By Ginny Lee Jose Lopez, Jr. moved to Springfield from Jacksonville four years ago and opened Casa Real at 301 North Grand Ave. W. in the building that once housed longtime Springfield eatery Wayne’s Red Coach Inn. The popular Mexican restaurant has earned a faithful following since then. More recently, Lopez, 28, bought the building […]
Ginny Lee
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Car charging stations pop up all over
By Ginny Lee A couple of years ago, I test drove a Chevy Volt downtown at a special event at the state capital. I was impressed at how smoothly it handled but really hadn’t thought much about electric cars since then. Then I noticed a charging station at Springfield Electric recently and another at the […]
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Custom Cup Coffee opens on E. Monroe
By Ginny Lee Custom Cup Coffee had a soft opening at its new storefront at 321 E. Monroe St. downtown during Thanksgiving week. The shop went through 125 pounds of beans in the first week, and sales have steadily increased since then. Brent and Kendra Boesdorfer of Custom Cup’s microroastery specialize in small batch, roast-to-order […]
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Cooper’s Hawk adds fine dining to White Oaks Mall
By Ginny Lee Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant opened Monday, Nov. 3 in Springfield’s White Oaks Mall, in the long-vacant space once occupied by Kerasotes movie theaters. The Cooper’s Hawk brand is handcrafted wine and modern casual dining. So far, response to the upscale restaurant has been enthusiastic. Reservations for weekend dining are being made […]
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County survey paints optimistic picture
By Ginny Lee The fall 2014 Sangamon County Economic Outlook Survey, published twice a year by the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Survey Research Office, revealed several surprising results. The Survey Research Office, headed by Director Ashley E. Kirzinger, is part of the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership. The study is funded by […]
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Sharing cars with Zipcars
By Ginny Lee Zipcar bills itself as a car-sharing enterprise. The company was founded in 1999 in Massachusetts, marketing itself to cool, urban hipsters looking to share rides rather than own cars. Zipcars are certainly more prevalent in larger cities, but two can be found in Springfield in the parking lot between the St. Nicholas […]
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Keep on (food) truckin’
By Ginny Lee The prevalence of food trucks is a national trend, centering mainly in metropolitan areas and college towns. Springfield has witnessed several forays into roadside dining in the past few years. The Chomp food truck operated by Derrick Woolbright was on the scene for a while, a familiar sight at openings by The […]