Ants in Their Pants, the children's play facility at Champaign's Country Fair Shopping Center, is closing for good. Today is its last day, according to Terri Mason, program director.

Also closing at Country Fair will be the gymnastics academy and rock climbing wall operated by the owner of Ants in Their Pants and Lifelines Health, Laura Kalman. The gymnastics team and pre-team will practice through the end of the month, Mason said.

Kalman is moving what remains of Lifelines – the fitness program, wellness center, boxing and tae kwon do classes – to 324 N. Neil St. near the Orpheum Children's Science Museum in downtown Champaign, Mason said.

All gymnastics and Ants in Their Pants equipment and furnishings will be auctioned Jan. 30-31, she said.

The downtown building is under remodeling, and Lifelines will occupy 35,000 square feet of it, Mason said.

That building doesn't have high enough ceilings to accommodate the gymnastics program, she said, but the recession probably also played a role in discontinuing that program. Parents struggling to keep up with living expenses can't afford as many extra activities for children, she added.

Have a heart

The Prairie Gardens store in Champaign is once again offering its annual Heart Share program that gets hundreds of valentines to the elderly living in nursing homes.

All it costs the card-makers is a little time.

Just come to the store any time it's open Feb. 6-9 and make a valentine card. The materials are supplied free by the store, and those who make the cards are rewarded with a 30 percent-off coupon for a Prairie Gardens item of $30 or less.

"There's all kinds of cool scrapbooking supplies that they use," manager Susie Jennings said.

Last year, Prairie Gardens delivered 350 to 400 cards to area seniors in nursing homes through this program, she said.

Groups, such as Scouts, teams and school classes, are welcome to come and make cards together at the store, but should call ahead to make sure enough tables and supplies are set up, Jennings said.

For information, call Jennings at 714-5362.

New ownership

Marvin Meadows, the owner of It'll Do, a bar and grill in Arcola, has bought the former Chief's Bar & Grill at Country Fair Shopping Center in Champaign and renamed it It'll Do 2.

He's serving the same menu that he serves in Arcola, which includes grilled burgers and pork tenderloin and daily lunch specials such as Italian beef, goulash, all-you-can-eat chili and pulled pork sandwiches.

Lunch specials are available until they're gone, Meadows said, and the grill menu is available from opening to closing: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and noon to midnight Sunday.

Meadows, an Air Force veteran who recently relocated to Champaign, said he's especially catering to blue-collar workers, bikers and veterans, and he's added something to the Champaign bar and grill's decor that he also has in Arcola: a large flag painted on the wall, around which all veterans can sign their names.

New hours

New hours at The Blind Man, 505 S. Mattis Ave., C, are: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Opening soon?

Still waiting for the new Papa Del's Pizza to open at Village at the Crossing, the shopping/office plaza at Windsor and Duncan roads in Champaign?

Papa Del's owner Bob Monti says the kitchen is almost done, and he hopes to open the doors the first week of February.

New massage business opens

Massage therapist Krista Smith has started a massage therapy practice at 1808 Woodfield Drive, Suite 200, Savoy.

She specializes in Swedish and deep tissue massage and hot stone therapy.

She can be reached at 493-1985 for an appointment.

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.