Saturday, October 23, 2010

“Georgie Boy’s restaurant taking prime corner spot”

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CHARLESTON - Eastern Illinois University's Old Main is slated to get a new neighbor soon - a locally owned, family-style restaurant called Georgie Boy's.

Unique Homes of Charleston is renovating the old two-story brick Ko-op building at the southeast corner of Lincoln Avenue and Seventh Street for the new restaurant. Unique Homes Business Manager Steve Simmonds said he plans to leave this post and partner with his wife, Nancy, to operate the restaurant when it opens later this year.

Simmonds said he plans to offer breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as carry outs, at Georgie Boy's. He said the the family-style restaurant will cater to customers from the EIU campus across the street and the rest of the community.

"We will be serving comfort foods," Simmonds said, adding he is still fine-tuning the menu. The restaurant's name is inspired by his first name, George.

The interior of the building, home to the Ko-op restaurant many years ago, was stripped down to the wall studs so it could be renovated back up to house a restaurant again, Simmonds said. The interior decor has been developed by Unique Homes' design department.

On the exterior, beige accent bricks have been added to the red brick walls. Simmonds said black awnings and signs, with the restaurant's Georgie Boy mascot, will also be installed on the exterior. He said the front entrance will be located on the east side of the business, and the old west entrance will become an emergency exit.

Simmonds said parking will be available on the east and south sides of the building, adding the site has 53 spaces. He said more spaces could be developed later if needed.

Charleston Mayor John Inyart said he is glad to see Simmonds and Unique Homes revitalizing an underused building at a prime corner next to EIU's campus.

"It's going to be a nice addition," Inyart said. "We appreciate their investment in the community."

The two-story brick building is part of land that Unique Homes purchased last year at the southeast corner of Lincoln and Seventh. The land also includes buildings that previously housed Coed Hair Styling and the University Baptist Church, both of which relocated. In addition, the land includes a white rental house that is set for demolition.

Simmonds said Unique Homes has apartments and available retail space in the former salon building and is looking into options for using the former church building.

Inyart said redevelopment of commercial spaces has been on the rise this year. WB's Pub n Grub has opened in the former Icy Mug space, The Penalty Box has opened in the former Mad Hatter's space, Wiener World has opened in the former Boxa space, O'Brien Auto Parts has built at the old Dog n Suds site, and Save-A-Lot has extensively remodeled.

Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.

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