Heun: Rave reviews for Geneva's new Barrel + Rye restaurant

The signs have been teasing visitors along Third Street in Geneva for a long time that a new bar/restaurant was coming. It finally arrived a few weeks ago.

And customers have been so comfortable at Barrel + Rye, at 477 S. Third St., they are telling the managers it doesn't feel like a new business at all.

“It has that kind of neighborhood feel to it,” manager Chad Waters said. “Things have been going very well here the first few weeks.”

Apparently, customers have already established a favorite sandwich at Barrel + Rye.

It's the “Southern Sandwich,” Waters said. That sandwich is spicy fried chicken with smoked Gouda cheese, a fried egg and maple syrup on top.

“It's very tasty,” Waters added.

So far, owners Nick Roberge and Jack Waters couldn't be happier with the early returns in Geneva.

“They are really happy, especially with where we are at on Third Street,” Waters said.

The timing is right, considering the place was up and running before the Christmas Walk last Friday and is ready to feed hungry holiday shoppers.

Sandra's ready to retire

Sandra Webster's clothing store in downtown Geneva always stood out, mainly because of the dark background behind the clothing in the storefront windows. That's about to change.

Shoppers have only until the end of December to shop for the designer clothes and jewelry that are common at Sandra Webster.

Owner Sandra Webster Lincheck is retiring after an 18-year run in Geneva, closing her women's clothing store at 209 W. State St.

Not so black really

Black Friday may not be what it used to be in terms of hordes of shoppers, but that's not a bad thing.

It's a day I would tend to avoid shopping in the past. But, to be honest, I rarely had that day off work for about 30 years.

This year, it seemed to be smooth sailing in the stores. More folks are shopping online, the stores are open on Thanksgiving more regularly, and younger people are making purchases through their mobile phones.

So the stores are in better shape to handle the number of shoppers, and most seemed to have it down to a science this time.

Beware of IRS scam

The Geneva police are warning residents about an IRS scam in which fraudsters posing as IRS officials call people and demand payment for some unpaid taxes. They ask for money from a preloaded debit card or wire transfer.

Basically, the police are telling residents who get these types of calls to hang up and call the IRS.

It's good advice, except my experience with the IRS has been that it is borderline impossible to get someone on the phone with you. But don't let that deter you. It could have just been that I was calling at a bad time.

Tough to replace

When a good restaurant closes, it affects people. Here's what reader Bonnie Biehl had to say about Gabby's Kitchen closing in St. Charles.

“So sorry to read of Gabby's closing. We loved their breakfasts and lunches. The staff was always so friendly and made sure there was never any empty coffee cup. We will miss Gabby's.”

Salvation Army store

The empty Dominick's grocery store location in St. Charles finally has a tenant.

After a short-lived stint as a hardware store (while the Ace Hardware in downtown Geneva was closed), the location is now occupied by a Salvation Army donation store. You can drop off donations, and shoppers can look for bargains.

Busy as elves

It wasn't Santa's workshop, but it certainly could have passed for it. The sound of pounding hammers made it clear that someone was very busy.

About 40 kids were busy at a Home Depot workshop in Geneva, banging away at their projects while Mom or Dad looked on.

For this particular venture, the kids were making piggy banks. Maybe to store money for Christmas presents?

Just a sock hoarder

Don't buy me socks as a Christmas gift this year. That's the message my family is getting because of a revelation that I am a sock hoarder. If you have a missing sock (and who doesn't?), there's an outside chance I have it. At least that's what one would be led to believe after seeing my numerous pairs of socks.

My wife actually insisted I clean out my sock drawer and get rid of any with holes.

Actually, I have two sock drawers. Both quite full. I took all of them out, and they covered my bed. It was ridiculous. What Imelda Marcos was to shoes, I am apparently to socks.

So, the bad socks went into the garbage and many of the good ones, in which I may have had up to 10 pairs of the same color, went into the Goodwill pile.

My drawers are much better for it, and the Goodwill store not far from my house is going to be about 20 pairs of like-new socks to the better.

Pasta to help pay

If you have a taste for pasta Sunday, satisfy that urge and help some Batavia kids travel to Kingston, Jamaica, to do volunteer work at the City of Refuge Children's home in early March.

River City Church is hosting the spaghetti dinner fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. at 150 First St. in downtown Batavia. For details, visit TheRiverCityChurch.org.

dheun@sbcglobal.net