First Street redevelopment moving along in St. Charles

The Manor Restaurant was a great breakfast spot on First Street in St. Charles and its lower-level Surrey Inn offered a great pizza in its day with a recipe that Munchie P's in Geneva eventually obtained.

And I spent a fair amount of time at Vi's Last Call after softball games, or at the Blue Goose grocery store in its previous Illinois Street location.

Still, I was all in on the First Street redevelopment project eight years ago that would remove or relocate these places because city officials had a great vision of what that street could mean to the downtown over the next several decades.

Then the recession hit and, as far as the First Street redevelopment project goes, it felt like a hit below the belt.

So here we are, several years later with only half of the project really completed, but the gauge is moving in the right direction.

More activity is taking place on the east side of the street, as Kilwin's has taken up shop to spread its chocolate, fudge and ice cream joy, and two new businesses - Brunch Café, a breakfast and lunch spot, and Vintage 53 wine bar - have signs up in the retail spots below the office building and parking area on that site.

These should fare well along First Street, providing another dining spot for those enjoying the river and plaza atmosphere or getting something to eat before a show at the Arcada Theatre.

It has taken a long time to evolve. It was tempting for the longest time to grow fond of the open space on the east side of the street. But it's plain to see those wise retail choices and more parking and office space gives the redevelopment project a fighting chance.

Those craft beers:

Energy City Brewing in Batavia should be operating out of a suite along West Wilson Street soon, providing craft beer for local bars and restaurants.

That's' good news for those area businesses because having an interesting craft beer list to offer customers is becoming increasingly popular.

But the Batavia operation, through owners David and Heidi Files, will focus on the distribution end of the beer business. It won't be quite like Penrose Brewing Company in Geneva.

Penrose was one of the first of its kind in the Tri-Cities, offering a brewery and taproom on site for those who enjoy a bit of craft beer on occasion.

But the message is the same. There are a lot of different beers to choose from these days.

Loved those treats:

Our dog is unusual in that she can be fairly fussy about what kind of dog treats she likes to devour.

It's not often, but on occasion, she turns up her nose at certain types of treats.

She chows down the treats she gets at Fifth Third Bank in Geneva as if they were the last treats on Earth.

But she really enjoyed a Cubs cookie dog treat and some other treats at the new Top Dog store in Berry House in Geneva.

After mentioning this new store, designed to spoil our pets, a couple of weeks ago, we decided to see what our dog thought of the place.

She gave it two paws up.

Thin crust guru:

I suppose I could label reader Mike Davis as my "thin crust pizza guru" because he has consistently alerted me to where these fine pizzas exist in the area.

Davis likely picked up on more than a few of my notes in the past in which I have essentially said I have been on the hunt for a thin crust pizza I would enjoy as much as Tom's Pizza from yesteryear in St. Charles. I do have some favorites, but Davis has mentioned the thin crust pizza at Rascals in Geneva for a couple of years now.

So, I finally went and had it. Davis was right. This is an excellent pizza, with the red sauce really standing out for me.

Lately, Davis has been on a crusade for me to try Riganato's as well as Riverside Pub in St. Charles, saying both offer great thin crust.

As hard as it is to believe, I can't eat that much pizza. So it takes me some to time reach all of these places.

These are important tips at this time, however, as one of my favorites apparently has closed. A few readers have mentioned that Morano's Pizza in Geneva had closed, and the info online also says it has "permanently closed." Hopefully it resurfaces in another spot.

dheun@sbcglobal.net