These new restaurants, businesses are opening in southwest Illinois. Here’s the latest
Big things happen in October.
There’s the MLB postseason, hoodie weather, the start of hockey season, pumpkin spice everything ….
And the opening of new businesses in the area.
First and foremost: coffee.
Scooter’s Coffee opened a new location in Mascoutah on Monday.
The latest franchise for the Nebraska-based coffee chain is owned by Laura Hearen, a 24-year U.S. Air Force veteran.
Hearen said that since opening they’ve been “pretty busy. Unbelievably busy.”
I can imagine. People love their coffee. (I know I do.)
Originally slated to open in August, Hearen said in a previous phone interview that construction took longer than planned and the concrete for the parking lot was delayed.
The new Scooter’s Coffee is located at 1300 W. Main St. in Mascoutah.
Another Scooter’s location recently opened at 808 N. Illinois Route 3 in Waterloo.
The Waterloo location is owned by Kim and Kevin Schwartz, who will soon open a second location, currently under construction, at West Highway 50 and Venita Drive in O’Fallon.
The Mascoutah and Waterloo locations are open 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
For more information about Scooter’s Coffee, visit scooterscoffee.com.
Smithton Kountry Market
Smithton Kountry Market celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 1.
I stopped by the new grocery store this week to chat with owners Christy and J.R. Koerber to see how things are going.
“The sales are better than we ever expected,” said Christy. “Everyone’s just so positive about [the store].”
The Koerbers said the opening day’s turnout was amazing.
The store did some really good business over the weekend, said J.R., adding that Monday and Tuesday were also busy.
While the store already has a great deal to offer, the Koerbers are taking their time with some aspects of their new business.
For instance, the drive-thru is not yet open. The digital system for the drive-thru was installed on Tuesday, and J.R. said they want to be trained on it and “be absolutely ready” when it opens.
And the kitchen is up and running. Folks were seated and enjoying some lunch during my visit.
Right now they’re serving up some southwestern fried chicken, according to J.R., who said they’re serving Icelandic cod (breaded and fried) on Friday and Saturday.
As the kitchen staff becomes more comfortable with the operation, more and more menu items will be added, said J.R.
While there’s currently Wi-Fi access, the installation of their full internet service (with cable) is still on the way. Guests will soon be able to watch sporting events on the flatscreen TVs mounted in the store and outside under the covered patio.
For now, J.R. says they’re just getting started and doing “whatever it takes right now” to ease into a routine as new features are added and implemented.
“Everybody’s been super patient with everything,” said J.R.
Even the customers started off slowly, looking around the store, without at cart at first, said J.R. They’d pick up a few things and then eventually grab a cart.
He commented that the community, as well as the Village of Smithton, is very supportive of the new business.
“In six months we’ll be running like a well-oiled machine,” said J.R.
Smithton Kountry Market is located at 620 N. Main St. in Smithton.
Store hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
For more info about Smithton Kountry Market, call 314-568-1480 or visit smithtonkountrymarket.com or the Facebook page.
In other business news …
Here are some other recent openings:
Heart2Heart Coffee, 310 E. Main St., Belleville. Open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Available for private tasting events during the week. 618-722-0782. heart2heartcoffee.com
Dogwood Social House, 1206 Central Park Drive, O’Fallon. Hours: 3 p.m. to midnight Tuesday-Thursday, 3 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday. Closed Monday, Oct. 10, for the Columbus Day holiday. dogwoodsocialhouse.com
Edley’s Bar-B-Que, 531 W. Highway 50, O’Fallon. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 618-206-8489. edleysbbq.com
Coming soon:
A&W Restaurant, 648 Carlyle Ave., Belleville. I have an appointment coming up for an early peek at the new restaurant, so I will have info and photos for you very soon. Maybe I can get a root beer while I’m there.
Tequila Olvera Mexican Restaurant, 500 S. Main St., Smithton. There’s been activity in the former Mi Jalapeno location. I can finally say for sure that this is why. My confirmation? They’ve painted the windows, one of which includes the restaurant name. I dropped my card at the Freeburg location, so hopefully I’ll have more info soon.
And finally …
Associated Bank will close its Millstadt location Friday, Nov. 18, and consolidate with the Columbia branch at 238 N. Main St.
The Millstadt branch is one of six Illinois bank locations, along with the downtown Belleville branch, that will close in November, according to a list provided by Jennifer Kaminski, a member of Associated Bank’s public relations team.
Two other area locations, 218 E. Central in Benld, and 801 W. Main St. in Mount Olive, will both close to consolidate with the location at 115 S. Elm in Staunton.
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
