Here's your chance to sample what's cooking at the new Cactus Grill, 1405 S. Neil St., C.

The owners, Rick and Linda Lau, plan to serve free chicken burritos from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The Laus operated a Cactus Grill at the Illini Union until 2007 and decided to bring the concept back to a spot more accessible to the rest of the community, Linda Lau said.

They serve a Southwestern-style menu with a healthful twist featuring a variety of burritos, tacos and quesadillas.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Delivery is available in Champaign and the campus side of Urbana, and there is limited seating in the restaurant for six customers.

Consolidating shops

The owners of Furniture Lounge plan to close their downtown Champaign store at the end of March and consolidate the business at their second location in Urbana.

The Champaign store at 9 E. University Ave. is open from noon to 4 p.m. through March 31, and all merchandise is discounted 25 percent, except for clothing, which is 50 percent off, and records, which are five for a dollar.

One of the owners, Scott Schaub, said the Champaign store is being closed because it has outgrown its space and needs better access for loading and unloading items.

Plus, after the parking rates increased downtown, he said, he and partner Amanda McWilliams decided their customers would be happier with more convenient and cheaper parking.

All remaining inventory will be transferred to the Ur-bana store, Furniture Lounge Consignment Gallery at 126 W. Main St., McWilliams said.

The Urbana store is accepting furniture and home decor items from midcentury to contemporary for consignment sale. You can e-mail photos of your items for consideration to furniturelounge@sbcglobal.net, or stop by the store.

Urbana store hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Parties princess-style

How do you treat your little girl like a princess on her birthday?

The owners of the new Fairy Tales Come True in Homer will come to your home and throw a party fit for the princess your little girl longs to be and all her princess friends.

Owners Rachel Smithenry and Misty Williams offer three packages from $75 to $200, cake not included, and come dressed as princesses themselves. Smithenry comes dressed in a Snow White costume, and Williams dresses up like Cinderella.

Depending on the package selected, they will offer anything from a princess appearance to crownings with tiaras, a magic wand for the birthday girl, karaoke, games and crafts, treat bags, princess makeovers with up-dos and glitter makeup and ribbon-bedecked ponytail holders the guests can take home. They also send out the invitations.

Smithenry said she and Williams, both mothers and friends since their junior high days, wanted to offer a little more than the average party, and they had a lot of ideas about bringing a princess theme to life.

"We're bringing every little girl's fantasy of a princess to the homes," she added.

Parties are available in the Champaign County area. For information, call 840-7605 or go to www.fairytalescometrue.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.