Natalie Morris| Special to the State Journal-Register
Fairgoers will find no shortage of dining options during the Illinois State Fair that kicks off today/kicked off Thursday. But besides that annual, 11-day feeding frenzy, selections in the neighborhood are slimmer.
Angie Chau, who owns The Fair Plaza, catty-cornered from the fairgrounds at the Sangamon Avenue/Peoria Road intersection, aims to add a new cafe to the mix.
Construction began this week to equip vacancies in the strip mall at 1432 and 1434 Sangamon Ave. with a full commercial kitchen.
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Chau said the goal is to find a tenant to operate a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch at the site. Traditionally, the strip mall has housed retail and service-oriented businesses.
“We need something like that on this side of town,” Chau said of the gamble to equip a space with food production capabilities before identifying a tenant.
A building permit filed this summer priced the upgrade to add a kitchen and walk-in coolers at $100,000.
Chau said construction work is expected to wrap up in the first quarter 2025.
New restaurant in White Oaks Mall
Jenita Harris is an entrepreneur at heart with decades of experience running clothing boutiques and catering services. But her heart's desire has always been to own her own restaurant.
“I’ve been cooking since I was a little girl with my grandmother showing me how to bake cakes, cook soul food,” Harris said of the draw to open her latest venture, 710 Rippy G’s in the White Oaks Mall food court.
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“This has always been a dream of mine.”
This is Harris’ second business operating in the mall. Her clothing store, Shop Therapy Boutique, opened on White Oaks’ ground floor across from Build-A-Bear in 2021. 710 Rippy G’s is located in the food court footprint that previously housed Jerk Shop Go.
Harris, a recent transplant to Springfield from Chicago, focuses her menu on the Windy City’s signature flavors such as Chicago-style hot dogs and Polish sausage.
Daily specials feature such mash ups as peach honey wings, Cajun macaroni and cheese and Italian beef egg rolls. Soul food dinner plates are available on Fridays and Saturdays with offerings ranging from smothered pork chops to shrimp and grits, pot roast to rib tips. Dinners come with a choice of two side dishes with options including collard greens, yams, and cornbread. Scratch-made cakes and cookies also are for sale. Daily specials are posted on 710 Rippy G’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Harris said she named her business after another renowned family chef, her deceased brother-in-law, Clinton “Rip” Gowdy of Springfield. Gowdy’s birthday was July 10.
Food truck tacos
Taqueria el Paisa’s authentic south-of-the-border fare is no longer limited to a single address, thanks to a new mobile unit.
“I heard a lot of customers saying, ‘Wish you were closer. I’d come more often,’” Taqueria el Paisa owner Oscar Alvarado said of his decision to add the food truck Tacos Paisa, in addition to his brick-and-mortar restaurant at 1827 N. Peoria Road.
“Eventually, I’m more than open to another (permanent) location. But for now we’re serving street tacos.”
The fire engine red mobile unit will first appear at the Illinois State Fair, before taking up daily operations beginning Aug. 19 at 2727 S. MacArthur Blvd. in the vacant Ayerco Convenience Center lot.
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Tacos Paisa’s menu focuses on tacos, prepared with a choice of steak, carnitas, chicken, tongue, al pastor and birria. Other selections include quesadillas, Mexican corn and fruit-flavored waters. Phone: 217/-761-4475.
The mobile unit will be by the Emerson Building from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the state fair, and then relocate to the MacArthur address serving the same menu from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.
The food truck can also be found at the Northfield Flea Market, which operates at 3226 Sangamon Ave. from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturday and Sunday of the month from March through November.
Fast-food chain remodel
Taco Bell runs to one of Springfield’s south side locations will be limited to drive-through only for a while.
A major remodel of the fast food chain’s facility at 731 Adlai Stevenson Drive begins Monday, and is likely to have the business’s dining room closed for the next two months.
“We will be embarking on a large remodel . . . (that) will touch most of the store with updated dining room, bathrooms and kitchen,” Jon Jenkins of the Peoria-based franchise, LucWork Enterprises wrote via text.
“Initially, our dining room will be closed, and we will operate as (a) drive through only. There will be a couple of weeks or more where the full store will be closed so we can remodel the kitchen, but that will be the final phase of the project.”
Exact dates for the entire store’s closure were not available.
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A building permit filed earlier this summer estimated the cost of the project at $440,000.
Taco Bell opened the location in 2005. Jenkins said the renovation was part of a scheduled maintenance plan required by the Irvine, Calif-based chain.
Once completed the facility will offer more convenient kiosks to place orders and a late night pick-up window separate from the drive-through window for a speedier experience for delivery drivers and mobile app users.
LucWork Enterprises already completed a similar renovation at 3025 W. White Oaks Drive in 2021. Jenkins said a similar renovation is likely for the Taco Bell at 2300 N. Dirksen Parkway, although a date has not been set.
The Taco Bell at 1290 Toronto Road is not part of the Lucwork Enterprises' network, which includes 16 locations in Springfield, Peoria and Bloomington-Normal.
The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 217/737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.
