Former Starbucks may become sports bar in St. Charles
When Starbucks moved from Main Street to the First Street Plaza in St. Charles, it reinforced my belief that some type of restaurant/bar would do quite well next to the Arcada Theater.
Marianna Ridenour must have felt the same way. She has submitted an application to the city's liquor commission to get a license for a new sports bar she is planning for the 101 E. Main St. site.
She hopes to open Title House by next spring.
Whether a sports-themed bar fits in perfectly for diners prior to a show at the Arcada remains to be seen.
But we do know this: Places like The Office, ZaZa Trattoria, Francesca's, El Puente and other restaurants near the theater have all benefited from the Arcada's consistent run of quality shows.
<h3 class="leadin">Austin ready to croon</h3>
It didn't take long for "The Voice" finalist Jeffery Austin to schedule another concert at the Arcada Theatre in downtown St. Charles.
The St. Charles North High School graduate who has been living in New York will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday for his hometown fans.
The ticket-sale promotion says he will perform all of his songs from the TV singing competition, plus some "surprises." How cool would it be if one of those surprises somehow turned out to be his coach, Gwen Stefani, coming in to sing a song or two with him?
Maybe a far-fetched dream. But, hey, not a bad one.
<h3 class="leadin">Cole Porter, too</h3>
Area music lovers can also get a dose of another musical genre at the St. Charles Public Library at 2 p.m. Sunday with "Hot 'n Cole: The Music of Cole Porter." The show is free and open to the public.
Pianist Matt Gruel and vocalist Cynthia Gruel will perform the Porter classics. These two have more than 20 years of experience in music and theater, so they are surely familiar with one of America's great composers.
<h3 class="leadin">Welcome a deli</h3>
Geneva is ready to welcome another deli market to its mix. This time the "coming soon" sign is up for Deane's Market and Deli in the retail strip on Third Street near the Metra Train Station.
At first glance, it appears it might be an operation similar to what The Bend general store was in downtown St. Charles. A deli has potential to have some traction on Third Street, and one would think being near the train station never hurts a restaurant or sandwich shop.
<h3 class="leadin">Batavia has openings</h3>
While there is hope that these places won't stay empty forever, not much news is unfolding regarding the closed Golden Corral or White Castle sites on Batavia's west side.
City planner Bill McGrath says the corporate folks for Golden Corral are looking for another franchisee, but they don't own the building.
"So I think the bank which does, or will soon, may have some input if that process takes too long," McGrath said.
While it appears something may be going on inside of the empty Circuit City location in the strip mall along Fabyan Parkway, McGrath said he has not heard anything about that location as of yet.
<h3 class="leadin">Nothing like meatballs</h3>
Readers have sent a few notes about how great the thin-crust pizza is at Rascal's Tavern and Grill on Third Street in Geneva, so I have good news and bad news and good news.
The good news is we finally went to Rascal's for lunch. The bad news is I didn't feel like pizza that day, so I ordered a meatball sandwich instead. And the good news is that the meatball sandwich was really good.
So the joy of having Rascal's thin-crust pizza will have to wait for another day.
<h3 class="leadin">Odd humor?</h3>
One might say the city of Geneva displayed a fairly warped sense of humor in its late December email newsletter.
The top headline proclaimed "Happy Holidays!" To that, my reply was "Yaaayy!"
The second line? "Water and Sewer Rates Increasing." To that, my reply was "Ugghh!"
dheun@sbcglobal.net