New sports bar could revitalize block in St. Charles

How could a story about a new sports bar possibly coming to St. Charles ignite memories about rock music in this town?

Easy. It's all about location.

The plan for Flagship on the Fox to open in the empty spot at 106 S. Riverside Ave. that most recently housed Chord on Blues could go a long way toward revitalizing a block that certainly rocked in its past.

It's definitely good news, because anything that close to the Arcada Theatre needs to be in the dining/entertainment category. Plus, Chord on Blues has been empty for many years now.

Prior to being Chord on Blues, this location some 45-plus years ago operated as a popular hangout called Purple Carriage and was home to various local rock bands.

It eventually gave way to, of all things, a Chinese restaurant called Mai Ling. But ultimately it became a rock bar/restaurant again as Ms. Monroe's and then Danny Boy's.

Danny Boy's was a spot where one could count on seeing local blues and rock band DeLuxury performing quite often.

After all, St. Charles has a rich history in the rock music field, with its various hot spots like the Jaguar, with its claim to fame of hosting The Who very early in that super group's career. The Jaguar was located in the spot now occupied by the Alibi Bar & Grill on North Third Street.

In addition, there was a spot along Route 31 between St. Charles and Elgin called POE, or Point of Entry. The restaurant/bar hosted bands on a regular basis.

Some may also remember Rocky and Bullwinkle's, a music venue off Illinois Street where Francesca's restaurant has served people the past few decades.

There were plenty of other spots that came and went, and other sit-down bars that dabbled with bands on the weekends, including Pub 222 and McNally's.

We're not expecting Flagship on the Fox to join this cast as a music venue, because a sports bar makes its hay on doing just that - letting people watch their favorite sports events while drinking and dining.

Owner Stephen Mayer sounds pretty excited about the setup in the area that was Chord on Blues and Danny's Corner Pocket billiards hall. And he knows a thing or two about operating sports bars as owner of the Flagship Tavern in Chicago.

He just has to hope Chicago sports teams can draw crowds year-round. Winning teams equates to a sports bar owner's happy place.

However all that works out, we certainly welcome a new chapter for this site that has been empty for far too long.

More groceries: For those anxiously awaiting the opening of Fresh Thyme grocery store in Geneva, mark Tuesday, Feb. 5, on your calendars.

It will be open for business from 4 to 7 p.m. that day after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with chamber of commerce officials. The official opening is the next morning.

It all brings a grocery mart back into the location where Dominick's operated for several years. Fresh Thyme takes up roughly half of that former space, as Burlington coat store occupies the other portion in the Randall Road retail strip.

I'm not a prolific enough grocery shopper to know where Fresh Thyme sits in the grocery landscape. But I worked for Jewel Food Stores for seven years during my high school and college years, so I know what the big chains are like.

Fresh Thyme is a different animal though, living up to its name by focusing on its produce department's organic and local array, including many products carrying its brand.

The perfect combo: Coffee and a library. It's a match made in heaven that has taken hold in the past decade or so.

In what may be one of the best ideas we've seen in terms of schools interacting with the public, the St. Charles Public Library has partnered with the school district to join that trend in an interesting way this week.

It had a grand opening scheduled for the Daily Bean coffee shop to operate inside the library.

It's a coffee shop staffed by St. Charles School District 303 students ages 18 to 22 with disabilities who are enrolled in a global skills program at the schools.

It gives the students a great skill set, while giving readers a key part of their favorite equation: A great book and a great cup of coffee in a relaxing setting.

Warming up with soup: FoxFire restaurant in Geneva knew what might help keep workers - such as police, fire and postal - a little warmer this week when they had to work in the brutal cold.

The restaurant was inviting these workers to stop in and have a free bowl of hot soup as a way to say thanks for doing what not many others have to try - working when the wind chills were 50-below or colder.

Although the restaurant was closed on Wednesday, Jan. 30, as of this writing the offer of free soup was extended to Thursday, Jan. 31, through Saturday, Feb. 2. Check the restaurant's Facebook page for updates.

That last snap: Things were a little different for this cold snap than the major one I endured as a single male in 1983. This time, my car is in a garage and I am working from home.

The last time, I didn't have a garage, so I had to go outside and start the car every few hours. Not sure if that was a great idea, but it worked at the time.

Plus, the windows in my apartment had such terrible leaks that plastic coverings blew out like an air balloon into the apartment.

Though I can't recall if this was weather-related, I also had hardly any water trickling through the pipes. And it would occur unannounced - as in just after starting a shower and having a head full of shampoo lathered up.

I suspect that most of us who have lived in this area all of our lives have plenty of interesting stories to share about winter battles.

dheun@sbcglobal.net