Getting closer to filling void from Pal Joey's

So why has the former Pal Joey's site at 31 N. River St. been a revolving door of sorts for more than 20 years?

I may be missing one in this mix, but we've seen this decent location along the Fox River operate as a Charlie Fox's Pizzeria, Chops on the Fox, Icehouse Grill and Bar, Venice Tavern, Shawn Micheal's Bistro and Fox's on the River prior to Pal Joey's six-year run.

Of those others, I'm guessing Venice Tavern had one of the longer runs at nearly 10 years.

The city realizes the importance of this spot being in business to keep River Street vibrant. It lent $100,000 to the building owners a decade ago to install fire sprinklers and allow Fox's on the River to operate, and gave other incentives in 2012 to lure Pal Joey's into that location in an expansion of the pizza shop's West Chicago business.

While maybe disappointed, it's not likely any city officials shed tears when Pal Joey's moved to Randall Road, considering the restaurant relocated to the spot that Golden Corral never delivered on in Batavia.

That site could have sat empty for a long time as a testament to the shattered dreams of a buffet restaurant that seemed to perform OK in other towns, but couldn't quite get the handle on a franchisee making it happen here.

As for the former Pal Joey's site, Economic development Director Chris Aiston said the 11,000-square-foot site represents a unique opportunity for some restaurant owners, "but does limit the market for what would be viable tenants" for that spot.

Owner Mary Claire Harris is "entertaining two letters of intent" from restaurant businesses, Aiston added. He could not disclose the names of those interested at this time.

It seems that all of the work done the past several years to make North River Street stand out as a special area should lure a new tenant in some way to a restaurant site that, arguably, can boast of one of the better outdoor dining spots along the river in this region.

A burger boast:

When readers know I like to hear about good places to eat, they generally send along a note. One has had more than a few plugs, so I'll definitely have to check it out soon.

And it ties in with the aforementioned River Street area of Batavia, right across the street from the former Pal Joey's site.

It's The River's Edge, and it gets a fair number of rave reviews from readers, two of whom in the last couple of weeks alone have mentioned they really like the food at this place.

Mostly, the burgers and craft beer get high ratings, with one saying the burgers are "among the top two or three served in this area." Another was also singing high praises for the crabcakes.

A few weeks ago, when I was asking for favorite outdoor dining locations, The River's Edge was also brought up. It has a few tables outside, and patrons are always using them when the weather cooperates.

A switch in owners:

A spot along River Street is going to undergo a change in ownership as El Taco Grande owner Manny Martinez plans to sell the business to Marcel Olvera, who has been a cook at the restaurant for nearly 15 years.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke informed aldermen of this pending switch during a recent council committee meeting in introducing Olvera.

When contacted at the restaurant, Martinez confirmed the pending change, but did not disclose any type of timing or other details.

Chocolate delight:

You could put this item under the category of "As Seen on TV." Nearly everyone I have told that I thoroughly enjoyed my recent "Jurassic Chomp" blizzard at Dairy Queen knew exactly what I was talking about.

They had seen the promotions for this chocolate and peanut butter creation on TV ads.

Just a warning. Be sure your stomach is prepared to handle a lot of chunks of chocolate with this one.

Even my well-conditioned sweet tooth had nearly had enough at the end of this chomp.

Wear the helmets:

My wife came home the other day and said she saw a bike rider on the Fox River trail take a spill. She landed headfirst on the ground, and others with her stopped to help.

My first question: "Was she wearing a helmet?"

The answer was yes, though my wife speculated that maybe she was riding a little too fast for that particular portion of the trail.

But the moral of the story is this: Wear your helmet when riding. They were designed with the idea they could minimize injuries greatly and, in some cases, save lives.

Making new music:

Many moons ago a fellow name Larry Rossi and his band from St. Charles called The Nerve brought the house down at our wedding.

We had seen The Nerve at some of the local pubs and had a great time in doing so.

Later, I came to realize Rossi was one of the more popular music instructors in the area, and I would work with him on getting the winners of the Kane County Fair music contests published in the paper.

Through RPM music, he did the lion's share of the work for young musicians learning their craft, and the county fair was an annual showcase of sorts.

So it is, we were glad to see a note in our email box that he has a new album out called "True Stories." It doesn't have some of that rock backbeat to it from years ago, but it certainly does illustrate again that this fellow can write, play the guitar and sing his songs quite well.

dheun@sbcglobal.net