Although she claims her life hasn’t always been so hectic, 2010 was quite a busy year for Jessica Schone.
In May, the hair stylist of six years signed a lease for the space that would soon be her own salon. In June, she gave birth to her son, Rio. By August, after only one week to prepare, the salon was open for business.
“I just felt like it was a year of new beginnings,” she said. “Honestly, I feel like I love what I do so much that it just came easy.”
That’s not the result of luck, though good fortune came the city’s way when it landed the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino in 1992. Its steady annual flow to the city of several million dollars in gaming tax revenue enabled construction of the EastSide Centre and Harbor Pointe Marina.
Sometimes it takes a trip off of the main roads to find the true treasures. In East Peoria, that means traveling to Mel’s Café.
Mel’s Café is the child of Mel and Kimmie Christianson. It was originally located in Peoria, but is now open in East Peoria at 520 E. Bloomington Road.
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Bigger and better than planned — That was the theme of Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at the Bass Pro Shops construction site just north of the Murray Baker Bridge.
Nearly 300 people gathered together under a wildlife-themed tent to hear the progress of the outdoor super store, which is planned to open next fall.
The 11th annual Oktoberfest will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. today at the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino.
This year the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce changed the format by asking restaurants to bring samples to provide a “Mini Taste of East Peoria."
In less than a week, the much-anticipated outdoor superstore will begin to go vertical.
After a month and a half of driving 512 steel pilings into the ground, construction crews are working around the clock to put the finishing touches on the site, which was once the Cilco Ash pond just north of the Murray Baker Bridge.
Grocery stores, taverns and a license and title service — during the past 100 years, all bore the Couri name.
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East Peoria dancers will soon have a new option for lessons within the city limits.
Former EastSide Centre dance director Sheryl Huggins, and daughter Shannon McVey, also a former EastSide dance teacher, will open Creations Dance Studio this month.
One building that has been on the drawing board for years may soon become reality in East Peoria.
On July 20, city council unanimously approved issuing Gary E. Matthews, president of EM Properties Ltd., about a quarter of an acre of land to construct GEM Tower, a 12-story building on the property behind TGI Friday’s.
A total of eight people addressed city council members July 13 during a public hearing before the council officially approved a $45-million, 20-year lease agreement with Bass Pro Shops.
One by one, they asked questions to the council, and city attorney Dennis Triggs answered during the nearly hour-long hearing in the packed city hall.
Joy Vogel worked at the East Peoria Velvet Freeze for 23 years before it closed down on Jan. 26.
So when she got the phone call about getting her old job back at the new Wonderdog restaurant months later, the 61-year-old of East Peoria did not think twice about accepting the position.
A third Subway restaurant is coming to town.
“The lease is already signed,” said Dave Hanna, co-owner of the Subways in East Peoria. “The key factor is there’s an opportunity for a drive-thru. It will fit well with our other locations.”
When Becky Donaldson and her husband, Gary, first opened Absolute Hair in 1990, she was pregnant with her third son and said she worried the salon would fail.
“I used to have dreams that we were going to lose the business, and I’d be wrapping a perm and rocking a baby seat with my foot,” she said.
Randy Rundle was on his way to get lunch with his wife and two of his three children when his oldest son, Matt, looked out the window and saw quite a surprise.
The surprise was not the 15-foot rooster that stands guard outside Carl’s Bakery in East Peoria — he had seen that before. The surprise was the man standing by the rooster.
A frequent customer walked into Eysal’s Coffee Roaster last week and was greeted with a smile and was told, “I have your coffee waiting for you in the back.”
That type of personable service will soon be expanded over the Illinois River, as another Eysal’s opens in June at Midstate College in Peoria.
City council members unanimously approved June 1 to seek up to $45 million in general obligation bonds to fund the Bass Pro Shops project.
“This bond ordinance would authorize the city to issue bonds to provide the funds for the Bass Pro project,” said city attorney Dennis Triggs.
About a year after a first meeting with Washington Mayor Gary Manier, Dave Paskert finally announced Monday night at the city council meeting, his plans to purchase and revitalize the Sunnyland Plaza.
Paskert, of Chase Real Estate Group, has managed the plaza for the out-of-state owner for four years and recently formed the new company P-Six Sunnyland in order to purchase the 12-and-a-half-acre plaza.
A ribbon cutting and open house took place Monday at an East Peoria home that has served individuals with developmental disabilities since December.
The Tazewell County Resource Center’s newest community integrated living arrangement is located at 515 Cottonwood Circle.
