After spending more than a decade working at his uncle’s restaurants in Decatur, Timmy Islami has stepped out on his own at the Golden Yolk Café at the corner of Stevenson and Baker Drive. The café, which will celebrate its recent opening with an official ribbon cutting on Oct. 29, serves classic American food with […]
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Building permits – Oct. 19 to Oct. 25
Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust received a commercial remodel permit for 2760 N. Dirksen Parkway. Contractor is Prime Retail Services and the project is valued at $120,000. Austin J. Padfield received a commercial remodel permit for 2808 Monmouth Court, Apt. A. Contractor is Tom Streder and the project is valued at $68,750. Austin J. Padfield […]
New GM for Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Express
Tim Whitehead has been named general manager of the Crowne Plaza Springfield and Holiday Inn Express & Suites Springfield. Driftwood Hospitality Management, a third-party hotel management firm and affiliate of Driftwood Capital, made the announcement as part of a series of new general manager and corporate appointments across its national portfolio, with leadership moves spanning […]
Taco Bell opening soon in Chatham
The first freestanding Taco Bell in Chatham could be open by the end of the year. The restaurant is under construction at the site of the former Hardee’s on North Main Street. LucWork Enterprises Inc., a Peoria-based Taco Bell franchise owner, will be the restaurant’s owner and operator. “Obviously weather can play into it, but […]
Red Raven Candle Co. opens in Chatham
Colleen Walraven crafts blueberry waffles topped with whipped cream, banana cream pies and strawberry shortcakes that look mouthwateringly realistic – but actually are made out of wax. Walraven is the owner of Red Raven Candle Co., which opened up shop in Chatham on Oct. 10. The store carries the dessert-lookalike candles along with other items […]
Building permits – Oct. 12 to Oct. 18
Sangamo Club received a demolition permit for 227 E. Adams St. Contractor is Joyner Construction Services Inc. and the project is valued at $243,000. KAH VI LLC received a commercial remodel permit for 110 Chatham Road. Contractor is Gurdian Asphalt and the project is valued at $46,465. Matt Greibrok received a commercial remodel permit for […]
Four Leaf Accounting opens Springfield office
An Illinois native, Lisa Stevenson moved to Phoenix after college, where she eventually started NPO Accountants, a firm specializing in supporting nonprofit organizations. Now, more than two decades later, she’s moved back to Illinois and merged her firm with another Phoenix-based accounting firm. The merger of NPO and Four Leaf Financial & Accounting created a […]
Illinois medical debt relief program surpasses $1B goal in two years
The state has erased over $1.4 billion in medical debt for almost 700,000 Illinoisans for pennies on the dollar, two years after launching a new relief program. At its launch, the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program aimed to eliminate $1 billion in debt. The state has surpassed that goal by $400 million, spending less than […]
Spirit Christmas coming to Springfield
Spirit Christmas, the holiday-themed sister shop to Spirit Halloween, will be opening a store in Springfield next month as part of a national expansion of the brand. The current Spirit Halloween store at 3329 S. Veterans Parkway, in the former Party City building, will swap seasonal motifs and transition into a Spirit Christmas store in […]
New bookstore opening downtown
Continuing a local trend that flies in the face of conventional wisdom about physical media, a new bookstore specializing in literary fiction, contemporary nonfiction, poetry and graphic novels will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.. Three Ducks Bookstore is located at 414 E. Monroe St. in downtown […]
A third 7 Brew for Springfield
7 Brew Coffee opened its first Springfield location in May, broke ground in July for a second location and has now filed a zoning petition for a third store. Dennis Pronto of Brew Horizons LLC is listed as the contract purchaser on a rezoning petition filed for 3150 S. Sixth St. seeking to reclassify it […]
Taqueria El Pollo to close
The Taqueria El Pollo restaurant on West Jefferson will be closing at the end of the month after six years in business. The high cost of doing business in the current economy prompted the closing, said Julio Barrenzuela, who has served as a business liaison for small business owners in the area and works with […]

