Coming in hot: The Space
Nov. 4—At 2 p.m. Fridays, our Kathy Reiser answers reader questions, from new restaurants to road construction. Put her to the test by clicking here or email kreiser@news-gazette.com.
***
In Sunday's 'It's Your Business' column, Debra Pressey will introduce the ambitious owners behind a project that will give life to the former Merry-Ann's Diner space in downtown Champaign.
A sneak peek:
CHAMPAIGN — The former Merry-Ann's Diner at 1 E. Main St. in downtown Champaign will become the home of a new restaurant/bar/music venue with hot-sauce tasting called The Space.
The owners, Ian Nutting and Douglas Hodge, are already in business as Weird Meat Boyz selling their original hot sauces online, at local farmers markets and in several local grocery stores, and as Weird Meat Boyz Kitchen cooking food at Collective Pour, 340 N. Neil St., C.
Then Hodge "started booking bands pretty aggressively" — mostly for performances at the Brass Rail, also in downtown Champaign at 15 E. University Ave., Nutting said.
They decided to consolidate all three of their endeavors and create a place for a restaurant and bar, a music venue for bands, and a hot-sauce tasting area that will also sell full bottles of the sauces they sell online, he said.
Hodge is a brewer at JT Walker's in Mahomet, and Nutting is a doctoral student in music at the University of Illinois. They met through the UI College of Music, where their wives are also students.
Nutting said he and Hodge hope to get The Space up and running in January.
Trending Food Videos
