'ThrowBack' owner confident new sports bar will be a hit in St. Charles

Jason Agoston thought he had a pretty good idea when he had 2,000 free appetizer cards made to promote his new ThrowBack Sports Bar in St. Charles.

He planned to hand them out along the St. Patrick's Day parade route through downtown St. Charles. Mother Nature wasn't impressed.

“A half-hour before the parade started, the rain was coming down so hard it was sideways, and it kept going through the whole parade,” Agoston said. “Most people cleared out, so, it was a little bit of a rough start for how our marketing campaign was going to go.”

Agoston bought the Pub 47 site at 1890 W. Main St. and was set to reopen it in early March, clearly hoping he could get some attention by handing out the freebie cards.

With that setback aside, he forged ahead in getting the “throwback” décor set with framed jerseys of past Chicago athletes and the mandatory big-screen TVs in place. Most important, he wanted to be sure the kitchen was going to serve food that would bring people back.

In the wake of the deserved attention The Flagship sports bar has received in St. Charles because it took over the empty Chord on Blues site, and the hoopla over the coming Wahlburger's restaurant on the city's west side, Agoston is confident his sports bar will have people talking despite what is going on around town.

So far, he's been correct. I was interested in meeting Agoston and trying his restaurant because a few readers had dropped notes saying the place had great food. They were right.

“I don't really want to comment about potential competition from others, but I will say that every bar I have ever run has grown and excelled — and that comes from the people,” Agoston said. “When you have good staff and good relationships within the community, word-of-mouth picks up and it takes on a life of its own.”

Agoston took over a struggling Pub 47, shut it down to get things in order, and reopened it, but changed the name in a couple of weeks.

“We changed things around and came up with the name ThrowBack Sports Bar,” Agoston said. “It gives us some freedom, because it can mean so many things — throwback sports items, throwback prices, and throwback events.”

After many years of working in other locations, such as JT's Porch in Lombard and JT's Corner Tap in Carol Stream, as well as Needles Saloon in Villa Park and the Tap House Grill in St. Charles, Agoston feels ThrowBack Sports Bar offers the best food he has put on a table.

“We are just a small, fresh from-scratch kitchen,” he said. “Everything is brought in three to five times a week, so there is a lot of prep every day.

“You can just tell in the food,” he added. “It is a step above what people are used to in a bar and it is a step above what I was used to in the other bars I worked at.”

In what is increasingly becoming a crowded sports bar scene in the Tri-Cities area, Agoston feels ThrowBack will earn its keep.

“If you are providing good food at good prices and with good service, it becomes a no-brainer,” he said. “It is all about consistency, so we want to have the right people in place to make sure customers are getting the experience they are looking for.”

Grandparents and chicken:

In talking to Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke over the past 30-plus years, the topics mostly have been to get his insight on various aspects of city government, or new proposals for the city or region.

My recent conversation with the mayor, who has held that office since 1981, leaned more toward his profession as a Realtor for Baird & Warner. And it was about real estate trends.

“One trend I am noticing is we are getting the younger families moving into Batavia and seemingly within a couple of years, we have the mother and father of those parents wanting to live nearby,” Schielke said. “They want to be near the grandchildren.”

That sort of transition has occurred in the past, but Schielke said it is occurring at a rate that should make a developer take notice.

“I've had conversations with a couple of builders contemplating building in Batavia and I have been telling them if they could build units with a first-floor master, it would be a real hot-selling item,” Schielke added. “That's the newfound market.”

The “grandparent angle” is far bigger than some may realize and it comes into play for other businesses that analyze a lot of data to determine where to locate, Schielke said.

One such business is the Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers restaurant going up on Randall Road at McKee Street in Batavia.

“They said one of their big business generators is grandparents bringing grandkids to the restaurant,” Schielke said. “Grandchildren like the chicken fingers and all of the dips, and grandparents like that too, so it is a great place to go together.”

Help through music:

When the Music Matters School of Music hosts its second Summer Fest, any donations given by those in attendance at the two-day event will help the CHIP IN nonprofit organization.

CHIP IN helps homeless or low-income students and families with school costs and daily needs.

The festival takes place with a country night Friday, Aug. 9, featuring Whiskey Romance and two bands, Iverson and Serendipity, on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Batavia Riverwalk.

Music school director Jeffrey Matters is asking those in attendance to consider a donation of $5 or more for the CHIP IN cause.

Food vendors will sell tacos, barbecue, sliders and other fare at the festival, and an Art Zone and bounce houses will be set up for kids from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10.

Almost famous:

For a day or so, it appeared I was destined to appear on television in front of millions, or thousands, or maybe just hundreds, of viewers. I never really did ask what kind of viewership the “Collector's Call” show on the MeTV Network enjoyed.

This program, hosted by actress Lisa Whechel, who played “Blair” on the “Facts of Life,” showcases collectors of various types of memorabilia.

It is best for the show if the memorabilia and antiques fit in with the MeTV Network in some fashion. Apparently, after seeing my Daily Herald piece last year about my Three Stooges memorabilia collection, show producer John Owens saw that connection. MeTV broadcasts Stooges shorts and has done so, at various times, for years.

He pitched the idea that I could appear on the show. Luckily, after we spoke, he changed his mind. I convinced him I am not the type of collector he was seeking for the show.

I told the truth. “I'm just a guy with a few boxes full of really cool Stooges stuff,” I said. “I am not out hunting for original or unique pieces worth thousands of dollars, nor do I sell anything I have.”

So it was, my brush with fame, at least among Stooges fans, was only a thought in passing.

I hope they find the right Stooges collector because it would be fascinating to watch.

But for me? I still have a lot of cool stuff and know much about my favorite comedy team. It has pleased my friends when they see it, and impressed my service club members when I haul all of the stuff in for a presentation.

That's my “Collector's Call” and it works fine for me.

dheun@sbcglobal.net