Club Arcada reopening this weekend, theater to return in July
They may not have the same definition as a year ago, but the words “sold out” are music to the ears of Ron Onesti as he puts the finishing touches on reopening the Club Arcada Speakeasy and Restaurant in St. Charles for the first time in more than a year.
And the historic 900-seat Arcada Theatre is scheduled to reopen in July.
The speak-easy is capped at 25% capacity this weekend due to lingering COVID-19 restrictions, but there still will be about 60 people on hand to enjoy the music of Vinny and Vin A. of The Bronx Wanderers on Friday and Saturday at the club located at 105 East Main St. in downtown St. Charles.
As restrictions ease and capacity expands, there's an entire summer of artists scheduled to entertain audiences aching for live entertainment. Onesti, the owner and founder of Onesti Entertainment Corp., is ready to provide it.
“Sold out is a lot less than it was before, but the main thing is people are coming,” he said. “More and more people are getting vaccinated and that's helping. And this is the 15th month of this. People are just tired of it.”
In conjunction with Frontier Development Group — which in 2019 bought the site that houses the Arcada Theatre, built in 1926, and Club Arcada as well as nearby buildings soon to be opened as restaurants and hotel suites — Onesti spearheaded a massive renovation that finished ahead of schedule while events were shut down due to the pandemic.
Once all the establishments are open, St. Charles officials expect a nice boost for the city as it regains its financial footing from the struggles of the last year.
“Frontier Development and Ron Onesti have worked so hard to make this happen for St. Charles,” said St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek. “I am so excited that our community is going to be able to experience the Arcada once again. It's an indication of the city getting back to a sense of normalcy of experiencing entertainment once again.”
When the Arcada reopens in July, the priority will be to rebook acts canceled over the past year, Onesti said. A number of acts have already been scheduled, including Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone on July 11, Andrew Dice Clay on July 16 and Queensryche on July 31.
The new Rock 'N Za restaurant and BarCada bar and gaming venue are slated to open in the next couple of weeks while the Rock 'N Ravioli restaurant and Arcadian Suites hotel are planned for the fall.
“It's positive butterflies,” Onesti said. “It doesn't have that same unknown of a new business. We've got 16 years under our belts and hundreds of thousands of happy customers. When everyone starts hearing about everything we've been doing, I think they'll be excited to come out here.”