It's Your Business: 2nd Bombay Indian Grill plans fine dining
Bombay Indian Grill, a restaurant that serves northern Indian food in a casual Campustown setting, will open a second restaurant catering to customers interested in a fine-dining experience.
The owner, Kishan Sharma, has leased the former Basmati Indian Cuisine restaurant at 302 S. First St., C, and plans to open another Bombay Indian Grill there about the second week of September, he said.
Sharma says the scarce parking and largely student clientele in the Campustown area weren't compatible with the fine dining atmosphere he wanted to offer. So he decided to add that at a second location.
He plans to serve alcohol and add about 15 to 20 new items to the menu at the new restaurant, he said.
Helping him get the new place up and running will be his father, Tikka Sharma, a longtime chef who operates a restaurant in Chicago. He and his son also operate another restaurant together in DeKalb.
Kishan Sharma says Bombay Indian Grill uses some of his father's recipes, and customers can expect the menu at the new restaurant to continue offering dishes that are fresh, light and healthful.
Hiring is under way for cooks and servers for the new location, he said.
Not just for food courts
Panda Express, which operates one of the spaces at the Market Place Mall food court, has been adding freestanding restaurants in the Midwest, and will be opening one in Champaign early next year.
The California-based chain will open a 2,200-square-foot dine-in restaurant in a new building under development at 2521 N. Prospect Ave., C, according to Jim Tarpey, Midwest real estate manager for Panda Express.
The new building, which is about 6,400 square feet, is being undertaken by Panda Express' preferred developer, CFT Development, and will have spaces available for some other tenants, he said.
Panda Express expects to have more than 1,200 locations in operation by the end of the year, and most of them are locations outside malls, he said.
One freestanding location opened recently in front of the White Oaks Mall in Springfield, and the chain is also looking for new locations in Peoria and Bloomington, Tarpey said.
New thrift store opening soon
Two churches will turn a house at 607 W. Elm St., U, into a new thrift store called Twice as Nice.
The store is set to open Aug. 30, and will sell clothing, housewares, bed linens, collectibles, books, CDs, games and other items.
The house has been owned for several decades by First Presbyterian Church of Urbana, and volunteers of that church and the Korean Church of Champaign-Urbana will operate the shop under the direction of First Presbyterian Church member Kay Beverly, who said she has 28 years of retail experience. Money made at the store will help maintain the house and support church mission projects.
Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Parking is available in the adjacent church lots.
Diet business expanding
Debi Allhands, who operates 4 Health's Sake in Danville, will operate a second location in Savoy at 2105 N. Dunlap Ave. She says she plans to be open there the week of Labor Day, but is already accepting clients by phone at 443-2256.
Allhands creates individual diet plans for clients by administering a breathing test that measures their metabolic rates and determines how many calories they need each day to lose or maintain weight. She also offers optional meetings to coach her clients.
For information, see the Web site at www.debsdiet.com.
Open houses/grand openings
– Many Curves for Women fitness centers in the area will hold open houses Monday and Tuesday.
Among those participating are Curves in Urbana, Savoy, Tuscola, Mahomet, Rantoul, Paxton, Tolono, Monticello and St. Joseph. (The Champaign Curves location won't be participating.)
The open house at each location will include refreshments, door prizes and discounts of 66 percent off the enrollment charge for the first 50 people who enroll, according to Brenda Stoltzfus, owner of Curves in Urbana.
– The Playground, the new 18-hole glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course at Arrowhead Lanes Bowling Center, 1401 N. McKinley Ave., C, is celebrating its grand opening through the end of today.
Customers buying a round of golf are entered in drawings for prizes, which include a Playstation 3 game console. The winners will be posted at www.ArrowheadLanes.com.
Name change
Lipton Animal Hospital at 908 E. Main St., U, has changed its name to Good Friends Animal Hospital, but the staff remains the same. Dr. D. Isabel Cole, formerly Dr. Delores Lipton, said she changed the name of the animal hospital as a result of her own name change.
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.
