It's Your Business | Inside downtown Champaign's newest restaurant

Feb. 18—Email business news to Jana Wiersema at jwiersema@news-gazette.com.

A new Asian fusion restaurant has opened in downtown Champaign in the space that was formerly home to Miga.

Tenkyu Izakaya is located at 301 N. Neil St. Unit 104. According to co-owner and general manager Seth Yang, the restaurant had a soft opening on Jan. 25 and will have a grand opening once its liquor license is approved.

He also confirmed that the business will honor coupons and gift cards leftover from Tanaka Ramen, which recently announced the closure of its 112 E. Green St. location.

"I personally know one of their owners, and by the time they were closing, they reached out to me asking me to take care of their customers," Yang said.

Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery co-founders Leslie Cooperband and Wes Jarrell are not planning to play golf in their retirement. Instead, fixing up an old farmhouse is more their style.

"We are looking to slow down and be able to travel and visit with family and just have a change of pace," Cooperband said. "We're not spring chickens anymore."

Cooperband and Jarrell have sold Prairie Fruits to Lauren and Jeffrey Brokish, who also own Central Illinois Bakehouse, Martinelli's Market and Pekara Bakery and Bistro.

According to Cooperband, the sale includes the entire farm property and the business — "the goats, the creamery, everything." Current staff will stay on.

Jarrell and Cooperband will act in a hands-on consulting role during the transition, the Brokishes said in a release.

Lauren Brokish said that acquiring the farm provides good "project synergy" with the products they already provide, and most of their wholesale local customers at the bakehouse are also customers of their friends at Prairie Fruits.

"We love it out there," she added. "It's beautiful and it's really fun, and we're big foodies and we love eating cheese. So it just kind of felt like a good fit. And then, on a personal note, we live here and we like living here, and we want really cool things to stay in Champaign."

Some of the changes they plan to make to the business include putting in more parking and restrooms, as well as bringing back the farm-to-table dinner series.

Cooperband said she is very excited about the Brokishes taking over, as they share the same values regarding environmental sustainability, animal welfare and staff well-being.

"We're just thrilled that they want to continue to make award-winning cheese and grow," she said. "And they're very interested in having a more robust agritourism and farm-to-table business, because they come out of the food and hospitality world and they have an amazing chef. And I think they're going to do really great things."

Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery is currently closed for the winter, with plans to reopen in the spring.

According to Brokish, baby goats will start to be born in March, and they're hoping to do some events in April. However, she said that they can't make any promises, as the reopening date will depend on construction.

Possum Trot under new management

In another change for a community staple, Possum Trot Supper Club, located at 2918 Batestown Rd. in Oakwood, recently shared on social media that Joseph Roberson is the restaurant's new general manager and Taylor Fowler is the assistant manager.

Roberson said that he and Fowler both began working at the restaurant about two and a half years ago.

"We cater for the U of I, and I began helping in the kitchen, doing the cooking and just kind of started running the catering with Greg (Wright)," he said. "And after a few months, he just was like, 'Hey, I'd like you to step in and start managing the restaurant a little.'"

Wright also instructed Roberson to pick someone to manage alongside him, and Fowler immediately popped into his mind, given her professionalism and work ethic.

In discussing their plans, Roberson said that, starting on Feb. 19, the business will offer a happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with discounted appetizers and drinks. They also plan to bring back live music this summer and expand their all-you-can-eat shrimp offerings.

Roberson added that Greg and Nina Wright are still the owners of the Possum Trot but are now able to sit back and "enjoy the fruits of their labor and know that their restaurant is in good hands."

"Since I was 16, and I'm 36 now, all of my experience has been in food," he said. "I worked at County Market for 12 years in a supervisor/cook role, but I have never had the opportunity to really run the show and do things how I want it done. ... For Greg and Nina to hand myself and Taylor the reins and just say, 'We trust you, we have faith in you, just go out and do it,' it means a lot."

Take 5 up and running, 7 Brew on the way

The new Take 5 Oil Change shop at 1701 Springfield Ave. in Champaign opened on Feb. 12.

"We've been actually doing pretty well," said store manager Vince Peterson.

The shop saw 15 cars on Monday, 13 on Tuesday and another 11 through midday on Wednesday, he said. They are currently offering $20 off all oil changes in celebration of their grand opening.

Peterson added that he expects to see more people once the new 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee shop opens up next door.

Kody Smith, an area operator with 7 Brew, told The News-Gazette that the new Champaign location is set to open on March 4.

Gibson makes the grade

Gibson Area Hospital and Health Services was recently ranked as the second-best Illinois hospital for Orthopedic Surgery by consumer resource Healthgrades. According to a release from GAHHS, the hospital's honors included:

* America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery (2024)

* Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award (2024)

* Five-Star Recipient for Hip Fracture Treatment for 2 Years in a Row (2023-2024)

* Five-Star Recipient for Spinal Fusion Surgery (2024)

GAHHS is the only East Central Illinois hospital to be ranked in the nation's top 100 for orthopedic surgery, hospital officials said.

"These designations confirm the commitment to excellence by our providers and the entire GAHHS team," said CEO Rob Schmitt. "I am incredibly proud of their commitment to quality, compassionate care. Their dedication proves that our vision continues to be THE model of excellence in community-based healthcare and we remain driven to provide the best possible care, to everyone we serve."