Three new restaurants and Halloween stores are close to opening in the metro east
My last business roundup column was … well ... a bit of a downer. I do not enjoy reporting restaurant closings.
At least that column ended with word of the new Schlafly seasonal release to get us through it.
Today, however, I come bearing good news. Restaurant openings and restaurants coming soon!
And a bit of fun to get the fall season started.
Belleville welcomes a new restaurant in August
Hangover Social Restaurant & Bar opened earlier this month at the former Nettie B’s Southern Style Restaurant located at 8201 W. Main St. in Belleville.
Offering authentic Jamaican fare, the menu includes multiple chicken entrées and seafood offerings, appetizers and sides. They also have a kids menu.
In addition to soft drinks, Hangover Social has a fair selection of adult beverages from beer to wine to cocktails, including several specialty cocktails.
Prices for the entrées range from $13 to $30, appetizers from $5 to $15.
Hours displayed at the restaurant are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
I’m working on setting a date for an interview with the owners, so I hope to share more details soon.
In the meantime, you can check out the restaurant in person or via its Facebook page.
Collinsville restaurant is close to opening
Since learning that the former Golden Corral at 1079 Collinsville Crossing Blvd. in Collinsville would open as a Chinese restaurant and buffet, folks have been asking about an opening date.
While that date hasn’t been set yet, I learned in a call to the restaurant’s business manager, Min Wen Lu, that the Jade Buffet has its final inspections on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Lu said if all goes well, the Jade Buffet will open very soon after.
Stay tuned and get your chopsticks ready.
A Mexican restaurant makes a move
Something I often see on some Fairview Heights-based social media pages are comments about getting new restaurants.
So I’m happy to share that an established Mexican Restaurant will soon open at 823 Lincoln Highway, Suite 106, in Fairview Heights.
Frida’s Cocina is close to opening at the former Gauchos Argentinian Steakhouse after moving from its place on Seibert Road in Scott AFB, according to the city’s Land Use and Development Director Dallas Alley.
Alley shared in an Aug. 15 email that the folks at Frida’s are “in their final stages of prepping the location.”
I reached out to Frida’s to request an interview and ask about an opening date. I’ll keep you posted.
Baristas get busy
Since first reporting it in December, I’ve been watching the progress of the new Starbucks in Fairview Heights, sharing a photo or two along the way.
Well, fellow coffee fiends, the wait is finally over.
Starbucks at 10860 Lincoln Trail is now open and ready to help you get your caffeine fixes. (I went for my usual Americano while in the area.)
Hot or cold, skinny or calorie-loaded, milky or dairy-free, or even decaf (hey, to each their own), your coffee awaits.
It comes just in time for the fall flavors too. Pumpkin spice lattes are back! And the Seattle-based company just launched its new Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai.
Of course, they have non-coffee beverages too, like teas and Refreshers. And food that includes breakfast and lunch items and a bunch of sweet treats.
The hours for the standalone location are listed on Google as 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day.
For more info, visit starbucks.com or call 618-216-9222.
Time to get spooky
And speaking of fall, Halloween is already in season.
Spirit Halloween, the seasonal store for all of your Halloween needs … and wants.
Mostly wants. (Check out the column I wrote last year for more details about what’s available.)
These stores have hundreds of costumes, accessories, decorations and so much more great stuff. If zombie babies are your thing (I’m looking at you, Christine Blanquart.), they have some new ones. With spiders all over them.
The frightfully fun retailer returns to the area with multiple locations that are either newly opened or coming soon.
These stores crop up in available retail spaces starting in August and remain open into November.
According to spirithalloween.com, area locations this year include:
3675 Nameoki Road, Granite City;
10 Lincoln Highway, Fairview Heights;
10850 Lincoln Trail, Unit 6 (former Once Upon a Child), Fairview Heights.
The Granite City store opened Thursday, Aug. 22. Hours are currently 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Hours may change throughout the season.
As far as the Fairview Heights stores go, Land Use and Development Director Dallas Alley said that Spirit Halloween confirmed two locations with the city: 10 Lincoln Highway and 10850 Lincoln Trail.
The Lincoln Highway store is currently empty, but there is a Spirit Halloween “Opening Soon” sign in the window.
During a recent visit to Fairview Heights, I saw no signs of activity at the former Once Upon a Child.
One more store for Fairview Heights listed on the retailer’s website has not been confirmed:
St. Clair Square, 235 Saint Clair Square, Fairview Heights.
The mall’s marketing director, Christine Poehling, replied to an email inquiry stating there is nothing confirmed at this time.
I sent a separate email to a district manager and public relations team for Spirit Halloween about the Fairview Heights stores and planned opening dates.
Bambi Eilers from Spirit Halloween replied and confirmed the stores at Lincoln Highway and Lincoln Trail. She wrote that the store at 10 Lincoln Highway will open in the next few weeks. There is not yet a set date for the location at 10850 Lincoln Trail.
She did not mention a St. Clair Square store.
For more information about Spirit Halloween, including other store locations and online ordering, visit spirithalloween.com or call 855-704-2669.
