April 1st, 2008 05:28am
Deborah Austin
Not a coming or going, more like a doing:
Locations of The UPS Store around the country, including the one at 7431 E. State St. in Rockford, are teaming up with the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation for its first-ever year-round Toys for Tots Literacy Program.
Through the month of April, The UPS Store will be selling $1 donation cards. For every dollar donated, a book will be given to a local economically disadvantaged child, courtesy of Scholastic, Inc.
The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. network is the exclusive sponsor of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program. Since 2005 it also has been a national sponsor of Toys for Tots.
You can find more information at www.ToysforTotsLiteracy.org.
March 20th, 2008 05:50am
Deborah Austin
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 01:21am
Deborah Austin
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 05:20am
Deborah Austin
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 10:49am
Deborah Austin
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 06:23am
Deborah Austin
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.
February 29th, 2008 11:37am
Deborah Austin
Juventas Medical Spa is celebrating its grand opening March 6 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Its owner and manager, Dr. Joseph Eckburg, has been a family practice physician in the Rock River Valley area for 13 years. He has received certifications in laser procedures, sclerotherapy and Botox/Juvederm injections, according to a release from the company.
The spa, at 7117 Crimson Ridge Drive, Suite 3, Rockford, has been open since Feb. 18 — and up through its grand opening date, is offering special rates of 40 percent off all treatment packages as well as Botox for $9 per unit (its normal price will be $12 per unit).
Services at the spa include photo facial rejuvenation, microdermabrasion, chemical peels, laser hair removal and laser vein therapy among other procedures.
February 27th, 2008 07:00pm
Deborah Austin
A few weekends ago, when planning a school-related trip into Chicago with some friends and considering what stores to visit in our few hours of shopping time, I had my heart set on finding an extra-warm down-filled coat I’d seen in L.L. Bean’s catalog. But I was disappointed to discover there was no L.L. Bean store in Chicago. In fact, there was no L.L. Bean store anywhere outside the Northeastern U.S.
Evidently I was just eight months early.
The Maine-based outdoor gear and apparel outfitter announced this week that it plans to open its first retail store outside the Northeast this September, and it will be in the Chicago area. The new 30,000-square-foot store is planned for The Arboretum of South Barrington, a retail, dining and entertainment center being developed at the northeastern corner of Route 59 and Higgins Road in — you guessed it — South Barrington.
The Chicago area store will be L.L. Bean’s 10th outside of Maine. The company also plans to open retail stores in New York and Pennsylvania in 2008, said Carolyn Beem, manager of public affairs. It would like to have three or four stores in the Chicago area in the next two or three years, she said.
February 24th, 2008 09:19am
Deborah Austin
Off-price retailer T.J. Maxx will be moving to Machesney Park in March and closing its East State Street store in Rockford.
T.J. Maxx plans to open its new Machesney Park store, in Machesney Crossing at 1009 W. Lane Road, on March 13, with grand opening hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The current T.J. Maxx Location, at 6363 E. State St. in Rockford, is scheduled to close March 9.
The new Machesney Park store will carry a larger accessories department than a typical T.J. Maxx store — including handbags, jewelry and luggage — according to a press release from the company.
T.J. Maxx, based in Framingham, Mass., has more than 800 stores in 48 states.
First Rockford Group is the developer of Machesney Crossing, a retail complex at the southeast corner of Illinois 251 and Illinois 173.  Retailers began opening in its main 220,000-square-foot inline building in October and November 2007.Â
February 17th, 2008 06:01am
Deborah Austin
Heavenly Ham in Rockford and the Rock River Valley Pantry have joined together to bring special ham dinners to families in the community this Easter. This program hopes to provide meals to 2,000 families in need this Easter in the Rockford area.
Individuals and businesses can participate by donating to the program. For a donation of $25, Heavenly Ham will put together a platter/basket of food that will consist of one pound of ham, two pounds of a side dish, 12 rolls, and a pie. The meal feeds four people. The Rock River Valley Pantry will distribute these dinners to local families that may otherwise go without a meal this Easter.
Businesses that choose one of the sponsorship programs will be recognized in local print media and have their logos on the outside of the boxed suppers they made possible. Members of the community may also donate for a complete meal to a single family ($25) or to four families ($100).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are more than 33,000 people living in Winnebago County - including more than 12,000 children under the age of 18 - that fall below poverty guidelines.
Orders are being taken now through March 10. To participate, stop by either Heavenly Ham at 7451 East State Stree, Rockford, or the Rock River Valley Pantry at 1080 Short Elm Street, Rockford. For more information, contact the Rock River Valley Pantry at (815) 965-2485 or Heavenly Ham at (815) 395-1426.
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