piatt counties.

Services include checking and savings accounts, auto loans, mortgages, certificates of deposit, IRAs and money market accounts.

Studio's summer session

Kathy Hughes, Urbana Middle School's retired art teacher, is now offering summer classes for children and adults at her new art studio in Rantoul.

Kaleidoscope Art Studio at 117 N. Garrard will hold its first session June 30 to July 10, with two two-hour sessions four days a week for fourth-graders through adults. Classes include basic sketching and drawing and 3-D crafts.

Hughes' husband, Dan Hughes, is also teaching a course in metal detecting and treasure hunting, with all equipment and supplies furnished. This class is open to fifth-graders through adults.

For more information, call 351-1680 or see the Web site at http://room200.com.

Need a paint job?

Ashley Valentine, a 20-year-old University of Illinois student, is operating a painting business this summer through College Works Painting.

She can be reached at 630-532-0669.

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.

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