A taste of Chicago opening soon in Belleville

A restaurant serving Chicago-style food could open as soon as next month in Belleville.

Tasty’s Chicago Grill is renovating the former Arby’s building on West Main Street, where owner Mike Naser anticipates opening for business by Sept. 1. His menu will feature Chicago-style hot dogs, chili dogs, burgers, gyros and more.

This will be the first Tasty’s Chicago Grill for Naser, who opened his first in Decatur, Ill., which is still in operation. Naser said he likes the potential for expansion in the metro-east: “We think there will be a chance for growth in this area.”

Verizon has revamped its store at 5902 N. Illinois St. in Fairview Heights as a “smart store” where customers can try out the latest technology in smart phones, gaming, fitness and home security systems. Verizon Wireless will reopen its store in Fairview Heights on Thursday, but this time the store will be more than a showroom for cellphones.

The wireless company is opening what it is calling a “smart store,” which will provide local consumers an opportunity to test phones, gaming, fitness and home security systems. The store at 9502 N. Illinois St. closed in March and temporarily relocated to an adjacent shopping center. The store will open Thursday at 10 a.m.

K & K Rental in Belleville has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer. Located at 137 Iowa Ave., K&K now offers U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, pre-tow inspection, support rental items and in-store pickup for boxes. U-Haul pods are also available for rent down the street at 140 Iowa Ave. Call 618-207- 3601 to find out more.

A new beauty salon is planning to open by next month in Belleville. J’s Lavish Beauty Salon anticipates opening by Aug. 1 at 1816 North Belt West, Suite 4. In the meantime, the proprietor can be reached at 618-250-1148.

And finally, a Fairview Heights bank has merged with another and has a new name. First Community Bank at 4600 N. Illinois St. is now Providence Bank. The Fairview Heights branch is the first in the metro-east and joins other Providence Bank branches in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Texas. For more information, call the new Fairview Heights bank at 618-234-9500.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 2:33 PM with the headline "A taste of Chicago opening soon in Belleville."