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Woods Creek Tavern opens in Lake in the Hills

A long-anticipated gastropub opened this week along the Randall Road corridor inside of the former Applebee's building in Lake in the Hills.

Woods Creek Tavern, at 251 N. Randall Road, officially opened Monday, welcoming guests inside the transformed building.

Now that it is finally open, Woods Creek Tavern is expected to serve up food and drink seven days a week. The business will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight each day, serving lunch and dinner, general manager Patrick Murphy said.

The business is named after the village of Lake in the Hills' largest lake, Woods Creek Lake.

It is a welcome addition to the Randall Road corridor, and to the community, officials have said. The Applebee's site has been vacant since July 2013, when the business closed after the chain's franchise holder went bankrupt.

The business's managing partner David Abraham bought the building, which is on the east side of Randall, just north of Algonquin Road, last December.

Originally, the targeted opening date was May. Then it was pushed to July.

But the folks at Woods Creek Tavern wanted everything just right for their grand opening.

So, the business officially opened at the end of August.

During that time frame, they not only changed the exterior, but also the interior, leaving it hard to believe it was once a chain Applebee's restaurant.

The food and drink also varies heavily from a chain restaurant, Abraham has said.

You'll find dishes made from scratch, high-end craft beers and locally produced food and drink inside. There are 32 tap handles, with a variety of local and regional beers available.

The business will be appealing for people who want to head out for a drink with friends, or a dinner with family.

To reach Woods Creek Tavern, call (224) 256-2063.

Trade up: Part of the excitement with some new toys is the mystery of what you're going to get.

Take baseball cards, for example. They come in a sealed pack, and you rip them open, excited to see what new cards you've found inside. And then, you find you have all the same ones as before. So what do you do? You try to trade with friends.

One store along the Randall Road corridor is making it possible for kids who have duplicates of a hot new toy to trade with other kids.

Shopkins are tiny little rubbery grocery-themed toys. There are little cookies, little dishwashing soaps, little asparagus and more to play with.

They come in packs of different sizes, often with miniature grocery bags and some times with surprise Shopkins inside.

The Learning Express along the Randall Road corridor in Geneva has trading days now for kids who get duplicates, or who are looking for a Shopkins they just can't find.

Over the summer, the store held its Trading Tuesdays during the day.

But now that the kiddos are back in school, Learning Express has new hours for Shopkins Trading days.

Every Tuesday kids can stop by the store from 4 to 6 p.m. to see if they can trade for different Shopkins.

If you're looking to trade, the business is at 610 Commons Drive, Geneva.

For information call (630) 232-8697.

• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from South Elgin to Batavia. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.

  Woods Creek Tavern is now open on Randall Road in Lake in the Hills, serving lunch and dinner seven days a week. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
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