‘Mayberry’ still alive in Geneva
The quaintness of our downtowns remains one of the great things about living in the Tri-Cities area. But walking around downtown Geneva last weekend suddenly turned into an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show.” Or, at least, it felt like we had landed in Mayberry.
Everyone was in good spirits, partly because we continued to defy Mother Nature with another warm and sunny January morning.
When stopping at the new Ace Hardware on West State Street, at the same location as the former Ace Hardware, my wife and I ran into even more smiling faces. But these smiles had everything to do with the fact George Havlicek reopened a store nobody near downtown Geneva wanted to see leave in the first place.
The employees were helpful in my search for silicone sealant, so it was like running into Emmett Clark, the old-timer who ran the hardware store in Mayberry.
A few blocks east, Aurelio’s Pizza owner Kevin Serra came out to chat after he saw us glancing at the menu posted outside of his new restaurant in the former Table 38 location. Yes, just like Mayberry.
Serra said things have been going well since Aurelio’s basically moved across the street from its former location six weeks ago.
“The hours have been different and there’s more to take care of because we have so much more room here, but we’re really happy with business so far,” Serra added.
Stopping in for a pizza at Aurelio’s is definitely on our to-do list.
A few storefronts down from Aurelio’s we stopped in at the new location for Kernel’s Gourmet Popcorn and More.
This charming little “old-time” shop had a definite Mayberry flair to it. How could it not, with an old-fashioned popcorn wagon in the storefront window?
As an added bonus, the bag of popcorn and bag of Swedish Fish licorice we bought made for a nice snack later in the day.
The economy has changed many things for the worse in our area, but signs remain that sometimes things change back for the better. We got a few doses of it last weekend.
Not all Mayberry: While there is plenty of feel-good stuff going on in downtown Geneva, the corner of Third and State streets continues to take a hit. Now that Kiss the Sky record shop seems like it might pull up stakes, it leaves three corners of the intersection sporting empty retail space #8212; Kiss the Sky, the Tuscana Italian restaurant and the Merra-Lee shops. If Starbucks somehow had problems, it would make it a clear four-for-four at the intersection bowing to an undesirable economy.Are we there yet?: That question sums up how most folks feel about the pending opening of the Golden Corral restaurant in Batavia. City officials are wise to not lock themselves into a time frame, saying that franchise owner Sam Gibson wants to open it #147;as soon as possible.#148; However, you probably could have said that back in 2008 when construction of the site at Randall Road and Main Street first took place. Foreclosures and legal wranglings left it as an ironic twist to the economic woes #8212; a new site that couldn#146;t get opened.I took at peek at the site last week, and utility flags and paint stripes for digging looked fairly recent, and there appears to be restaurant equipment inside the building shell. But this place is a long way from being ready, it seems. I think when we see parking lot light poles going up, we can start getting excited.Still more hoopla?: When it comes to the Batavia Fine Arts Centre at the high school, the hoopla never stops it seems. And rightly so.Students will perform the first stage play at the new theater this week when they present #147;Great Expectations.#148;Here#146;s some things you should know about this presentation of the Charles Dickens#146; classic. Batavia students composed original music for the play, and senior Charles Grimse is in for a long night.He has the lead role of #147;Pip,#148; which means he won#146;t leave the stage the entire play.Tickets are available at BataviaFineArtsCentre.org. The play unfolds at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.Another pop up: The St. Charles Arts Council is at it again with Pop Up Gallery art exhibits. You still have time to check out the latest offering, this time at Fine Line Creative Arts Center.The gallery, with a theme called #147;Motion,#148; will be on display through Jan. 28 at the center#146;s Kavanagh Gallery, 6N158 Crane Road in St. Charles.Gritty Animals tune: Vietnam veterans surely remember The Animals and Eric Burdon belting out the popular hit from the mid 1960s titled #147;We Gotta Get Out of this Place.#148; And they had to think at the time that the song pretty much fit exactly what they were thinking about the jungles of Vietnam.Burdon will be in town for a Saturday night concert at the Arcada Theatre and owner Ron Onesti is offering free tickets to all Vietnam vets. They can call ahead for tickets at (630) 962-7000 or just show up at the box office with any kind of ID, such as a hat, that shows they were veterans, Onesti said.Vote for dancers now: Are they getting nervous? Well, maybe so. After all, dancers competing in the annual #147;Dancing With the Geneva Stars#148; event will be on the dance floor in just a few weeks, showing off their new skills in the Feb. 4 event at Eagle Brook Country Club.No one has to wait until Feb. 4 to vote for a favorite couple. That can be done now on the genevarts.org website. It#146;s a dollar a vote, and the more votes you pile into the online voting, the more money the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and Geneva Academic Foundation raise.Another good sign: Is it another sign that we are starting to #147;get it#148; in terms of teaching young kids what they should be eating?It seems like it, considering the Aurora School District 129 recently announced a country grant will help launch a healthy-eating habits program in several district schools in the spring.Money from the Making Kane County Fit for Kids 2020 Funder#146;s Consortium will pay for a fruit-and-vegetable bar at Hill Elementary School.Now, the trick will be to get the kids to not only eat their fruit and vegetables, but to realize these foods are pretty good.dheun@sbcglobal.net