With several restaurants located there now, from Billy Barooz to Mezzaluna, the southwest Champaign shopping center Village at the Crossing is looking more and more like restaurant row.

The newcomer on the block is An Sun, a "half-Chinese, half-American" restaurant slated to open in mid-November in the northern portion of the Ace Hardware space, 2411 Village Green Place.

Sean Mahaffey, a Monticello native, along with his wife, Qiaozi Mahaffey, her Chinese parents, and chef Austin Blythe are partners in developing the restaurant.

The concept "fits what we are – an American-Chinese couple," Sean Mahaffey said. "Everything we do is going to be a little different," said Mahaffey, who studied civil engineering at the University of Illinois.

The partners described the restaurant as contemporary and casual. The menu, still being developed, will include items such as barbecue pork egg rolls and Asian-infused ribeye, Blythe said. Expect steaks, burgers and sandwiches, too.

"We'll be taking traditional American dishes and putting a spin on them," Blythe said.

In addition to American dishes, there will be Chinese food as well. Just because a restaurant has photos of China or a dragon decoration on the wall doesn't mean the food is good, Qiaozi Mahaffey said.

"We want to do better on the food," she said, adding that she would like to offer spicy dishes.

The restaurant will occupy the northern one-third of the Ace Hardware store, and will have about 3,000 square feet of patio. The patio will be available to rent for private parties. And the partners also mentioned the possibility of holding neighborhood brat cookouts there.

The interior – about 5,500 square feet – will include a dining room, plus a horseshoe-shaped bar and captain's bar tables. There will also be a small room where people can play pool and darts.

"We want to create a casual place where you can go on the weekend, but at the same time it isn't just bar food," Sean Mahaffey said.

Closing note

The east Urbana business Butterfly Beads, at 1104 E. Washington St., is going out of business.

Owner Wesley Waters is closing the store due to financial reasons and planning a move to Asheville, N.C.

The store's last day is Wednesday.

"I've hung on for a while, but with the economy, this is the first thing people stop spending money on. It's a luxury," Waters said.

The shop, open for about 4 1/2 years, sold beads and offered jewelry-making workshops. Waters also did custom work and repairs.

"It's tough. I will miss all the great people. It's been a wonderful experience for me," Waters said.

Yoga and massage

Downtown Urbana has one more destination for yoga practitioners. Green Yoga Spa, 115 W. Main St., is now open in a space shared with the Living Yoga Center.

Mary Wolters started teaching yoga in 2001 and became a certified massage therapist about five years ago.

She said yoga is like a self-massage, and after doing it, she feels "energized, alert and feeling. I thought, I could do this for other people."

In addition to offering group yoga classes, Wolters offers private yoga sessions as well as massage therapy, including traditional Swedish massage and Thai massage (which Wolters described as a blend of yoga and massage), plus foot and hand treatments, which include a hot stone bath. She uses organic massage oils and lotions.

Her office hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. Services are also available by appointment.

More information is available by calling Wolters at 377-5127 or visiting the Web site, www.greenyogaspa.com.

Buffet to reopen

After an ownership and management change, Crazy Buffet, 702 W. Town Center Blvd. C, is planning to reopen in mid-August.

"We're putting in more seafood and sushi," said manager Bryan Wang.

The buffet restaurant features Chinese food, entrees like steak and barbecue ribs, as well as sashimi, crab legs, oysters and clams.

It has added some new tables to the dining room as well.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Update

Vinny's East Coast Pizzeria, 401 W. Kirby Ave., C, is now open. Located in the former Kafe K space, Vinny's specializes in dishes like New York-style pizza and Philly cheese steaks.

Got funny vacation photos?

Local photographer Kris Stone, of the new photography studio Stone Cafe Creations, is holding a "Funniest Vacation Picture" contest.

Submit a photo on the Stone Cafe Creations Flickr group before midnight Aug. 15.

The chosen winner will receive a free one-hour photo session for an individual or family.

Information is available on Stone's blog site, http://blog.stonecafecreations.com. Her Web site is www.stonecafecreations.com.

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.