Tom's Place Becomes Big Nate's

 Glad to see that Big Nate's now has a permament location but somewhat torn about the name change as both of them have strong brands. Tom's Place has almost a century of brand name recognition in the region and Big Nate's has about 5 years, although 40 years of experience cooking and Tom's Place chef Blake Squibb will remain on the staff.  Since the menu is shifting away from what Tom's Place was known for the past 20 years, the name change is probably a good idea.

Global Gormet

 Global Gourmet has temporarily closed until Sept 6th. The owner is traveling and tasting in Europe.

Golden Corral Temporarily Closed

According to the sign on the building the east side Golden Corral has termporarily closed for remodeling and will reopen sometime in September. The business had a lot of problems with is HVAC system last week during the heat and sewer problems in the Reeds Station Road area did not help matters. I heard several reports of the odor of sewage in the restaurant as well as throughout the area.

Cannibis

 Appears the legalisation of cannibis , at least at the local and state levels, has really taken off in Carbondale. I had people tell me that, as they walked around last weekend's parties, there was enough marijuana smoke hanging in the air that they got a serious contact high and case of the munchies. 

Dunno if it is any safer to have people smoke and drive than it is to have them drink and drive, though.

Mural

 Cool mural but not sure how it relates to Carbondale or Southern Illinois? The others that have gone up have either referenced SIUC directly, Buckminister Fuller or illustrated Carbondale's relationship with the rail industry or the historical importance of Woodlawn Cemetary. The owl, located on the back of Slabz Skatepark, is striking but how, if at all, does it tie into Carbonale.  sure the building owner can paint whatever they want on it, within reason,  but most mural projects tangentally relate to the community. Maybe I am missing the point of the mural. If so, could someone clarify it for me?

Solar Bear 2

 Good crowd for a Solar Bear party on West College yesterday afternoon and there was another one in the 500 block of S. University last night. No major problems for the police from what I have heard. They did have to break up the S. Univeristy house party and use pepper spray on the crowd over at Levels.

When I drove through the area about 9:30 p.m., things were comparatively quiet. No crowds on College or Univeristy or over on Grand, though lots of cars in the Levels parking lot. People walking around on S. Illinois and lots of cars parked but no lines waiting to get into bars. Of course, that may have changed later in the evening.

Solar Bear

 Solar Bear takes place today. Most of the activity should concentrate around the Levels' nightclub over on East Grand behind the old Pinch Penny Pub location. I have not seen much activity today as I have in past years but I have heard Carbondale police are anticipating a busy night.

Off the Rails Concert

 I read some people complaining that the Joslyn and the Sweet Compression took place the week before move in started at SIUC, hence students would not be in the city in great numbers to attend. Those folks failed to look at the Off the Rails concert schedule as Laura Jane Grace and the Copyrights will  perform tonight starting at 7 p.m.

According to the schedule, barring rain, we can expect a concert in the Washington Street venue every other Saturday through October. 

Walker's Bluff

 Walker's Bluff Casino opened today. I drove out there a few weeks ago to take a look  and the complex sits in the middle of the countryside. One has to make a special trip to go there as there is no other draw in the area. A few years ago, the lack of casinos in Illinois might have made Walker's Bluff a reasonable proposition but today, most casinos are struggling from the competition. I assume the owners have made an analysis and determined that the operation will prove profitable but, unless southern Illinois works more to make itself more of a tourist destination, I do not think Walker's Bluff will prove strong enough to pull in visitors on its own.  Given than, I really hope I am wrong. 

Accident

 Someone lost control of their car in the Old Train Depot parking lot this afternoon. The ran over a parking meter and bench and ended up elevated with the nose of his car pressed against the Depot wall. The driver kept rocking the car back and forth trying to free it but only wound up blowing a tire and ripping out the gas line. Police and fire departments were on the scene as of 5 p.m. today.

Mail Fraud

 I read in the news that theft of mailbox master keys are on the rise throughout the nation. According to this press release, a group of four men stole a master key and were using it to open collection boxes throughout the city. Primarily they stole checks, likely governmental, altered them and deposited them into their own accounts.

Sesquicentennial Anniversary

 Stuck my head in briefly at the Sesquicentennial Anniversary celebration this afternoon and was happy to see close to 300 people sitting and listening to the speakers. Also grabbed a copy of the new Historic Bike Tour brochure laying out historic spots around the community with a bike route to visit each of them. Hopefully copies will be racked someplace in the civic center.

Missing Adult Located

Raeann Ashley was last seen in Carbondale on August 11 in the 400 block of E. College and was reported missing on August 18th . She has been found somewhere by another law enforcement agency, which likely indicates she was found outside of Carbondale. 

Carbondale CommUNITY Sesquicentennial Anniversary

 tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Civic Center. Not sure why the organizers decided to have it at 3 pm when a good chunk of potential attendees are still at work and most kids are still in school, or getting out at that time. This would have been a great event to get kids to attnend.

Maybe the organizers have  worked out something with the schools to bring kidsthere as an after school event. If so, I have not heard of it.

Solar Bear

 From what I have heard, Solar Bear will return to Carbondale this Saturday, August 26, now sponsored by Levels, the bar back behind what used to be Copper Dragon. 

For those not familiar with Solar Bear, it is a day long booze fest with drink specials at local bars, primarily Pinch Penney in the past, with house parties throughout the town. A few times it got so bad that SIUC set up hydration stations and medical check up points near the intersection of Grand and Wall.

Given the 96 F/ 35 C temperatures expected this weekend, I worry we will see some students suffering from heatstroke unless they are very careful.

Wrong Way

 With the number of new comers to Carbondale and the number of one way streets in the city, I expect a number of them to drive the wrong way on Main, Walnut, Illinois and University. Local residents ought to expect this and drive more defensively on those steets, at least until the end of the month.

Preservation Commission

 The Carbondale Preservation Commission meets this Monday at 5:30 p.m. in room 103 of the civic Center.  However, according to the agenda, there is no business before it save an election.

Don Luna

 The South 51 section of Carbondale now has another food option beyond McDonald's and what you can find at the two convenience stores there. Don Luna has opened a Carbondale location in the old Arnold's Market building. Drive through only and the hours appear to be 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Chango's

 From what I have heard, the downtown Chango's location will reopen late August or early September. It will be nice for Sal's bistroy to not have to share the building with an empty space.

Off the Rails 2

 Got to the Off the Rails Concert about 9:30 last night and figure there were still about 200 people there listening. There were also about 6 food trucks there and about 10 or so craft vendors. The ones that I spoke with said they had seen steady but not stellar business and felt that the heat and mugginess had kept larger crowds away.

Given there was also a concert at the Varsity Center and at least one other musical event in town, it looked like a pretty good turnout

Off The Rails Concert

 The first fall Off the Rails Concert starts tonight at 7 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. Takes place in the Washington Street Event venue, aka the grassy area along Walnut Street next to the railroad tracks.  Eventually the plan is to put a permanent stage at the south end of the space, meaning no longer having assemble and dismantle a stage for each performance.  Last time I checked, the plan was to get the stage built sometime in 2024 or 2025.  Doubt the city can get it in place in time for next year's eclipse. 

Buckminister Fuller

 I know I say this every so often but I really wish SIUC and the city would do more to promote their conncection to Bucky Fuller. He is arguably one of the greatest futurists of the 20th century and spent more time assoicated with SIUC than any other institution with which he was affiliated. There are the dome shelters on campus, the Fuller Dome NFP restoring Fuller's home in Carbondale, the geodesic structure next to Gaia house, a mural in the alley behind La Unica Bakery and another privately owned dome behind the west side SIUC Credit Union. We really could use more honoring the man and drawing attention to his residency here.

Mural Ordinance Change

 According to city ordinance, any murals painted on walls in the city could be graphics only, no text. The murals painted under the auspices of Artspace 304 on the walls of SI Pawn and The Wellness Center both were in violation of this ordinance, so Tuesday night the city coucil passed an amendment to the ordinance allowing text in murals, thus once again proving the adage that "it is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

SIH

 Given the number of house demolishions along West Oak and South Almond, I would expect SIH to build upon those properties sometime in the next year or so. 

All of the houses, save one, along West Oak between Poplar and University have been demolished, including the reportedly haunted "Rain House" and the one time but extensively renovated home of Gen John H. Logan. In addition, all of the houses along West Oak between Poplar and Almond and the houses on N. Almond between Main and Oak are gone. I had not realized how much demonlition had taken place in the area until I happened to bike through there this week. Just a lot of empty lots, which I expect SIH will expand its campus onto within the next couple of years which, since SIH is a not for profit, means more property taken off the tax rolls.

24 Hour Restaurants

 I was reading in the Southern Illinois Eats group on Facebook a complaint about the lack of 24 hour restaurants in Carbondale. I think the latest any place stays open is Taco Bell until 3 p.m. and then only the drive through.

If I remember correctly, the last two 24 hour restaurants we had here were Denny's , which shut down back in 2020, with the building now razed, and The Corner Diner, which closed at least 15 years ago. Towards the end of its run, the primary late night customers at the Corner Diner were SIUC students that came there after Morris Library closed for the night. They would order a cup of coffee, which came with free refills and settle in to do homework for a few hours. Similarly, late night customers at Denny's would order a  light meal and sit there for hours. Hence why no businesses, save gas stations, stay open all night. It is just not profitable. Wal-mart, Kroger and Schnucks all tried the 24 hour model for a few years and gave it up. 

The business has to pay people to work there, in the case of a restaurant at least 3, a waiter, cook and someone to clean. That is a significant amount of payroll for not much business. Couple that with the fact that they would get the customers looking for something to eat after an evening of bar hopping and it is just not worth the money and hassle.

A convenience store, with only 1-2 people there over night, that doesn't have to wait on and cook for people, can be profitable. So can a 24 hour restaurant near a highway interchange with lots of traffice. There are just not enough late night customers in Carbondale, currently, to justify a 24 diner.

Glenn Poshard Signings

 Glenn Poshard and author Carl Walworth will sign copies of Poshard's recently published biography "Son of Southern Illinois at three different locations on Wednesday August 9th. You can meet the pair and pick up a copy of the book at the Harrisburg District Library from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Herrin City Library; 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Stinson Memorial Library in Anna and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Varsity Theater in Carbondale.

150th Anniversary

 The city will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its incorporation on August 30th at 3 p.m. In anticpation of the event, the city has commissioned Kendal Bell to paint a celebration mural on the windows of the Civic Center/City Hall.

Would have been nice to see a series of events taking place leading up to the anniversary date. Would reallylike to see the city and SIUC do something like that leading up to next year's Eclipse.

Movie Series

 the Varsity Center for the Arts wrapped up its summer movie series this past Saturday. Nice to see films playing in the venue again. Here is hoping they can make this a biannual or even quarterly event.

IG Owner Passes Away

 From the Arbor District mailing list

"We learned yesterday that Rosli (Li) Habibullah and his wife Guillerma (Gemma) Habibullah died in a traffic accident that occurred on Wednesday, between here and Champaign where their daughter, Mona, lives. You probably know Li, even if you did not know his name: he was the owner of International Grocery in the Murdale Shopping Center. Gemma was retired from teaching math at St. Piux X High School in Festus, MO, and serving as an adjunct faculty member at Saint Louis University (SLU)."

From what I have heard, the store is continuing to operate.

Heat Island Study

The  Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission with assistance from the City of Carbondale is conducting a heat island study of Carbondale and are asking for people to complete the survey. You can take the desktop version here.

I would just hope that something happens as a result of the survey and it does not just get tossed on a back shelf

Evolve

 Evolve Apartments opened its doors officially on August 5th back in 2015 after razing the 710 Bookstore complex and wiping out most of the parking on the south end of the Strip. 

Despite space for about 4 retail storefronts on the ground floor, only one, Insomnia Cookies, has managed to open and stay in business. No other business has ever ever opened a location in the space. In addition, the four storefronts in the strip above Trax have see, by my estimation, at least a dozen businesses open to feed on customers generated by the apartment complex next door. None has lasted longer than a year.

From what I have heard, occupancy has never reached more than about 65%. The walls do not do much to block sound from other residents and, unless it has been fixed, there were some questions about if the wiring was up to code at the time the building opened.

Another One Gone

 SIUC has a problem keeping athletic staff as the football defensive coach resigned today. No indication this was due to any questionable activity on the coach's part, as has been the case with some other resignations. In the past, the University had a problem with staff sexually harassing athletes, complaints getting filed and no action or investigation undertaken

150 Year Celebration

 Carbondale celebrates 150 years since its incorporation on August 23. From the description, it looks as if there will be candles and speeches. Maybe cake if we are lucky.