Why I Oughta...

If you walk by the storefront just south of TCBY on the west side of York Street in the Elmhurst City Centre these days, you'll notice that there's a 'for lease' sign up in the old Meeder Remodeling location.  They were in this spot for about a year or less only - as I posted about them moving out of their location further south here on the blog last December . If you drive down south on York near the Prairie Path, you'll see that they've relocated down there, which is great and means that they didn't close up shop. As for the City Centre, we need a mix of uses - from retail to restaurant to services to offices.  And Meeder was a part of that mix.  They didn't generate a ton of foot traffic, but I am guessing that they employed a staff that worked in the City Centre everyday that provided needed customers to the other tenants of the City Centre. Because storefronts are so scarce, I'm always going to advocate for office/showroom uses like thi

Over the weekend, the kids and I went out and changed the oil in Nat's car, hit up Delta Sonic for a detail job on the rolling dumpster that is the backseats of our van, a quick stop at Menards for some mouse traps and candy for the girls and then we wandered around and found a few garage sales and an Estate Sale. At the Estate Sale - which was in Elmhurst just north of St. Charles -  they had a whole table of milk glass.  See all of the stuff they had below: Plenty of it was hobnail as you can see.  I took that photo and texted it to Nat and the only thing that jumped out to her - and me - was the pitcher in the back row.  So, I grabbed it, and a few other things and went up to the table to haggle with the hosts.  I'll post the other things later, but as everyone says: I got a great deal!  This time, it is true, though....

If you head down York Street through the City Center, you'll see this construction site that is just north of BW3 on the east side.  Directly across from the York Theatre. There's an interior gut going on as they transform the former Cocomera into the Elmhurst Craft Kitchen and Bar (or some other name!) as well as an exterior facelift. I posted about this place here on the blog back in February and I heard that they were planning a big out front on the sidewalk outdoor seating section, so the facade work is likely to make it a bit more inviting?  Based on the looks of things, they're a ways away from opening, so I'm thinking that this will be a fall opening at best?  Should be a nice addition to the City Centre and we'll be sure to give it a proper shot with the kids once it opens.

It was just back in April that I chronicled the closing of Goalie's Goodies on the east side of York Street, just south of the tracks in the Elmhurst City Centre.  Well....there's some good news:  if you walk past the site today, you'll see this brand new awning up that welcomes a new business:  Guac-n-Tacos.   They have a new site up , but there (currently) isn't any info up there yet besides their new logo - which I've included below. Think this will be a great addition to the City Centre.  The place isn't big, so it won't be a full sit-down place, I don't think?  Probably a counter to order and maybe a counter to eat facing out the front window? We have a Chipotle in the core of the City Center and The Salseria nearby and those two seem to co-exist with Chipotle being the quickserve that (increasingly!!) seems like it is being overtaken by Teens/Tweens/E-Coli???? and the Salseria, which is a full-service sit-down place. Where will Guac-n-Taco

Thanks to Alderman Dannee Polomsky who posted this above on her public Facebook Fan Page, I stumbled onto the new City of Elmhurst website . At first blush, it appears to be a pretty big improvement in terms of pure looks, but they've also added some nice functionality and elevated the 'search box' to speed up the user experience and get people where they want to go faster.  Also...they've made the new site responsive, so when you are heading there on your mobile device - as we are all wont to do more and more these days - the site responds to your device size and presents you with a format that works on mobile.  That *would* have been a big miss in this redesign if they didn't get right, imho. The photography they're using on the page is neat - as there's a few drone shots showing a pretty unique perspective to town and they've done a good job of highlighting the town. Also, you can see some highlighted items across the main part of the site inc

Just a couple of weeks ago, I posted about the apparent closing of Mimmo's in the Elmhurst City Centre here on the blog .  Mimmo's was in the spot just south of Starbucks on the same side of York as the York Theatre.   At the time, it looked like Mimmo's was closing, but it was rumored to be slated to be replaced by another Italian eatery.  Turns out...that rumor was pretty close to being right. If you walk by the location today, you'll see these new signs in the windows announcing:  Coming Soon:  Bacci - Home of the Jumbo Slice.  If you go to the Bacci site, you'll see that they really play up the Jumbo slice angle .  Over there on the site, you'll also see a listing of 11 locations at the bottom.  One of them already is Elmhurst! I've been to Bacci before and I don't have a strong memory of the place other than it was a slice shop.  I was working on a campaign out in Aurora for Bob O'Connor for Illinois State Representative.  And right ne

Downtown Elmhurst just lost another business with the closing of Goalie's Goodies on the west side of York Street, just one block south of the tracks.  If you walk by it today, you'll see this brown papered-up window along with this small sign that says they're moving to River Forest.  Sad news for Elmhurst. I covered the opening of Goalie's Goodies here on the blog back in the end of April of 2013 .  So, she made it for just under three years in Elmhurst. For those of you following along, you'll remember that Goalie's Goodies took the spot of the short-lived Bleeding Heart Bakery . We shopped - what I'd call - regularly at Goalie's Goodies.  We'd buy packs of their corn for my Dad or for other gifts/parties.  And the girls just loved the stuff, so often times we'd have dinner at Pints or somewhere else, and we'd end up at Goalie's Goodies for a few tiny bags of Cheese corn. On her website , Debbie (who I think *is* the Goalie!

If you walk by Mimmo's pizza place on York Street in the Elmhurst City Centre today, you'll see the front window covered in black plastic wrap.  Are they closing?  It is pretty odd because they have a 'Drivers Wanted' sign still up in the window and the menu and other promotional posters all hung between the glass and the black plastic. Anyone have the details? (**Update on 4/19/16:  Heard from a source who is in the know that it looks like Mimmo's is being bought-out by another 'smallish family-owned pizza chain'.  So...it looks like this place will keep serving pizza and salads and such.  That's good for the City Centre.  Once it reopens, I'll be sure we give it a shot!) I don't think it is a remodel because the place was gutted and cleaned up right before they opened not all that long ago.  Unfortunately...we've NEVER been there.  Yep...maybe that's part of the reason for the black plastic.  Blame people like us who never patr

Listen...before you tell me I'm evil, I have to tell you that we have a dog and are totally dog people.  We were there with you crazy people buying our dog fancy collars and bowls and what-have-yous.  Right up until we had kids.  Then Maisy...who I adore...just took a backseat. So...with that out of the way, can we all get a little laugh out of this headline from the local paper?  Dog Flu cancels the Dog Parade?!?  Kinda funny, right?  And the second year in a row?!?! Carry on with your dog-loving self.

Just two months after the closing of MWD Photography ( blog post covering the closing ) on the east side of York Road in the core of the Elmhurst City Centre and just about two months after the closing of a *kinda* similar business in the Elmhurst Olive Oil Co just north on York Road , it looks like we're on the verge of getting a new retailer in the City Centre. And it is called Fuego Loco Sauce Merchant.  And looking at the windows, there's two telling signs:  one of them is that they're going to sell hot sauces of varying degrees (pun intended) and the other is that this place is an extension of the Salseria Grill and Cantina that is just a few doors south . We'll see what happens here.  I think it is great to see more retail.  Not service and not just restaurants, so I have my fingers crossed that they'll succeed.  I'm guessing that they'll be trying to sell out of their store, but also in today's economy, I'd think that they'll be se

Elmhurst 3rd Ward Alderman Danne Polomsky posted this update above to her public Facebook page that links to this document that was delivered last week  by the City Manager that shows a series of development updates around town.    I'm not sure if this was just delivered to the Board, but it is a good document for all residents. But, in addition to the info here, it is notable to discuss the nature of how this was shared.  This is a great example of a public servant sharing info and being transparent with her constituents.  I'm sure that this document could have been 'found' by someone searching the archives on the City's site somewhere, but Alderman Polomsky has made open communication with residents a top priority.  It was part of her pledge as a candidate that she's worked to deliver on during her term.  And this (and just the fact that she's active on social media!) is further proof that she's living up to that promise. Importantly, this is a f

I posted a few days ago about the a 5 unit retail plaza being marketed on North York Road , but during that same session in Roberto's where I was thumbing through the local rag, I also found this ad for "The York Building". Back last August, I posted about the new building that was being advertised in the windows of the old Plass Appliance building here on the blog .  And then just last month, I took a photo of the Plass building being torn down/apart .  Right now, it is just a big hole in the ground with rubble on the site. But, this ad sheds a lot of light on what is to come.  Namely...residential, office and retail. First, the residential:  They're only going to be building 4 units.  All of them are basically penthouses and will be 3000 square feet.  They'll all have 'large outdoor space', which from the look of the rendering will be terraces of some sort.  Those are some big condos, right?  3000 square feet? Luxury living! They're also pu

I spotted this commercial real estate ad in the local newspaper when I was sitting at Roberto's takeout waiting for our pie to finish up.  Seems interesting that they're listing this '5 unit retail/office building' that is right on York Street between 3rd and North Ave as being 'across the street from $55M York/Hahn TIF project now being built featuring 192 luxury apts and 12000 sf of new retail.' They go on to say that the new development will provide 'customer base for existing tenants moving forward' and that 'new tenants will gravitate here as well'.   20 car on-site parking.  Can be yours for just $625,000.00. For the right person, betting on the upside of the new apartment complex being built , there might be a great opportunity!

 If you head over to Downtown Elmhurst today, you'll find this enormous hole in the ground at the site of the old Plass Appliance building on York Street.  It appears that the plan for the "York Building" - which includes condos upstairs and retail on the first floor is moving forward fast. With the Plass building down, it sure does make that building that holds Nu Crepes look better/more accessible, right?  Hopefully, the design of the new York Building will make that walkway/alley a bit more pedestrian friendly.  That...plus the new garage back there should mean more foot traffic.

The folks at the York Theatre are back at it with another film in their "Art @ York" series called Learning to Drive.   Here's the rest of the Art @ York posts on the blog . From the Classic Cinemas site describing the movie : Wendy is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she's never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor, and love in starting life anew.

Same tradition - different house.  Here's a photo of the Elmhurst front yard Christmas tree that we put up at Equation Boy/Man's house where we've been living since August.  (Equation Boy/Man took that photo above, btw.) I've posted about these trees before here on the blog, but this is a really nice Elmhurst holiday tradition.  Each fall, the Elmhurst School District runs a fundraiser where you can buy a tree for $19.  It is organized by a block captain who puts out the order forms and collects all the money.  They then 'host' a little get-together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving where all the trees get dropped off for the neighborhood. Our street does a really good job of participating - maybe the best around town?  Anyone else want to stake the claim as best front-yard-tree-street in Elmhurst? Here's the post from last year's tree out front of our old house (sad face). Here's my post from our 2013 tree . Don't seem to have posted

All the way back in February, I posted some photos of Polay's moving out of the northwest corner of 1st and York right across the tracks in the Elmhurst City Centre.  Then last summer, the contractors at Meeder Industries moved up the block to be on the other side of the York Threatre.  And then that weird nail salon with the odd fountain setup closed up shop.  And nothing went in the stores. There's been rumors of a Rosebud Restaurant was going to go into all four locations (the old Polay's, the Just for Kids store, Meeder and the weird nail salon). But, then I spotted these plans on the windows of the stores.  It calls for some exterior changes to make the building have a more cohesive look - which is great.  And it looks like the landlord is taking it from four small spots into two larger ones. This is the second major construction project that is taking place on the west side of York in the City Center ( the other being the condo project going up at the old P

After a bunch of nagging, i t seems that the City of Elmhurst and the City Centre are going to sack up and decorate the downtown business district with more Christmas lights . I have to say...the one tree that they *did* light up by the train tracks looks awesome.  Here's a shot in the very early morning hours on my walk to the train late last week.

We lost another retail business on York Street in the Elmhurst City Centre. This time, Elmhurst Olive Oil Company has closed their doors and the landlord has a 'for lease' sign up. We covered this place back in 2011 here on the blog when they opened. They made it four years and couldn't make it through the holidays this year.  This place replaced "Let's Have a Party". I think we stopped in there once in the four years it was open.  Well...besides the times when we went to the City Centre for Trick-or-Treat'ing over the years.  And that, folks, is part of the problem.

Earlier this fall, we went to MOD Pizza right on St. Charles Road in Elmhurst as it was the first of the 'fast' pizza places that had opened around here.   I posted about the experience here on the blog .  I really liked it and would recommend trying both the pizzas and the salads.  Right across the street - and I mean *RIGHT.ACROSS.THE.STREET* is another of the pizza joints called Pie Five Pizza Co. Earlier this week, after a bit of Christmas shopping, we took the kids to try Pie Five.  The girls ordered kids pizzas (one had pepperoni and the other had bacon), while Nat had one of their pre-made combos (a Tuscan-something with sun-dried tomatoes) and I created my own (sausage/pepperoni/peppers).  I also ordered a salad.  But, unlike MOD Pizza, the salad selections are pre-made.  Meaning, you get either a garden salad (with pre-set ingredients) or an Italian (with pre-set ingredients) or a Caesar (with the normal Caesar stuff). The place is HUGE.  Like 40 tables huge.  W