It's Your Business: Ex-Smokey Bones site to be Old Chicago
The Smokey Bones restaurant building at Market Place Mall – vacant since May 2007 – is getting a new occupant.
Old Chicago, a restaurant featuring pizza, pasta and beer, plans to open in the space at 1910 N. Neil St., C, on Sept. 14, according to Tom Connelly, who already operates an Old Chicago in Merrillville, Ind., with Mike Ruben.
"We're not only a restaurant, but a big sports bar," Connelly said. "We'll have 30 to 40 plasma TVs, and we'll have a pool table in the middle of the bar."
Old Chicago will offer 110 different beers and both thin- and thick-crust pizzas, with dough made fresh daily. At lunchtime, there will be a pizza bar buffet priced under $7.
The menu also includes pastas, calzones, stromboli, burgers, steaks and salads.
Old Chicago is a franchise of Louisville, Colo.-based Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., which has 63 Old Chicago restaurants and 39 breweries under the Rock Bottom, ChopHouse, SingSing and Walnut Brewery names.
Connelly, who lives in Schaumburg, operates 15 IHOP restaurants in the Chicago area and in Indiana, as well as the Old Chicago in Merrillville.
Hours for Old Chicago are expected to be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. Connelly said he expects to hire between 100 and 150 people.
Flooring store being built
Look for a new Flooring America store in Champaign, just south of Meijer on North Prospect Avenue.
"We'll be open Oct. 1," said Roger Pope of the 10,000-square-foot store being built at 920 W. Town Center Blvd.
Pope is president of Floor Covering Central, which has operated a Flooring America store in Decatur for 2 1/2 years and is planning a new one in Bloomington.
Flooring America carries carpets, hardwoods, ceramics, laminates, bamboos and other "green" products for floors. Pope said the store will have more than 17,000 samples.
Pope has spent 32 years in the flooring business, and his oldest brother has the Floor- ing America franchise in East Moline. Pope's partners in Floor Covering Central are Cody Garrett, Bryan Norton and Michael Riggs.
Pope expects the Champaign store to employ 12 people and subcontract with 16 installers.
Murphy's Pub expands
A longtime fixture in Champaign's Campustown is getting bigger.
Murphy's Pub at 604 E. Green St., C, is expanding into the former Bar Giuliani space to the east. Dale Holt, one of the owners of Murphy's, said he hopes the work will be complete by Aug. 1.
The restaurant/bar has been in Campustown for 40 years and is owned by Holt, Dave Murphy and Dave Block of Block & Holt Enterprises.
Holt credits Murphy's popularity to "realistic pricing" and "a cozy atmosphere."
The new space, or "annex," can accommodate private parties as well as the usual Murphy's crowd. Holt said Plank's Cabinet Shop near Arthur is building a "three-arch Brunswick bar" that will be the focal point of the annex.
The annex will also have windows that open up onto Green Street, he said.
Besides Murphy's Pub, Block & Holt Enterprises also operates the TGI Friday's restaurants in Champaign, Springfield, Bloomington and Effingham, as well as Legends restaurant in Campustown.
Panera opens third location
After a four-year hiatus, Panera Bread has returned to Campustown – this time at 616 E. Green St., C – in part of the space formerly occupied by the Mettler Center.
The corporate-owned store opened on Monday. It's the third Panera Bread store in Champaign, along with those at 1765 W. Kirby Ave. (Old Farms Shops) and at 1903 Convenience Place (near Market Place Mall).
Panera Bread's former store in Campustown – at 510 E. John St., C – closed in 2005.
Jewelry store at mall to move
Zales, the jewelry store that's now in the Macy's wing of Champaign's Market Place Mall, is expected to move to the mall's center court later this year.
Zales will be in the space most recently occupied by Great American Cookie Co. and Jewelry Lab.
Mall manager Dennis Robertson said construction is expected to start in August, with Zales slated to open in its new spot in October.
Home decor shop to close
Maggie's Place, which moved last year from the Round Barn Centre in Champaign to 1314 W. Church St., C, will close this summer.
Owner Diane Beckett said she and her husband are planning to retire and eventually move to Wisconsin.
"We have three grandchildren in Wisconsin and want to spend more time with them," she said.
Beckett owns Maggie's Place with her sister Nancy Powers. Some of the store's inventory will move to the other Maggie's Place, located in the Chicago suburb of Shorewood and run by Powers.
A final closing date has not been set yet. It may be in mid-July, Beckett said. Until then, items will be 25 percent to 60 percent off, including seasonal merchandise such as Christmas and Halloween decor.
The store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Beckett will close the store for the day on June 15 to attend a family event. More information is available by calling the store at 352-4406.
Grand opening planned
Heartland Bank and Trust Co. plans a grand opening celebration for its new branch at 1812 S. Philo Road, U, on June 30, with a drawing for a $250 Visa gift card. Customers have until then to register for the drawing.
The branch, which opened May 11, is Heartland's fifth office in the Champaign-Urbana area. It has drive-through banking and a 24-hour drive-up automated teller machine.
Lobby hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The drive-up is open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Danville Gardens to take two-month break
Danville Gardens at 1307 Cleary Ave., Danville, plans to close July 4 for a two-month vacation and reopen Sept. 1 for the fall season.
Owners Nathan and Lisa Campbell said they want to reassure customers that the business is not closing. They simply want time to vacation with their two children.
Outlet shops promo
This summer, Tanger Outlet Centers in Tuscola is running a "Summer With Friends" promotional campaign from June 15 to July 18.
The center is offering extra savings and incentives to customers who shop there in groups. The more friends, the better the rewards, such as free Tanger coupon books, totes and gifts from Harry and David.
To participate, you've got to pre-register at www.tangeroutlet.com or visit the outlet's shopper services center.
Staff writer Don Dodson contributed to this week's column.
Are you opening a new business or changing an existing business? Christine des Garennes can be reached by phone at 351-5388 or 800-252-3346; by e-mail at cgarenne@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.
Also on this date
- Social service agencies preparing for worst with cuts
- Mahomet man dies after being struck by car
- Champaign man faces drug, weapons charges
- Fire in Urbana apartment displaces 38-year-old, 2 kids
- Planning commission chief likens agency to corporation
- Cissna Park man's needs met without leaving home
- Major pane repairs will help with climate, pest control
- Several burglaries to houses, vehicles reported in C-U
- Lincoln Hall occupants clear way for potential renovations
- Obituaries