It's Your Business: Fat Sandwich plans Champaign shop
When Cole Lewko and Adam Pearlman say they sell a "fat sandwich," they're not exaggerating.
They stuff 8-inch rolls with a smorgasbord of foods, lots of them fried. Things like cheese sticks, chicken fingers, pizza bites, cheesesteak, eggs, onion rings and burgers. Even the French fries go inside the buns.
Lewko and Pearlman opened their first Fat Sandwich Company restaurant in Norman, Okla., and have chosen Champaign-Urbana's Campustown for their second location. They plan to open at 502 E. John St., C, in early October.
Lewko said he and Pearlman met as students at Penn State, and in late 2006 set off on a tour of about 60 college towns across the country, looking for restaurant locations. They were looking for communities with a good night life, active athletic program and a good layout, he said.
"Our goal is to catch most of the student late-night traffic," Lewko said.
And he means late. They stay open until 3 a.m., and if you don't want to make the trip out at that hour, no problem. They deliver, he said.
The menu concept is all about great big sandwiches filled with the most delicious greasy foods, Lewko said.
A big seller called the Fat Milf is an eight-inch roll stuffed with cheesesteak, bacon, fries, chicken fingers, mozzarella cheese sticks, ketchup and mayo.
Add an egg to that and substitute a double cheeseburger for the cheesesteak, and you've got a sandwich called the Fat Magnum.
The menu also includes wraps, wings, double quarter-pounder burgers and breakfast.
Check out the menu at www.fatsandwichcompany.com. The food in Champaign will be pretty much the same, but some of the sandwich names, geared to University of Oklahoma Sooners fans, will be Illini-ized, Lewko said.
Consolidated
Kirby Tire & Service Center has merged two Champaign locations into one, closing the one at 101 S. Mattis Ave. and moving that operation to its shop at 311 S. Neil St.
Owner Mike Kirby said he lost his lease for the Mattis Avenue location and decided to move it into his existing shop on South Neil Street and add some services there.
The South Neil shop now offers complete engine, transmission and custom exhaust work along with tires, he said.
Moving
Maggie's Place is going to be someplace else.
The home furnishings shop at 503 S. Mattis Ave., C, will move soon to the neighborhood shop that used to house Grapevine Creations, a store no longer in business, at 1314 W. Church St., C.
One of Maggie's Place owners, Diane Beckett, said a moving sale is in progress. The store will be closed from Wednesday to Saturday to pack up, and the opening at the new address is set for Aug. 18.
The Church Street shop has been repainted, freshened up and given a more boutique environment, Beckett said. Maggie's Place will continue selling new, used and antique furniture plus home decor items – but the layout of the Church Street store will allow the items to be arranged in separate room vignettes. There will be a separate room for the two interior design consultants on staff, she said.
Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The store is closed on Sundays except during November and December.
Beckett owns the store with her sister, Nancy Powers, who also has a store by the same name in Shorewood.
Groovy chance!
Tell Great Harvest Bread Company what you loved about the 1970s in 750 words or less (I need only 18: James Taylor songs, "All in the Family" on TV and being young enough to wear a denim miniskirt) and you might win a prize – an Apple iPod Classic loaded with 1970s hits, a mirrored disco ball or a DVD of "Animal House" or "Jaws 2."
The contest is being sponsored by the Great Harvest chain to celebrate the decade it began opening bakeries. Essays will be judged "based on creativity, humor and satire or a combination thereof," the company says.
Entry forms can be picked up at the Champaign shop at 2149 S. Neil St., with Sept. 1 the deadline to enter.
For information, see the Web site at www.greatharvest.com.
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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- Obituaries