Sergio's Cantina in Geneva to open upscale bar over restaurant
It's been 10 years since Sergio and Lindsey De Los Santos took over the empty Potter's Place restaurant at the corner of State and First streets in downtown Geneva and turned it into Sergio's Cantina.
The Mexican restaurant has showed some staying power, which has been good news to those who like that staple as a dining option in town. After all, Potter's Place had been shuttered for nearly two years before Sergio's plans began to fall into place.
Now the couple has plans to start a new business - right above Sergio's Cantina. They had rented out the apartment space above the restaurant for years, but when the last tenants left, the couple decided to put an idea they have been working on for more than two years into action.
The result, hopefully by late November or early December, will be the 1910 Bar.
"It is going to be a completely separate business, more of a bar than a restaurant, but there will be food up there on a limited bar menu," Lindsey said.
The main emphasis of the 1910 Bar will be on whiskey drinks, craft beers, tequila drinks and wine. "It's going to be a little more upscale, with industrial style décor," Lindsey added.
The 1910 Bar won't have the look of another dining area, instead opting for some high-top tables and more of a lounge setting with couches and chairs.
But that's not all. The De Los Santos are planning a second-story deck to serve 1910 Bar, right above the current outdoor seating at Sergio's.
It will connect to the lower deck, which will become more of a bar area as well with lounge seating and TVs, Lindsey said.
And what's in a name? The building housing Sergio's Cantina was built in 1907, but its first tavern appeared in 1910.
"Plus, 1910 was the year of the second Mexican Revolution, so it ties together with Sergio's heritage as well," Lindsey said.
An easy choice:
A dessert item called the "Cake Pop" looked like it would hit the spot. After all, something sweet is always good after knocking down a pulled pork sandwich from Stockholm's, a fish taco from Bien Trucha and a filet mini slider from Ale House during the Flavor Fare last weekend during Festival of the Vine in Geneva. All of those food samples were very good, by the way.
The cake pop is a piece of cake covered in a layer of candy and shaped like a lollipop. The young fellow at the Graham's Fine Chocolates table asked if I wanted chocolate, vanilla or red velvet.
Before he could even finish that sequence, my answer was chocolate. For me, that is an easy choice.
And, boy, did that treat hit the spot.
Providing some mobility:
The Bike Rack's Project Mobility is preparing to conduct its fifth annual "Everybody Rides" benefit bike ride to honor veterans.
Project Mobility, a nonprofit operated out of the Bike Rack in St. Charles, seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of children, adults and wounded soldiers with disabilities through adaptive bicycles designed to help those with physical challenges.
Everybody Rides 2017 features a Facebook contest in which the child, adult or wounded volunteer receiving the most "likes" will receive an adaptive bicycle.
Obviously, the more money Project Mobility can raise, the more adaptive bikes they can offer. TerraTike donated an adaptive bike worth $2,200 that will go to the Facebook contest winner.
Those interested in riding in any of the four rides, ranging in distance from 60 miles to 10 miles, on Sept. 24 at James O. Breen Park in St. Charles, can register at projectmobility.com or call event director Katherine Simmons at (630) 464-2991 for information.
Veterans ride for free.
It's like another 'garage':
I count myself among the many young "rockers" in the late 1960s who played in a garage band, toiling on the drums for many years in a band that played at various parties, school gyms or community centers.
It was fun, for sure. But how great would it be to still have some of the guys around from those days on occasion and actually have a place to continue to play music?
That must be how these older gents, all fine musicians since they were teens, in Batavia felt when Kiss the Sky record shop opened in the city more than four years ago.
It suddenly became a place for locals to put together an occasional show.
I've mentioned these guys before and their heydays of the late 1960s, but the bands Gross National Product and The Revengemen will play again at 8 p.m. Saturday at Kiss the Sky.
It's become an annual blast from the past that these bands' rabid followers and those who just like good music always look forward to.
dheun@sbcglobal.net