St. Charles coffee house goes nationwide
It wasn't likely Vern Oie would be on a TV newscast because of nationwide interest in the vacant portion of his Fox Valley Cleaners building at Indiana and First streets in St. Charles.
It also probably wasn't going to happen when a bridal shop leased that space from Oie several years ago.
But since owner Dennis Walker leased the space and opened Arcedium Coffeehouse in late January, the stage was set for some local folks to be on TV.
Oie, a longtime St. Charles resident and businessman, was standing in line for coffee at Arcedium a few weeks ago when a Fox News crew showed up to do a story about small businesses that were "doing their thing" without bailout money help.
"My nephew in Mequon, Wisconsin called to say he saw me on the national news," said Oie, who is glad to see Walker and his wife Celeste doing well with the coffeehouse.
"With places like the Manor and a few others gone now, I think Arcedium is becoming a place for people to hang out," Oie said.
Walker agreed, saying even though the economy and the slow progress of the First Street renovation project has made things difficult, he sees a steadily growing clientele taking hold.
"It starts slow on Monday and gets a little busier each day, until Saturday, which is our best day," Walker said. "And Sundays are good, because I think people come in for coffee and pastries after church."
Arcedium is definitely a cozy, friendly, upscale place in a great location at 60 Indiana St. for morning coffee and rolls. But it also serves soup and sandwiches for lunch, and has seen its meeting room reservations steadily increase.
"It's good to see this part of the building being used for something this nice," Oie said.
Forget the hot dogs: They asked my wife and I to dance in a fundraiser for Geneva cultural arts and schools, but someone was wise enough to know that I would not be a good candidate to participate in a charitable event in which I had to cook - unless someone would be impressed by a hot dog tossed in a microwave.
Everyone should do just fine without me when "60 Men Who Cook" is held at 6 p.m. Friday, May 8 at the Kane County Fairgrounds. Sixty local men will cook their favorite dishes and proceeds will benefit the Geneva History Center, the Lions and Rotary clubs. Tickets, $25 before the event and $35 at the door, are available at various locations and genevachamber.com.
The cooks are too numerous to list, but here's a good one: Greg Weider, executive director of the Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice, will make a dessert called "Better Than Your Husband" chocolate cake.
Cheeseburger dialogue: A reader sent a note to mention one of her favorite cheeseburgers in the area, dubbing my numerous notes on this topic as my "cheeseburger dialogue."
That description certainly fits my tendency to mention a great cheeseburger when one meets my mouth.
She enjoys what she calls "a very tasty cheeseburger" at the Citizen Kane restaurant/pub in downtown Geneva.