Two longtime friends who both own food-related businesses have teamed up on a shared commercial space. Emerald’s Eats and Homemade Passions by Bryce have moved into the building at 713 N. Seventh St. in Riverton. It was most recently occupied by Bakin’ Me Happy, which closed unexpectedly at the end of May. “We’ve moved in […]
Comings & Goings
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MJ’s Fish & Chicken Express reopening
MJ’s Fish & Chicken Express is reopening Sept. 4 for dine-in service, more than two years after shifting its business model to focus on catering and special events. “My wife is retired now, and she has committed to being here and managing the front end,” said Jerome Taylor, who co-owns the restaurant at 716 E. […]
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The Cats’ Pyjamas to reopen in new location downtown
The cats will be returning to downtown soon. Tom Raymond and his wife, Samantha Enz, opened The Cats’ Pyjamas Cat Café in March but the building at 413 E. Adams St. was heavily damaged by fire June 19. When Raymond spoke to SBJ the following day, he was uncertain about the future of the cat […]
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Farmstead Primitive in Chatham closes
Farmstead Primitive Co., a women’s boutique in Chatham, has closed just shy of its five-year anniversary. “I’m going to miss all my customers, but between my health and the economy it didn’t make sense to keep going,” said owner Allyson Taapken-Matrisch. She originally launched the boutique retail store in November 2019 and had a location […]
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Illinois Attorney General executes search warrants at multiple Monster Pawn locations
Both Monster Pawn locations in Springfield were surrounded by crime scene tape and officers from the Springfield and Chatham police departments the morning of July 23, but it appears the activity was part of a larger investigation. “Investigators from the Illinois Attorney General’s organized retail crime task force executed a number of search warrants as […]
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710 Rippy G’s to offer Chicago-style and soul food dishes
Springfield will soon have a new option for soul food. Jenita Harris is opening 710 Rippy G’s in the food court at White Oaks Mall on Saturday, July 27. The name was chosen to honor her late brother-in-law, whose birthday was July 10. “He was one of the best cooks in the family,” she said. […]
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Grand opening for Jack McNamara’s Par Fore Lounge
Golf fans now have another year-round option to enjoy their favorite sport. Jack McNamara’s Par Fore Lounge, a bar and lounge that also offers a golf simulator, has opened at 7036 Kingsmill Court. “We knew the golf simulators were becoming popular, and because we’re located right behind Piper Glen, we thought during the winter months […]
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Crave Cookies opens Springfield store
Crave Cookies has opened a Springfield location at 3808 Octavus Via. Franchise owners Josh and Jennifer Ellison announced plans earlier this year to bring the gourmet cookie company to the capital city. A soft opening was held July 31, with a grand opening planned for Saturday, Aug. 3. “We’ll be giving away 1,500 free chocolate […]
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Springfield Gymnastics Center has two moves in the works
Springfield Gymnastics Center has a new facility under construction on the west side, but in the meantime, the business will operate out of the former Shop ‘n Save property on the corner of Wabash Avenue and Chatham Road. “The new building is scheduled to be done next spring,” said co-owner Brad Epperson. “We’ve already broken […]
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Shangri-La Dispensaries to hold grand opening July 11
Shangri-La Dispensaries will hold a grand opening at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 11, for its new Springfield dispensary. The event will include area vendors, food trucks and live music. Shangri-La, 3128 S. Dirksen Parkway, represents the company’s first entrance into Illinois’ adult-use cannabis market. The parent company, founded in 2019, is a multistate cannabis operator […]
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New restaurant under construction on west side
A new restaurant is under construction on the west side of Springfield, with additional space available for a second restaurant or retail use. Rotary Center LLC, an entity partially owned by area developer Steve Zhao, is constructing a two-unit building at 3061 Wabash Ave., located in Southwest Plaza II along with the west-side Lowe’s. The […]
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Neuhoff sells Springfield and Bloomington radio stations
Neuhoff Family Limited Partnership, the parent company of Neuhoff Media-Springfield, LLC and Neuhoff Media-Bloomington, LLC has announced it has entered into an agreement to sell the assets of WFMB-AM/WFMB-FM, WCVS-FM, WXAJ-FM and Channel1450.com in Springfield and WBBE-FM, WWHX-FM and WIHN-FM in Bloomington to Woodward Communications, Inc. This transaction marks the final sale of the divestiture […]