To say that Lazy Day Café owner Vicki Dunn has had an eventful two years would be an understatement.
In May 2024, a fire put her business’ location at Walnut Point State Park out of commission.
Dunn was able to move the restaurant to Villa Grove and reopened at 20 S. Main St., formerly the home of Korner Beehive, in October 2024.
However, another snag occurred when that same building sold this fall. Dunn shut down Lazy Day Café in late August ahead of her lease’s end in October.
“And then, we got really lucky, and a gentleman bought it and has fixed it up … added heating and air conditioning,” Dunn said. “And we get to open back up now, Nov. 17. It’s been a whirlwind.”
The restaurant’s new hours will be 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Changes also include more bakery items, a full breakfast menu, and renovations, Dunn said.
“There’s been a wall removed, which has opened up the building, and now it looks like a restaurant,” she said.
Additionally, Dunn plans to start out with just two or three daily specials for lunch rather than a lunch menu, then reassess after winter.
Dunn said she’s seen a good response from the community since relocating in 2024.
“We had a lot of followers that followed us to Villa Grove,” she added.
New restaurant at The Crossing looks to open next month
Spitfire Chicken, located at 2510 Village Green Place in Champaign, could be open just in time for the holiday season.
“We are anticipating an early or mid-December opening,” the business told The News-Gazette.
The restaurant will feature “globally-inspired rotisserie chicken.”
“Every bird is brined for 24 hours, fire-roasted on our rotisserie, and finished to order with your choice of sauce — from bold Peri-Peri to sweet BBQ, herb-packed Chimichurri, or spicy Jamaican Jerk,” Spitfire Chicken wrote in a Facebook post.
The new restaurant will operate in a space that previously housed a second location for Walnut Street Tea Company.
Carle clinic relocates
The Convenient Care Plus clinic at Carle Foundation Hospital has migrated to the other side of University Avenue and is now located at Carle’s South Clinic at 601 W. University Ave. in Urbana.
Carle’s Convenient Care locations provide walk-in service for patients dealing with a number of issues, including allergies, cold and flu symptoms, and minor injuries. Convenient Care Plus sees patients with these same issues, as well as others “that might require more advanced testing like X-rays, ultrasounds and lab tests,” Carle officials said.
The clinic’s move is part of a larger plan by Carle to expand its Urbana emergency department. Hospital President Elizabeth Angelo said in a previous interview that this department is among the busiest in the state of Illinois, and the hospital expects an increase in patient volumes due to changes at OSF Healthcare’s Urbana location.
Wishing a bear-y Christmas
Aikman Wildlife Adventure in Arcola recently welcomed a new resident: Luna the Syrian brown bear.
Animal Associate and Creative Director Heather Keltner said that the zoo’s American black bear, Cissy, died in 2021.
“We’ve had an empty bear enclosure this entire time, and we wanted to either rescue a bear or get a bear from a couple of wildlife agencies; sometimes they’ll rehome orphaned bears,” she said. “So we’ve just been waiting for a bear to come along.”
Luna was previously at a zoo in New York that was looking to rehome her. She is 12 years old, which Keltner said is “about middle-aged,” and weighs approximately 250 pounds — as opposed to grizzly bears, which can range from 500 to 1,000 pounds.
“A lot of people think grizzly bears are your brown bear, but grizzly bears are just a subspecies of brown bears that you find in North America,” Keltner said. “The Syrian brown bears are from different parts of Asia.”
As for Luna’s personality, Keltner said, “Everyone says that brown bears have more attitude. So you can definitely see that with her sometimes. She’s getting used to her new neighbors, so sometimes she’ll patrol her enclosure. You can definitely tell she’s in charge, but she’s also very sweet. She definitely reminds me of our old bear.”
Keltner added that since Syrian brown bears go into torpor, a state similar to hibernation, spring and summer will be the best times of year to visit Luna.
Aikman’s Pathway of Lights is up and running for the holidays and will be open 4 to 8 p.m. every Saturday through Dec. 27. Drive-thru gates close at 7:30 p.m.
The suggested donation is $5 per person. In addition to the walk-through display, wagon rides, winter barn tours and animal encounters are available at an additional cost.
Crash course in filmmaking set for next Saturday
Flyover Film Studios and Forge Film Acting, an education branch of Compass Casting, will hosting “Filmmaking 4×4” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Flyover Lab at 601 S. Century Blvd. in Rantoul.
“We want to give folks an opportunity to learn the highlights of the industry, without a full-time commitment,” said Flyover Co-Founder and Producer Sarah Sharp, one of the featured guests of the event.
Registration is required, and tickets cost $20.
