Indigo Lounge and Event Space

 Indigo Event Space and Lounge had its ribbon cutting on Oct. 1st . Nice looking facility with a bar, small stage and a one table pool room. Look as if their primary focus will be on booking receiptions, birthdays, parties, etc. with the lounge aspect a secondary focus. The big problem, I see, is the same problm that has plagued all of the busiensses that have opened in that location over the past decade:  lack of parking. Bistro 51 delt with the problem successfully by offering and promoting their valet parking, which also served to enhance the image of the business. Curbside tried the same thing but not as successfully  and the Icebox had an arrangement with the Methodist church across the street to use their parking lot when the church was not using it. . Probably working out some sort of lease arrangement with the church is the best way to assue parking for Indigo's clientile.

Icebox

 What used to be known as Curbside and the Icebox, and House of LEisure which never opened, as far as I know, is under renovation. The building sites in the 200 block of West Main was a gym and a car dealership at one time, but has been a restaurant the last 4 times it has opened.

The problem with the location is that it has no parking. In the past, they arranged for parking in the church lot across the street and/or offered valet parking. hopefully they can work out something for people to park close by.

Curbside Open

Although there are no hours posted, Curbside has reopened with hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. or so. Hopefully they will get the correct hours up on the door soon.

Curbside

Looks as if Curbside in the 200 block of West Main may be re-opening soon. The restaurant shuttered after losing its liquor license temporarily a few years back, planning to reopen when the license was re-instated. It never did and the place has remained dark for a couple of years.

However there have been signs of life and people inside for the past month and a new sign appeared on the door this week. No indication as to when the restaurant might open its doors though.

Curbside

The owner of the building that housed Curbside, and before that Icebox, apparently has finally give up on reopening the business as there is now a (falling off) "For Rent" sign taped to the awning. Under the sign is another name, so apparently someone else planned to open a business in there but never managed to get the door open, just a name painted on the awning.

Curbside Still Closed

The 2 week suspension has long lapsed but Curbside remains closed. Noah's Lounge on the north side of the square had opened more often in the past month than Curbside has.

On reflection though, since Curbside's event customers were students, they may be holding off on reopening until August when more students return to town, minimizing overhead during what is typically a slower period in Carbondale.

The Pony vs. Curbside

In case you missed it, two local bars and grills, The Pony Cabaret and Steakhouse and Curbside, both had their liquor licenses pulled, Curbside for two weeks and The Pony permanently. What is interesting is the length of time and the offenses for which each lost its license.

Curbside had theirs pulled for " several liquor license violations including not having a state liquor license last year and having a felon as manager" while the Pony lost theirs for "owner having been convicted of tax evasion and forgery in California in the 1990s". In addition, while Curbside has had problems with patrons fighting outside of the establishment and leaving quite a bit of litter in surrounding parking lots, as near as I can tell, the only other problem associated with the Pony was a citation for a blocked fire door. In other words, a much longer track record of violations at Curbside generated a much more lenient penalty.

If I didn't know better, I 'd think the city was using the 1990s conviction as a means to shut the Pony down in order to close what they perceive as an undesirable business on the main street going into downtown.

Curbside

Possibly indicating the amount to which alcohol sales affected revenues, Curbside has been closed since the city council imposed the 2 week hold on its liquor license. Prior to that, the bar and grill had hosted events every night of the week.

Curbside

In case you missed it in this week's Carbondale Times or today's Southern, Curbside had its liquor license suspended for 2 weeks, starting June 17, and ordered to pay over $1000 in fines for several liquor license violations including not having a state liquor license last year and having a felon as manager. Given the number of violations of city liquor regulations, a two week suspension and fine seems pretty lenient but the holder of the liquor license apparently didn't think so:

Martha Ikner, the license holder for Curbside, said the fine and suspension will be taxing for a business trying to succeed in Carbondale, but the establishment has identified the problems and is working to rectify them.

There's a really easy way to avoid getting your license suspended and not paying fines:  follow the city regulations regarding your license. The council did vote to renew Curbside's liquor license for another year, though.

Curbside had said the restaurant/bar planned to renew regular lunch hours after Mother's Day but, from what I have seen, they still maintain only an evening schedule and are only open when they host events at that.

Curbside

According to this article in the Southern, Curbside will start opening for lunch again, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. after Mother's Day. They have opened most evenings from 7 to later in the evening for the past month or thereabouts, so glad to see them open during the day again.