Archive for January, 2009
January 30th, 2009
The Starbucks store inside CherryVale Mall near Bergners has closed, but coffee drinkers can still get their fix at a nearby bookstore.
Starbucks closed its doors on Thursday. Cindy Hindes, the mall’s marketing director, said the store had been on a month-to-month lease since September.
Hindes also said the Starbucks was a corporate location, meaning it wasn’t run by a local franchise owner. Seattle-based Starbucks announced on Thursday that it planned to close about 300 more underperforming, company-operated stores across the globe.
The Rockford region survived the first round of Starbucks cuts last summer when the company announced it was closing 600 stores.
Starbucks now has three free-standing locations in Rockford: 6239 E. State St.; 3001 N. Perryville Road; and 7474 E. State St. The Barnes & Noble bookstore inside CherryVale Mall still sells Starbucks coffee.
The coffee chain also has stores in Machesney Park and Roscoe, and two in Belvidere if you count the stand at the tollway oasis.
January 23rd, 2009
Family Dollar, 1434 S. Main St., is celebrating its grand opening on Saturday.
The store officially opened for business on Thursday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday, and officials will hand out goody bags to residents who stop by through 8 p.m.
Visitors also can register to win two bicycles and door prizes. Drawings for the bikes will take place on Monday, and winners will be notified by telephone.
The 9,180-square-foot store sits next to the Familia Fresh Foods store that opened last year. Developer Oliver Emerson is also working on a medical clinic nearby, which he expects will be finished in about a month.
Family Dollar, a Fortune 500 company, has more than 6,600 stores in 44 states. The South Main Street store will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
January 16th, 2009
The owner of Table 13 says his restaurant has been well-received since relocating to a new spot off Perryville Road in Rockford.
Table 13 opened in December at 6957 Olde Creek Road inside A Perryville Place plaza where Ember Restaurant & Bar used to be. Owner Jeremy Germano had been scouting a new location since plans for a Walgreens developed at his former spot at North Main and Auburn streets.
The restaurant now offers lunch as well as dinner, and Germano hopes to add a breakfast menu soon. Germano said he’s seeing more walk-in business, which he attributes to the location, and Table 13 regulars are finding their way back.
“We’re just happy to be back,” Germano said. “And we’re grateful for the support.”
Germano worked to install a patio at the front of the restaurant on the Perryville Road side, a project he hopes to wrap up by spring to offer more seating. He also hopes to eventually add banquet space and a wine grotto in the basement.
A grand opening for the restaurant likely will take place in February. Table 13 is now open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with additional bar menu selections. The hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. or so for lunch and dinner, and the bar is open later.
Visit table-13.com or call 815-964-1300 for more information.
January 16th, 2009
Plans to put a Sonic drive-in restaurant near the Cherry Valley Menards store are moving foward. Village President Jim Claeyssen said the platting of the land has been approved by the village board and the final design should be available for the Planning and Development Committee’s OK in February.
“It’s a big win for us,” he said. “Obviously because of the economy, but we’ll also have the first Sonic in the Rock River Valley.”
Sonic is the country’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants, serving more than a million people a day at 32,000 locations in the United States and Mexico. The average store does a little over $1 million in sales a year, based on 2006 figures, according to the company.
The location is being developed by Oklahoma City, Okla.-based Mason, Harrison and Ratliff. Karen Hall, marketing manager, said the company plans to open the location in mid-to-late summer.
January 13th, 2009
Local children can bounce away their energy when a Monkey Joe’s franchise opens in March.
The business offers an indoor playground with inflatable jump equipment where kids can play throughout the week or host a birthday party. It will be located in the old Warehouse Shoes location between Tuesday Morning and American TV Appliance & Furniture at 6663 E. State Street.
Trace Upchurch and his wife, Amy, are the franchise owners. They lived in Rockford for about eight years but relocated to the Atlanta area in 2003, which is where they first visited a Monkey Joe’s location when planning a birthday party for one of their children.
“The business had really taken off well there, and the franchiser was looking to open more stores in the Midwest,” said Upchurch, whose family moved back to Rockford in August.
One of the largest pieces of inflatable equipment at the new store will be a 22-foot-tall dual-lane slide. The facility also will include an obstacle course, mazes and more.
There will be three rooms dedicated for birthday parties, a concession area and a parents’ lounge with big-screen TVs and Internet access. The target ages for children are 2 to 12, and a toddler zone will be available for children ages 3 and younger.
Upchurch said they hope to open Monkey Joe’s by the first week of March. The hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Costs for open play range from $5 to $9.49 per person, depending on a child’s age and the day of the week. Upchurch said the facility also can accommodate up to 275 people for after-hours rental.
Monkey Joe’s is accepting party bookings for March by calling 815-505-3493 or through the Web site at monkeyjoes.com/home61108.aspx. Upchurch said they also hope to hire a few full-time managers and about 20 to 25 part-time employees. Applications are available through the Web site.
January 13th, 2009
Located just over the stateline, Cub foods’ store in Beloit, Wis., is a popular stop for many South Beloit residents. Cub Foods, which is a subsidiary of SuperValu, announced Monday it is closing the store in mid-March.
Cub Foods also was one of the places Illinois residents would flock to when The Big Game, a multi-state lottery that included Wisconsin, reached high prize totals. The company had a store in Loves Park for more than 20 years, but Cub Foods closed it in 2004 and sold the property after it decided to exit the Chicago and northern Illinois markets.
The Loves Park Cub Foods is now a Valli Produce.
For South Beloit residents, the closing will mean a slightly longer trip to visit a major store. Roscoe has a Hilander Foods and Rockton has a Walmart Superstore. Woodman’s has a Beloit, Wis. location on the city’s far northwest side.
January 8th, 2009
Gerlinde’s Water Street Cafe, 115 N. Water St., has closed for business.
Owner Gerlinde Sampson opened her French-inspired downtown cafe six years ago and said the combination of a poor economy and decreased traffic contributed to her decision to close.
“It has gotten worse every year, especially the last year and a half,” Sampson said. “I will miss it all.”
Sampson, who grew up in Europe, has lived in the region for about 25 years. She plans to pursue catering and has had offers to open a restaurant on the city’s east side.
To contact her regarding catering, e-mail Sampson at gersampson@aol.com.
Sampson leased the cafe building, and the owners are looking to sell or lease again. Call 815-963-5125 for more information.
January 7th, 2009
The Dairy Queen at 4410 Charles St. is closed. Signs on the store’s windows ask customers to go to another Dairy Queen for their ice cream treats. The owner, Chris Hartman, was unavailable for comment.
