Tale of two Arlington Hts. eateries: one remodeling, another opening
BBQ Chicken N Beer -- menu self explanatory -- will open at 31 W. Golf Road if given final approval from the village board.
The 50-seat restaurant would be in Arlington Towne Square at Arlington Heights and Golf roads. The restaurant would be open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
The Jimmy D's renovation is also back on track -- the plan commission unanimously approved the remodel last week.
Jimmy's D's is located in the shadow of Arlington Park racetrack at 1718 W. Northwest Hwy., Arlington Heights. Summer is the bar's busiest season, when regulars shuffle in after the track closes.
Jimmy D's has been an Arlington Heights institution for 20 years and Peter Demarakis plans on running the restaurant when his father, Jimmy, retires.
But Jimmy D's owners want the place to be more of a family-friendly restaurant catering to customers year-round.
The owners tried and failed in October 2006, when the village board denied Demarakis' plans to demolish two houses and completely rebuild and expand Jimmy D's.
The old plan called for a new 7,000-square-foot Jimmy D's that would have seated nearly 200 people and included an outdoor patio. This time, plans call for sprucing up the exterior, adding windows, redoing the bathrooms and -- get this -- shrinking the bar.
This time around, Demarakis also wants to change his menu and add salads and wraps. The Demarakis family still owns the two houses to the east, but doesn't plan to demolish them at this time.
Both the BBQ Chicken N Beer and Jimmy' D's plans are up for final approval from the village board on May 19.
Store closings on Campbell: Looks like the Quizno's, 140 W. Campbell St., downtown Arlington Heights has closed. This week, the lights were off and the doors were locked around lunchtime. There was no answer when I called. A corporate spokesman had no comment.
The Essence of Europe grocery store has also closed its doors for good, according to Arlington Heights village officials. Essence of Europe was in the Westgate Shopping Center, 1601 W. Campbell St. Store officials couldn't be reached.
Spinning the wheel: Arlington Heights native Nick Lamantia, a finance major from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be a contestant on tonight's episode of "Wheel of Fortune." It's College Week and the program will showcase students from area colleges and universities.
Get a free tennis racket: The Heritage Tennis Club, 7 W. College Drive, will host an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. New and returning players are invited and the first 20 people to R.S.V.P. and attend will get a free Wilson tennis racquet. Visit www.ahpd.org/htc or call (847) 398-7780 for more information.