Archive for March, 2009
March 20th, 2009
Diners can feast on stuffed artichokes, grilled calamari and entrées like rigatoni con broccolini at the new Ciao Bella Ristorante, 6500 E. Riverside Blvd.
Owner Sam Torchia said Ciao Bella’s menu will change every few weeks to showcase authentic dishes from northern, central and southern Italy and Sicily. Desserts include homemade gelato, sorbets and his 80-year-old mother’s homemade Italian cookies.
Torchia is a Rockford native and has been in the food industry for about 33 years. His business partner may be familiar to Rockfordians: he is working with Talia Castrogiovanni, whose family was involved with Giovanni’s restaurant and the Hilander grocery stores.
“Our motto is keep it simple, keep it good and keep it coming,” Torchia said. “You can literally smell garlic from I-90. The ambience here is very warm and inviting. It wants you to stay.”
Torchia said the chefs will make customers a special order if their favorite dish isn’t included on the menu when it changes every few weeks.
Ciao Bella opened on Monday, and Torchia said the restaurant will serve dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.
On March 30, the restaurant will be open for lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. It will stay open through the dinner hour.
The space where Ciao Bella is open once housed Basil Cafe and then Dos Reales restaurant.
March 20th, 2009
A British-style pub is set to open Monday, March 23, at the former Firefly restaurant space in Loves Park.
Hope & Anchor English Pub, 5040 N. Second St., will serve alcohol and pub grub like cottage pie (similar to shepherd’s pie), bangers and mash and classic bar food like hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and wings.
Owner Larry Shernaman had hoped to be open by St. Patrick’s Day but renovations took a bit longer. His business partner, Ian Robbins, is from England, and the pub is named for a similar spot overseas.
The Firefly closed in early January. For nearly 70 years, the Mayflower was a fine-dining staple at that location. Since the original Mayflower closed in January 1999, several restaurant groups have opened and closed there.
March 20th, 2009
Shoppers have about a week left to browse what’s left of the inventory at World Market, 6650 E. State St.
The store is among the 26 underperforming locations that World Market’s owner, Cost Plus, is closing this year in a cost-cutting move.
Employees said the store will close at or before 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 29. That’s if the store still has merchandise left. It may close sooner if the 30 to 90-percent-off-deals clear the shelves faster.
March 20th, 2009
The new CVS store at the busy intersection of Alpine Road and East State Street will open on Sunday.
Customers can start shopping at 8 a.m., and the store will be open 24 hours a day after that.
A ribbon-cutting event is planned for March 30 with local officials and neighboring business owners and residents.
The project was announced last April, and the building that once housed Entre Computer Solutions was torn down to make room for the CVS.
The free-standing store replaces the older CVS at 3915 E. State St. CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said about 30 employees transferred from there to the new store. He said the new spot is a great location, which is why the company was interested in building there.
DeAngelis said the new CVS has a two-lane drive-thru pharmacy to offer greater convenience, as well as a digital photo cafe, which is a larger photo area for customers.
March 16th, 2009
Register Star file photo
Residents can ride Rockford Mass Transit District buses on St. Patrick’s Day for free, thanks to a deal with Cricket Communications.
Cricket is a new wireless provider that launched last month in the Rockford region, with its main store located at 3774 E. State St.
The company is paying the ridership rates from 5:15 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday at all RMTD routes and transfer points. Spokeswoman Lisa Brown said RMTD usually sees about 4,500 riders per day, and the average fare box revenue is about $2,200 to $2,500 a day.
The deal also includes promotional events for Cricket. Company ambassadors will “lose” their wallets in a variety of locations throughout Rockford, and the wallets will include special offers redeemable at Cricket stores.
All fare boxes will be covered with signs that say “Today’s ride is free courtesy of Cricket Wireless.”
March 6th, 2009
Families can bounce through the doors at Monkey Joe’s, 6663 E. State St., starting Saturday.
The franchise offers an indoor playground with inflatable jump equipment where kids can play throughout the week or host a birthday party. It’s located in the old Warehouse Shoes space between Tuesday Morning and American TV Appliance & Furniture.
Trace Upchurch and his wife, Amy, are the franchise owners. Upchurch said they have about 47 parties booked through May.
Monkey Joe’s will have a few grand-opening specials on Saturday. Anyone who brings a canned good for the Northern Illinois Food Bank will receive $5 admission (costs for play range from $5 to $9.49, depending on a child’s age and day of the week).
All children will receive a Monkey Joe’s t-shirt while supplies last. And a portion of Saturday’s sales also will go to the Rock River Valley Pantry and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Upchurch also said anyone who books a party on Saturday will receive a party package discount.
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.
Call Monkey Joe’s at 815-505-3493 or visit them online at monkeyjoes.com/home61108.aspx.
March 6th, 2009
Circuit City, 5460 E. State St., is closing its doors for good after the end of business Sunday.
The electronics retailer announced in January that it was liquidating what’s left of its operation. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, and an attempt to find a buyer was unsuccessful.
A store manager said this week that the store will close at 6 p.m. Sunday. Call 815-399-8066 for more information or stop by to see what’s left of the merchandise.
Customers also can turn to American TV Appliance & Furniture, 6651 E. State St., for help with the closure of Circuit City.
The store is accepting gift cards toward electronics, appliance and furniture purchases. Card balances can be used for up to 20 percent of the total purchase price on in-store sales at American. Visit americantv.com for more information.
