Hospitality
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Potbelly is being acquired by gas station and convenience chain RaceTrac for $566 million
Sep 10, 2025 10:10 am - Sandwich maker Potbelly is being acquired by the gas station and convenience store chain RaceTrac for $566 million.
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How Chicago-area small businesses can capitalize on local eventsSep 06, 2025 12:41 pm - From Lollapalooza in Grant Park to NASCAR’s downtown street race and year-round programming at venues like Allstate Arena and NOW Arena, fan engagement at live events helps support spending in local economies.
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Podcasters and influencers: The unexpected jobs covered under Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ plan
Sep 04, 2025 1:09 pm - Golf caddies, blackjack dealers and house painters are among the jobs covered under the Trump administration's preliminary list of occupations not required to pay income tax on their tips under Republicans' new tax cuts and spending bill.
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It’s a good time to be a restaurant consumerSep 03, 2025 10:42 am - 2025 is a little more than halfway done, and already we are seeing the best year in restaurant sales in the last five. Sales this year are above where they were at the same time in 2024.
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Brother Chimp Brewing ‘putting good out into the world,’ planning new St. Charles taproom
Aug 26, 2025 2:12 pm - When Stephen Newman opened Brother Chimp Brewing in North Aurora in March 2020, the timing couldn’t have been worse. But five years later, Brother Chimp has grown into one of the Fox Valley’s most celebrated microbreweries. Now, Newman is preparing to open a second location this fall in downtown St. Charles.
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‘Putting us on the map’: LIV Golf expected to generate about $40 million in local revenue, boost regional tourismAug 05, 2025 1:43 pm - LIV Golf Chicago returns to Bolingbrook Golf Club for the second straight year Aug. 8-10. The tournament is expected to generate about $40 million for the host city.
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Algonquin’s Cucina Bella celebrates 20 years of serving up Italian family recipes
Jul 24, 2025 1:11 pm - For the past two decades, Cucina Bella has been bringing a piece of Italy to downtown Algonquin. On Thursday, the restaurant celebrated its 20th birthday.
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‘We make sure they leave happy’: Garden Berry Cafe starts new tradition at former Billy’s Pancake House in PalatineJul 24, 2025 11:16 am - With an expansive breakfast and lunch menu, Garden Berry Cafe plans to bring new life to the former location of Billy’s Pancake House in Palatine.
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‘The Khayat touch’: Former Gurnee Holiday Inn being renovated and converted to apartments, boutique roomsJul 23, 2025 9:15 am - Khayat Enterprises, well known in Lake County, is in the midst of its of largest venture yet — the renovation and conversion of the former Holiday Inn in Gurnee to Ten Hotel Convention Center and Residences.
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Bussers are the unsung heroes of restaurant industryJul 23, 2025 9:03 am - What do Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Chris Rock, Johnny Depp, Langston Hughes, Kathy Griffin, Dick Cavett, Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh have in common, besides their fame and notoriety? They were all bussers in restaurants before they became famous.