New store to open in St. Clair Square; burger restaurant coming to Collinsville

A BoxLunch location is in the works for St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights.

BoxLunch sells gifts and novelties for charity. According to the company’s website, items include Funko toys, novelty clothing, bags and accessories, among other things. The chain has items inspired by pop culture such as DC and Marvel Comics, Disney, “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars,” and “Game of Thrones,” among other things.

For every $10 a person spends, the chain provides a meal to a person in need, according to its Facebook page.

The store is scheduled to open Aug. 2.

To learn more about the business and the chain of stores, go to www.boxlunch.com.

New burger restaurant coming to Collinsville

The site plan for Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, a Kansas-based restaurant company, was recently approved by the Collinsville Planning Commission, according to the city’s Facebook page.

The location will be in front of Home Depot, which is near the intersection of Interstates 55 and 255.

The new restaurant will be 2,600 square feet, according to David Bookless, the director of community development for Collinsville. After the original design was submitted, the city asked Freddy’s to redesign the establishment to use more brick, so it would blend in more with the surrounding area, Bookless said.

The city accepted the new design, and the next step is to apply for a building permit, Bookless said.

Freddy’s already has one location in the metro-east, in Shiloh, which opened in June of last year.

Bin 51 moves to downtown Edwardsville

After more than five years in Meyer Plaza, Bin 51 has moved to a new location on Edwardsville’s Main Street.

While the new spot has fewer square feet than the old store, co-owner Walter Osika said their original location had “a lot of windows, and wine doesn’t like light.” Osika and co-owner Brian Kuchta also were able to purchase the building, which is more than a century old and has more parking than the Meyer Plaza storefront.

“We’ve ramped up our bar quite a bit, so we are both shop and bar,” Osika said. “We wanted to be on Main Street, where there is a lot more foot traffic.”

Osika said Bin 51 is “kind of reinventing” itself, with longer hours to serve flights of spirits, beer on tap and mixed cocktails on the weekends. “We seat about 30 in the bar area, so we can have winemakers come in,” Osika said. “That’s really fun; they always have cool stories.”

The visiting winemakers also help provide wines that are only found in restaurants and bars, rather than stores, Osika said. “We can buy a lot of small-producer stuff that the stores won’t stock because of the small volume,” he said. “We probably have the best spirit collection — for sure, bourbon and scotch — on this side of the river.”

One thing that isn’t changing: Bin 51’s frequent wine tasting events will continue and will have more space in the dedicated bar area, Osika said.

Bin 51 is now located at 112 W. Main St. in Edwardsville, and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends, closed Sundays except during the holidays. Find out more at www.bin51wines.com.

Sparta Hospital has new pediatrician

Amy Eppstein has joined the Quality Healthcare Physicians of Sparta Community Hospital. She will serve the medical needs of children, newborn to 18 years of age, at the Family Health Centre, 207 S. Burns, Sparta, starting July 24.

Eppstein is multilingual and speaks fluent Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese. While a medical student at the University of California, she was selected to participate in a special medical services program that addressed real problems in community situations. Eppstein also focused on addressing healthcare disparities in medically underserved populations.

To schedule an appointment, call 618-443-2177.

This story was originally published July 23, 2017 at 6:45 AM with the headline "New store to open in St. Clair Square; burger restaurant coming to Collinsville."