Retail Roundup: Catrinas replaces Unkle Munkey’s in Edwardsville

It’s probably the only restaurant in the area with a wall-length mural depicting a mustachioed skeleton about to guzzle a margarita.

Catrinas, the new Mexican eatery located at 1027 Century Drive in Edwardsville, opened to the public for the first time Thursday. An official grand opening will be announced soon, so stay tuned.

By the way, Catrinas occupies what used to be Unkle Munkey’s Coin Club, the half-pub, half-arcade brainchild of Ryan O’Day.

If O’Day’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he owns the popular Wang Gang restaurant, just a couple doors down from the new Catrinas.

The space between Catrinas and Wang Gang — it had been the Unkle Munkey’s dining area — will soon be Wang Gang territory. The restaurant is adding 50 more seats and a private VIP room.

A law firm by any other name

Personal injury law firm Schoen Walton Telken & Foster, LLC announced a name change Thursday. It now goes by Walton Telken Foster, LLC.

Partners Troy E. Walton, Stephen J. Telken and Ronald J. Foster remain at the firm’s headquarters at 241 N. Main St. in Edwardsville.

Former partner Paul Schoen is striking out on his own. Schoen Law Firm, PC is located at 120 W. Main St., Suite 212 in Belleville.

It’s a gas

As promised, Circle K made quick renovation work of the two former Belleville QuikTrip locations they took over.

Employees at the 1800 Lebanon Ave. location said they were back open Jan. 11. The station at 755 South Belt West opened Tuesday.

Speaking of Circle K, a new station at the corner of Hartman and Thouvenot lanes is under construction.

In memory of dad

Janis Strauder named Joe’s Place, a new adult day care center at 1032 Hartman Lane in O’Fallon, after her father.

The facility is now open. Built to accommodate between 50 and 75 adults with memory loss or who need supervision, offerings at Joe’s Place include daily social activities, a salon, meals, medical monitoring and pet therapy.

Rust never sleeps

Southern Missouri native and U.S. Army vet Douglas Loughridge got The Rusty Bucket up and running at 1407 W. Main St. in Belleville about a month ago.

You can find furniture, clothing, antiques, decor and other knickknacks there. Loughridge said he’s been an antique collector since childhood, so opening The Rusty Bucket is a natural fit despite it being his first business venture.

Up in smoke

Ravanelli family-owned Fire-N-Smoke Wood Fired Kitchen closed its O’Fallon restaurant Jan. 17. A manager at the restaurant’s Troy locale said the large size of the O’Fallon restaurant at 1214 Central Park Plaza didn’t meld well with Fire-N-Smoke’s fast-casual concept.

The restaurant had only been open seven months.

The Troy location remains open for business on Illinois 162 just west of the I-55/70 interchange.

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Retail Roundup: Catrinas replaces Unkle Munkey’s in Edwardsville."