Why I Oughta...

Last night we packed the kids up and went out to try Mod (or is it MOD?!?) Pizza on St. Charles Road near Route 83 in Elmhurst .  It is located in the same plaza as Total Hockey and Potbelly's on the south side of St. Charles. Mod Pizza is best described as "The Chipotle of Pizza"; meaning you walk along the line with the pizza maker as they assemble your pie based on your choice of ingredients.  Nat and I both got the 'Mod size', which is the normal size, but they also have a kids size that is a bit smaller. What's interesting is that DIRECTLY across the street from Mod is a newly opened PieFive Pizza - which, I think, is the exact same concept.  What happened with burgers three years ago (lots of burger places opened) and fro-yo two years ago (four fro-yo places opened in town!), appears to be happening with the quick-serve pizza concept.  We decided to try Mod first.  And it was pretty good - considering that they're just getting started with th

This morning, on my walk to the train, I spotted this rendering that is up on the windows of the old Plass store on York Street.  It shows a three-story mixed-use building and has an entry on the 'public walkway' to the north of the existing Plass building with an entrance for something called "York Condominiums". I covered the building back in February when they took the asbestos out of the first floor here on the blog . It looks to have a terraced elevation with the second and third floors receding backwards - which I think will help with the street presence.  I am, a bit bummed that they're going to be ripping down the Plass building - along with the sign.   Take a look at this post that shows the sign and the building . I know that government's role isn't to dictate to property owners what they can/should do with their property, but as the Elmhurst City Centre continues to evolve, I think we'll wish we had *more* of the old buildings that

If you drive down York Road towards the City Centre these days you can't help but spot the big demolition job taking place on the west side just south of the CVS/Panera. Coming down are Pauli's gas station and a few other random buildings.  And in their place?  Something called the Elmhurst 255 built by Morningside USA .   From the listing on their site: 192 luxury rental units in downtown Elmhurst, two blocks from the Metra station 12,000 sf of new retail space available Spring 2016, with 150 public parking spaces and outdoor cafe seating. Divisible 1,400-6,000 sf. Click for more information . Public event plaza with bandshell A public bandshell?  That's pretty cool.  The City Center lacks one important feature that all downtowns *should* have:  a gathering place.  Think place to light the town Christmas tree (I know, I know...we do one down by the police station, but...that's not quite right.), have free concerts, show movies, etc.  This may solve that?

Over the weekend, I found myself in the little parking lot behind the businesses on York and Addison Streets in the Elmhurst City Centre.  What is (obviously) most striking about the space now is the towering garage that is being built right in the center of town. I posted about the beginnings of the deck going up in early May here .  There's been some discussion about the impact the garage is having on the 'skyline' but I for one, am just fine with it.  The long-term gain we'll get out of adding the much-needed parking in this huge deck will be a win for the Elmhurst City Centre and hopefully fuel some new additional commercial growth in our downtown.

A few weeks back, I posted the first photo of the 'changing skyline' of the Elmhurst City Centre from York Street.   But, I recently went down Addison Street and was confronted with a new 'look' of the parking deck from a new angle and had to take this photo you see above.  It certainly is pretty imposing compared to what was there (a parking lot).  The first section here went up really pretty fast as it appears they're mostly a bunch of pre-fab'd sections/panels.  There will be first floor retail/office, so I'm looking forward to seeing that part go up and see what it does to the downtown and in particular what impact it has on other/future growth along Addison Street.

I took this photo of the brand new Kilwin's in the Elmhurst City Center last week as they were putting the finishing touches on the place.  When the sign went up and announced that Kilwin's was coming to town, I was surprised by the timing.  After all...I mostly considered Kilwin's an ice cream shop.  That's all we really ever use it for up in Michigan. But...then...I saw how they had this place set up with various cases and displays and remembered that they are, indeed, a big-time candy shop.  They make chocolates and carmels and such right there in the window in one of those big copper kettles. And you know what?  When is the biggest season for candies?  It isn't Christmas, I would guess.  It *has* to be Spring.  Valentine's Day is staring us in the face.  Followed fast by Easter.  Followed by Mother's Day.   Candy. Candy. Candy. Suddenly...now I know why they rushed to get the place open in February and not wait until ice cream season

Looks like a new storefront is opening up on 3rd Street just West of York.  Sweet P Doll Studio is said to be 'coming soon' based on the sign in the window.   According to their Facebook page , they're set to open in October and you'll be able to 'make' dolls. Coming Soon! A place for girls to create for their 18" Doll! Like our page and stay tuned as we count down the days till we open in October 2013! Sounds like a really nice addition to Elmhurst's downtown that will provide a reason to be "downtown".  Guessing they'll have the full birthday party routine, right?   I could see my daughters loving the whole doll-making process.  We've been to American Girl (Well...we walked thru it when I was there, but I think Nat has actually taken them to the whole lunch thing) and The Babe was in heaven.   I wish them a lot of luck!  I'm sure we'll be in there shortly after they open.

Walking by this building on York this am, I saw this big banner announcing the (soon to be) arrival of a new Yoga studio called "Core Power Yoga".   Their site lists the Elmhurst location as opening in October of this year . This isn't some mom-and-pop Yoga place.  They're a big outfit.  In multiple states and have more than 15 locations here in Illinois including Hinsdale , Naperville , Oak Park and more. The building is on the East side of York, just north of Palmer and is really big.  During the last Mayoral race, one of the campaigns operated out of the first floor and if I read the signs correctly, I believe there is an art gallery on the second floor.  That leaves me with the assumption that Core Power Yoga will be taking up the first floor/street level. This is a really nice addition to downtown and should be a boost to the area north of Palmer.  There is a parking lot right next to the building, so guessing that the patrons will be able to drive right