New C-U coffee shops inch toward opening; Dollar General store planned for Champaign

Deb Pressey, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·4 min read

Nov. 13—Plans are underway for a new Dollar General store in Champaign, at 1204 N. Market St., the former location of a Family Dollar store.

The company applied for a building permit at that location Nov. 3, and the permit is currently under review. The city has already approved sign permits at that address for Dollar General.

Here's a statement sent by Dollar General's corporate office:

"At this time, we are currently finalizing our due diligence phase for a new Dollar General in Champaign that would be located on North Market Street. Based on our current timeline, we anticipate to break ground in the coming weeks."

Tennessee-based Dollar General, which calls itself America's neighborhood general store, has more than 19,000 stores in 48 states.

Big growth for Flock Safety

Police know the crime-solving impact of having automated license plate readers placed around their communities.

Here's what it means financially to the Atlanta company supplying the automated license plate readers to numerous law enforcement agencies in the local area.

Flock Safety announced Wednesday that it chalked up a 2,660 percent growth over the last three years.

The company also said it's been ranked 58 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in North America.

Who's signed on with Flock for automated license plate readers in the area:

As of July, that included Parkland College and University of Illinois police, the Champaign County sheriff's office, the cities of Champaign, Danville, LeRoy, Monticello and Paxton and the villages of Mahomet and Rantoul.

Coming soon

Here's an update on when the 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee shops in Champaign and Urbana will open.

Robert DeAtley, president of Barber & DeAtley, the Urbana contractor handling the construction, said work on the Urbana 7 Brew at 410 N. Broadway Ave. is completed, and that location is expected to open later this month, sometime around Thanksgiving.

The 7 Brew and Take 5 Oil Change shop, going in side-by-side at 1701-1713 W. Springfield Ave., C, and being developed by the same owner, won't likely open until sometime in December, DeAtley said.

New bar opens

Downtown Champaign's newest bar opened Friday.

Anthem, described by its management, Champaign-based CRS Hospitality, as an inclusive, high-end cocktail lounge with a dance floor, is at 320 N. Neil St. in the former Soma Ultralounge space.

Hours are 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The minimum age to enter is 19.

Santa returns

Sure, Santa Claus usually rides in a sleigh or hangs out in malls, but once a year he also hops a train in Monticello and invites kids along for the ride.

Returning Dec. 2-3 is Lunch with Santa, on the train at the Wabash Depot in Monticello.

A $20 coach class ticket includes a sack lunch of a PBJ sandwich, chips and a beverage and a visit with Santa.

For a more upscale experience in one of two dining cars — at $165 per table of four — there are turkey sandwiches from Subway with chips, a cookie and water, plus a commemorative keepsake, coloring pages and games.

Note, the dining car option is only made available at 1 p.m. Dec. 2 and at 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dec. 3.

For the super upscale option, the private car experience aboard Illinois Central business Car 71 features a Subway turkey sandwich meal, activities, a family fun Christmas basket, four commemorative keepsakes and extra desert. The cost is $850 for up to a dozen people, and is available at 10 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. both days.

Lunch with Santa is sponsored by the Monticello Chamber of Commerce.

Collision repair careers

Parkland College is seeking collision repair shops to work with future students in an upcoming collision repair training program.

An advisory board meeting with collision repair businesses will be held Nov. 15, and commitments will be sought from businesses to sponsor apprentices, according to Jon Ross, chair of Parkland's Applied Sciences and Technologies department.

To help fill a need for skilled technicians in the collision repair industry, Parkland will be re-launching a collision repair training program for the fall 2024 semester, featuring apprenticeships and a two-year associate's degree.

Students will divide their time between the classroom and working in a repair shop.

The meeting with collision repair businesses will take place during National Apprenticeship Nov. 13-17. More events being hosted at Parkland for that week:

— Apprenticeship express, Nov. 14.

— How to become an apprentice, Nov 15.

— Highway construction careers training program orientation sessions, Nov. 17.

Work for IDOT

The Illinois Department of Transportation will host a career fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at its headquarters in the Harry R. Hanley Building, 2300 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield. There, you'll learn about how to apply for state jobs and be able to go to breakout sessions, and representatives from IDOT offices and bureaus will be there to discuss current and upcoming openings.