Comings & goings: A look at restaurants that opened, closed in the Rockford area in 2022
ROCKFORD — 2022 signified the debut of some restaurants in the area and also marked the end of the line for several other eateries.
The following is a snapshot of some of the activity during another turbulent year for the restaurant and hospitality industry.
They opened
Baked Wings, 6390 E. Riverside Blvd.
Baked Wings opened in November in its own storefront two years after restaurateur Scott Frank began selling fresh baked chicken wings as a side business at his Pomodoro Italian Restaurant, 6500 E. Riverside Blvd. Baked Wings is open seven days a week and offers dine-in, carryout, drive-thru and delivery options.
Beefaroo, 1680 N. Alpine Road, Rockford
Cheese fries, anyone? Beefaroo opened its new Rockford restaurant on Dec. 20.
The new store is located in the building that formerly housed Sturtevant's Menswear. Beefaroo has three other locations in Rockford, two restaurants in Loves Park, and single locations in Machesney Park, Roscoe and the village of West Dundee in Kane County.
Via Sofia’s Italian Kitchen, 109 N. Show Place Drive
Via Sofia’s Italian Kitchen, an established chain restaurant based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, opened its first eatery in Rockford in August. Franchisee Leslie Reinbach opened the pickup-and carryout-only location across from the AMC Rockford 16 theater because of the high traffic-volume that passes by her restaurant on a daily basis. The restaurant serves homemade fresh breads, pasta, sandwiches and pizza.
Fozzy’s Skybox, 8800 E. Riverside Blvd.
Nick Fosberg, who owns and operates Fozzy’s Bar & Grill, 6246 E. Riverside Blvd., signed an agreement to manage the Rockford Park District’s Skybox Restaurant & Sports Bar at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two. The venue’s menu features burgers, sandwiches, homemade appetizers, specialty pizza and sandwiches.
Carlyle Brewing Co., 215 E. State St.
The popular downtown microbrewery reopened in February, eight months after closing down. Carlyle is currently open Wednesday through Saturday. In addition to beer, Carlyle offers take and bake pizza's and allows you to bring food into the restaurant.
Mo's Coffee and Cafe, 303 Mulberry St., Rockford
Owner Mohammad Saleem opened the cafe in September. Entrees include lentils and rice, beans and rice, and ground beef, veggies and rice. Saleem said his specialty is shrimp and rice and tilapia and rice.
Mrs. Buckbee's Wake-N-Bakery, 275 Deane Drive, Rockford
The business, which offers cannabinoid-infused baked goods and drinks, opened in March. The store features baked goods such as chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies, chocolate fudge brownies and chunky monkey blondies. Mrs. Buckbee’s Wake-N-Bakery also sells a variety of coffee drinks.
Candy Cloud, 6286 E. State St., Rockford
The City Market vendor known for selling colorful canned boba drinks opened a storefront in March. Candy Cloud's boba flavors include watermelon creamsicle, horchata, strawberry lemonade, and the red, white, and blue “bomb pop” for the Fourth of July. The shop also serves kakigori, Japanese shaved ice sweetened with syrup and condensed milk, and Fire Department Coffee.
KBQ Korean BBQ and Chicken, 6332 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park
KBQ opened in March and offers a combination of traditional barbeque dishes and Korean fried chicken. The restaurant's 24 tables each have their own grill, allowing customers to prepare their own meals. KBQ also features a full bar, complete with beer, wine, liquor, and a host of specialty Korean drinks.
Cantina Taco, 6342 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park
Cantina Taco opened its Loves Park store in January. The menu includes 16 varieties of tacos, including two signature tacos, the Screw City and a Birria taco. There’s also curry chicken tacos, shrimp tacos, three BBQ tacos, steak tacos and more. Nachos, bowls, quesadillas, and burritos also are poplar alongside a wide selection of drinks.
Lino's, 8410 E. Riverside Blvd, Loves Park
The owners of the iconic Rockford Italian eatery opened a carryout-only location in November. The business is operated from inside a 53-foot-long shipping container. While most foods are still prepared at the East State Street store and brought to the Riverside location, Lino's co-owner Charlie Schweinler said some foods are prepared on site.
Mission BBQ, 6820 E. State St., Rockford
The restaurant, which features a patriotic theme, opened in October. The menu offerings include Texas-inspired, oak smoke brisket, smoked "bay-b-back" spareribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, turkey, sausage and other hearty dishes. The chain has donated more than $10 million dollars and counting to national charitable organizations such as The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, Wreaths Across America, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation as well as other national and local charities.
Mac Brothers Cheesecakes, 7914 Scott Lane, Machesney Park
Brothers Farel and Chris McLester offer 30 different flavors of cheesecake at their business, which opened in June. Each day, three to six of those flavors — everything from chocolate chip and cinnamon roll to root beer and key lime — are sold by the slice, allowing customers to mix and match and try something new without having to buy an entire cake.
Mi Placita Mexico Clasico, 1726 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park
The authentic Mexican restaurant opened in October and offers burritos, tacos, quesadillas, chimichangas, enchiladas, fajitas, flautas, chicken plates, steak plates, pork plates and more. The eatery is located in the space formerly occupied by Maid-Rite and later Riverside Family Restaurant. Mi Placita Mexico Clasico owner Kevin Mata's family owns Mexico Clasico at 3929 Broadway in Rockford.
It’s A Wing Thing, 5120 Spooner Drive, Rockford
The restaurant reopened at its new location in October about a year after losing its lease at its previous site on Forest Hills Road. It’s A Wing Thing’s menu features 27 different flavors of both traditional and boneless wings. The restaurant’s menu also has a variety of sandwiches, including spicy chicken, catfish filet, cod and pork chop.
TNT Funnel Cakes, 201 W. State St., Rockford
A popular Rockford City Market vendor that offers funnel cakes loaded with toppings opened a permanent storefront at 201 W. State St. in November. TNT Funnel Cakes moved into the location that previously housed a Subway restaurant.
Chicken Hop, 3511 E. State St.
A new restaurant specializing in fast casual chicken dishes and sandwiches opened in November in Rockford’s Miracle Mile business district. Chicken Hop offers its customers dine-in, carryout and drive-through options. The restaurant is located in a building most recently occupied by All Day Donut.
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, 9901 Orlando St.
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened its first location in the area in April. In addition to frozen custard, the Wichita, Kansas-based chain is known for sundaes, cones, shakes, malts as well as burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and chili. Side orders include fries, onion rings and chips.
True Colors Bar & Grill, 7784 Forest Hills Road
True Colors celebrated a grand opening in its new location on Nov. 17. The restaurant’s menu features burgers, chicken sandwiches, flatbread pizza and a variety of appetizers. The business, which previously billed itself as Rockford’s “newest gay bar” when it operated at 211 Elm St., relocated into the former home of Gia’s Live Music Club, which closed in 2011.
They closed
Josef's Steakhouse & Oyster Bar, 6860 Spring Creek Road, Rockford
After 17 years in business, Josef's Steakhouse & Oyster Bar will close for good Friday afternoon, according to the restaurant's Facebook page. Josef's specialized in prime steaks, seafood and European crafted dishes.
Baci’s Kitchen, 2990 N. Perryville Road, Rockford
Baci’s Kitchen closed for good in February after five years in business in northeast Rockford. The restaurant served panini’s, calzones, classic pizza and other Italian delights. Owner Nikko Castrogiovanni cited the rising cost of food and utilities and an increase in the minimum wage as factors in his decision to close.
212 Grindhouse, 212 E. State St. Rockford
212 Grindhouse closed for good in April, just five months after opening in the space formerly occupied by Taco Betty’s. 212 Grindhouse specialized in gourmet cheeseburgers and ground all of its meat in-house.
Mary’s Market Cafe & Bakery, 1659 N. Alpine Road, Rockford
The upscale diner and bakery closed in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but had planned to reopen in early 2022. Those plans changed in June when the director of cafe operations John Clark announced the closure of the Edgebrook store was permanent. Mary’s Market continues to operate locations at 2636 McFarland Road and 4431 E. State St.
Sister’s on Main, 307 S. Main St., Rockford
Sister’s on Main closed for good in February about four years after making its debut in the storefront formerly occupied by Magpie, which is now operating at 126 N. Madison St. Sister’s on Main specialized in burgers, sandwiches, wraps and breakfast throughout the day.
Sheri’s Place, 5859 Forest Hills Road, Rockford
The popular diner closed for good in August after 32 years in business. Sheri’s Place was perhaps best known for its breakfast menu but also served sandwiches, salads and wraps. The business was open six days a week.
Subway, 201 W. State St., Rockford
The Subway store on the ground floor of the historic Richardson building closed for good in May. Store owner Pam Blume said business at the downtown location was good, but she decided to retire and spend more time with her family.
Cucina Di Rosa, 1620 N. Bell School Road, Rockford
The restaurant, which specializes in Italian cuisine and desserts, will close Jan. 1. Cucina Di Rosa has been in business for over six years.
815 Cajun, 2053 N. Perryville Road, Rockford
815 Cajun closed for good at the end of September. The restaurant, which specialized in Cajun and Creole seafood dishes, opened in January 2018. The restaurant offered what is known as low country boil, which typically features the shellfish catch of the day (crab, crawfish, shrimp, clams, mussels), corn on the cob, andouille sausage and potatoes all in one pot of seasoned boiling water.
The Baking Grounds North, 8638 N. Second St., Machesney Park
The breakfast and lunch eatery closed in July after more than three years in business. Owners Justin and Tiffany Frederick cited the high cost of doing business and economic challenges facing small businesses across the nation. The couple has since opened Beardsley's Barbershop, 10209 N. Second St., in Machesney Park.
Kimberly's Homemade Ice Cream & More, 528 Seventh St., Rockford
The business, which specialized in homemade ice cream, yogurt, paninis and wraps, closed for good in July.
Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, kdecoster@rrstar.com or @DeCosterKen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford area restaurants that opened, closed in 2022
