New restaurant, coffee shop coming to southwestern Illinois community
Like other communities, local restaurants have struggled during the coronavirus public health crisis. Some have had to start over with new ideas, while others learned to adapt in pandemic times.
But as summer has turned to fall, openings in O’Fallon indicate progress is happening after the setbacks forced by COVID-19.
Community Development Director Justin Randall sees fast-casual places flourishing. Two new places recently began construction after the building permits were issued for the Hi-Pointe Drive-In on U.S. 50 and Ziggy’s Coffee near the McKendree Rec-Plex.
The Hi-Pointe Drive-In will be the first metro-east location for the restaurant specializing in burgers and fries. The original location is on McCausland while a downtown St. Louis location was added, and they recently opened in Kirkwood. The O’Fallon site will have a drive-thru window, which is a first.
Ziggy’s Coffee is a national chain based in Colorado.
Randall noted the fast-casual places built in The Shops at Richland Creek complex, which borders Greenmount Road, Frank Scott Parkway and Central Park Drive are all open: Popeyes, Five Guys, Wing Stop, Burger King, Taco Bell, Chicken Salad Chick and Smoothie King.
Fast-casual places and those specializing in carryout, drive-thru and delivery have been very busy, Randall said.
Celebrating their first anniversary downtown is the Boarding House Bistro. Because they could not have a ribbon-cutting last year, one is planned for Tuesday, Oct. 26, said owner Chrissy Johnson.
They are sold on O’Fallon’s downtown and added a Bistro Bar on March 1 in addition to their custom charcuterie boards and deli indoors.
“As soon as the COVID restrictions were lifted. The word spread very quickly and we kept getting busier and busier. Our biggest challenge during that time was finding employees. It was a struggle for a few months, but I’m happy to say we are now fully staffed and ready for the busy holiday season,” Johnson said.
They have a wine-tasting once a month and have introduced acoustic music in their backyard patio.
“Our indoor seating is limited so the extra seating on our new patio has been great. I absolutely love being downtown in our quaint little spot,” she said. “There are many events planned for the downtown in the next few months that are so exciting! I’m in charge of The Halloween Hunt Pub Crawl on Oct. 30. It will be a great time.”
Birch Market, a new specialty food and prepared foods market, recently opened at 227 W. First St. Suite B. The market is the first brick-and-mortar space for co-owners Greg and Christie Maggi, who also run a catering business.
Birch Market will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Local Resources
One resource that hasn’t faced a “down time” is the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce. Director Debbie Arell-Martinez, who has been on the front lines assisting business throughout these challenging times the past 18 months, said they are busier than ever.
“O’Fallon-Shiloh continues to grow. We had so many new businesses open over the last 18 months,” she said. “The challenge right now for all our businesses is getting and retaining employees. We did host an in-person job fair at the beginning of the summer in hopes of helping with some of that.”
They will continue to post the member job openings they know about to the public in hopes of helping with that strain on businesses, she said.
“The chamber hasn’t slowed down during COVID — as a matter of fact, we’ve been busier than ever. We’ve worked hard to provide the public, at different times, information on who was open, who had curbside pick-up, who had outdoor dining, and so forth,” said Arell-Martinez.
“We’ve sifted through all the information on the various grants and financial programs and provided that information and the opportunity to ‘attend’ training on how to apply. We started up something last fall called Lunch Restaurant Roulette as a way to help bring customers to our member restaurants and provide those members who wanted in person networking a chance to meet in small groups. This was challenging when the mitigation requirements kept changing, but for now, it’s a program that’s working and one we will keep,” she said.
Visit the website: www. OFallonChamber.com. And they have a podcast, “618 Now.”
“No other organization does what a chamber can do for the business community — we will continue to work hard O’Fallon-Shiloh businesses,” she said.
Fine Dining Pivots
Some of the unforeseen challenges in the hospitality industry for 18 months resulted in restaurants making cuts and re-evaluating their business models.
For the past five years, 1818 Chophouse had been a go-to destination fine-dining spot in O’Fallon for celebrations and as a special place to take out-of-town guests. Owners stunned fans by announcing last month it was closing, with the last day of service Oct. 2.
The restaurant’s owners said they would continue their hospitality adventure at their Edwardsville location, which opened on Buchanan Avenue in 2012 and is moving to a new building at Trace on the Parkway in November. But the 1405 North Green Mount Road location has served its last steak, pork chop and crab cake.
Citing “mixed heavy emotions,” owners and the staff explained on their Facebook page that they would pivot in order to hone-in on their brand, said they were grateful that O’Fallon welcomed them with “open arms,” and cited several factors that led to their decision, with the biggest one the labor market.
“Last year was eye-opening for many who have spent their life in the hospitality industry. The luxury of having nights, weekends, and holidays at home or with friends and family in 2020 was something many of us haven’t had the opportunity to experience in our careers. Respectfully, a lot of those people never returned to the hospitality industry. Who knows, it may be years before the labor market sees any sort of recovery, and that’s okay!” they continued.
In March at the O’Fallon location, the 1818 Chophouse reduced hours, opened for dinner only, and closed on Sundays and Mondays.
“Every day presents its challenges — in any business these days — and ultimately, you have to look ahead, put your best foot forward and make difficult decisions for the betterment of it all. Walking away from something our team has put their whole heart into is far from easy, but we are excited for them to join us on our new journey and hopefully many more in the future,” they stated.
New Places Coming
A new barbecue restaurant is likely headed for O’Fallon — Edley’s, which is based in Tennessee and has a Glen Carbon location. Stacey Tyrrell of Edwardsville is the owner of the Glen Carbon franchise as well as the future O’Fallon restaurant, which could be open in summer 2022.
The Edley’s website states their “meats are smoked low and slow using Southern white oak,” and the sides are made from scratch daily. Menu items include a variety of brisket entrees, as well as ribs, pork, chicken and turkey dishes, a variety of sides, salads, appetizers and desserts. The business, which opened in Nashville in 2011, is family owned and operated by founders Will and Catharine Newman.
Scott Plocher’s development group has approached the Community Development Committee with plans for the O’Fallon location on 3.2 acres along U.S. 50. The new restaurant will be part of the W. U.S. 50/Cambridge Boulevard Business District.
His development group has previously worked with O’Fallon on projects that include development of the Blade Building at Green Mount Road and Regency Park, Sugarfire BBQ and Dewey’s Pizza.
The Edwardsville-based Goshen Coffee may be a tenant in the complex.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 9:00 AM.