Archive for March, 2008
March 20th, 2008
Clare Schwartz, owner of the High Maintenance Salon & Day Spa at 135 North Longwood,Rockford and in the new Peak Sports Club, 4401 Peak Drive, Loves Park, plans to open a new weekend-only by-appointment studio at Cliffbreakers Lexington Hotel, 700 W. Riverside, Rockford, by the beginning of April. No grand opening date has yet been set.
The Cliffbreakers location will be geared for bridal parties who are staying at Cliffbreakers, and will offer hair design with four hair stations, nail care and on-site makeup — all the things that bridal parties need. It will not offer hair color or waxing, said Schwartz. The Cliffbreakers location will have a team of people from High Maintenance as well as a team lead person.
“I have a bridal consultant who will sit down with them and find out what kind of look they’re doing for; they’ll do an extensive consult ahead of time so that when the team leader goes over there (to Cliffbreakers) to manage everything, it will go very smoothly,” she said. “We’ll make it so they don’t have to leave the hotel until they go to the church.”
Those interested in more information can call High Maintenance at Peak at 815-963-1948, said Schwartz.
Meanwhile, that High Maintenance at Peak location, which opened Dec. 8, is holding a grand opening and open house on May 17 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
And back at the original High Maintenance at Longwood location, a private room will be opened, also by the start of April, for chemotherapy patients who are losing their hair, and for Muslim women, who are not allowed to have men see their hair, said Schwartz.
High Maintenance also plans to hold a fundraiser sometime this fall ( no date has yet been set) to benefit the PAWS Humane Society which serves the Rockford area, said Luan Dean, co-owner of the High Maintenance at Longwood and owner of Lula’s Vintage Boutique, 221 E. State St., Rockford.
The benefit event, called the “Fur Ball,” will have a “Hair Ball” theme (a hair and fashion show), said Dean — and will be styled like a runway show, said Schwartz.
March 19th, 2008
Brio, the restaurant and wine bar at 515 E. State St., Rockford, has started an “Industry Night” each Monday night for fellow workers in the restaurant and bar industry. On Monday nights, anyone working in that industry — except for fast food restaurants — can bring a current pay stub from his or her employer, purchase one alcoholic beverage at regular price, and choose an entree free from Brio’s Industry Night menu. Currently there are three entrees on that menu.
Catering director Sandy Johns said Brio started the program March 10, “to have fun and relax with the people who know our business.
“Monday nights typically are slow nights for people in the industry, so it’s a good night for those people to come together and have some fun,” she said. Monday night the 17th, the restaurant had a couple of tables full of industry folk, Johns said.
“We haven’t really been measuring how many extra industry people we’ve gotten yet,” she said. “We haven’t really gotten the word out yet.”
Johns said she does have ideas for trivia games and other fun activities to add if the Industry Night really takes off.
March 13th, 2008
People in the Rock River Valley seem to care a great deal about their restaurants. By far the most comments I get on this blog are about restaurants either coming here or leaving.
When I wrote in January that Buffalo Wild Wings was planning to open a restaurant at 6275 E. State St., Rockford, sometime this summer, one enthusiastic reader responded:
“LOVE LOVE LOVE BWW!! I used to live in Bloomington and worked at the one there….I never liked wings or spicy things until I started sampling the buffalo menu. The atmosphere is fun and upbeat and even though it is a sports bar, its dining rooms offer a family setting as well. In Bloomington it is always busy! So good and so much fun! I can’t wait!1
Also in December after I wrote that the Del Taco restaurant at 1555 W. Lane Road, Machesney Park, had closed, I got several disappointed responses. One reader wrote,
“We live 15 miles from the Del Taco, but we loved it so much we went anyway.”
Another said,
“That’s sad. We lived in Southern CA for a few years and loved Del Taco. After we moved back to the Chicago area we actually drove 100 miles to this location. Luckily, one opened up about 10 miles from us in Oak Lawn, IL. I really hope it stays open.”
Responses were mixed to the opening of the new Ember Restaurant and Bar in A Perryville Place, 6957 Olde Creek Road, Rockford. Some people gave it rave reviews, others simply said, “don’t.” I got by far the most responses about this restaurant — both positive and negative — so I guess that means a lot of people are trying it out!
March 6th, 2008
Check out vintage and modern furniture during an open house — Fri., March 7Â and Sat., March 8Â — for Nest, a new store at 218 E. State St.
The store, which opened in December, is owned by Rockford resident Christopher Furney, who also is the president of the nearby Haight Village Neighborhood Association. It features mid-century and modern furniture and other unique home-decor items that Furney has collected during the past decade.
The open house runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. Refreshments will be served. Call 815-222-8624 for more information.
March 5th, 2008
A new Asha SalonSpa is scheduled to open in early April at The District at CherryVale, the new lifestyle center at CherryVale Mall, 7200 Harrison Ave., Cherry Valley.
It will be an Aveda Lifestyle SalonSpa, which means it will carry the full line of Aveda care products for hair, skin and nails, and provide all Aveda signature services. The spa will have a nail bar for manicures and pedicures. Among other services, it will provide hair coloring, facials, massages and body waxing.
The spa will be the fifth Asha SalonSpa; the other four are in the Chicago area, where the company is based, said Kathleen Bergeron, managing partner of the entire Asha SalonSpa collection. Construction on the new CherryVale salon started in mid-January, and training and a soft opening will start at the beginning of April, said Bergeron. Grand opening parties will start around April 20, said Bergeron.
Bergeron opened the first Asha SalonSpa seven years ago. She will be commuting daily from Huntley to help with the new location. Team leader Maureen O’Rielly will be running the salon.
