Opening day brings new life to Wild West Town theme park in Union
Entrepreneur Ron Onesti has a flair for entertainment, but an offer from two longtime customers at his Club Arcada speak-easy and restaurant in St. Charles took him by surprise.
"At first I was like, 'An amusement park? Are you kidding me?' I've never been there," said Onesti, whose holdings include music venues the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles and Evanston Rocks.
But there he was Saturday in Union, greeting guests, chatting with employees and tending to countless details on opening day of his newest venture, billed as Illinois' premier Old West theme park.
Threatening weather may have been a factor in a modest turnout, but those who came to Onesti's Wild West Town said they enjoyed themselves.
"We've been coming here for 30 years," said Robin Smith of St. Charles, who with her family was first in line Saturday. "We brought our boys here and now we're bringing our grandkids."
Visitors still can watch a blacksmith work, learn to rope or pan for gold, or go inside an authentic old-time jail. But Onesti plans to inject live entertainment to create a "concert in the park feel," he said.
"I brought a little army of my staff to make the upgrades," he said. "There's a substantial investment."
A lot has happened in the short time since Randy and Susan Donley wanted to donate a vintage 1920s phonograph for the eclectic decor at Onesti's Club Arcada.
"They love what we do there," he recalled of that meeting about six weeks ago. "Then we started talking."
The Donley family envisioned and opened Donley's Wild West Town 45 years ago on 7 acres of farmland near Route 20 in Union. Onesti learned that founders Larry and Helene Donley retired at the end of last season and their sons Mike and Randy, who had been there since the beginning, also wanted a change.
Intrigued, Onesti said he "felt the magic" after taking a look at the 25-acre compound, which features a collection of old-style stores in a town square setting, pony rides, a "roller coaster" that runs on gravity, a three-car train that encircles the perimeter and other family-friendly attractions.
One lure for Onesti was a shuttered 200-seat restaurant adjoining the main building that was closed five years ago. It reopened Saturday as Be Bop A Lula's Rockabilly Cafe, in what Onesti plans as a hot spot for live acts.
But what hooked him was the largest collection of Thomas Edison memorabilia in the U.S. It's one of several themed attractions, others including a 1930s-era barbershop and doctor's office featuring genuine antiques. Onesti said Edison is one of his heroes. "This is what put me over the edge and told me I belonged here," Onesti tells a visitor during a tour.
Mike Donley said the family was concerned about what would happen and was comforted by Onesti's involvement.
"What they bring to it here is another level," said Donley, who remains involved in the business that started as a single building of collectibles. "We never planned it; it just grew organically," he said.