Special touches make new 1910 Spirits and Crafts bar stand out in Geneva
It takes a special type of vision, business savvy and maybe a little art background to consider how a small apartment and adjoining storage area above your restaurant could be gutted to become a new gathering place in town.
Sergio and Lindsey De Los Santos had all of those ingredients working for them, in addition to knowing how to make excellent food and concoct wonderful drinks, in converting the 2,000 square feet above Sergio's Cantina into 1910 Spirits and Crafts.
The concept for what operates as an entirely separate business from the Cantina came together from a lot of moving parts.
The name of the bar should not confuse one into thinking it is a speak-easy designed from that era. 1910 simply represents the year of the Mexican Revolution, as well as when this building at 30 W. State St. was constructed. As such, 1910 is a more industrial, urban setting with plenty of interesting twists.
If you see someone “swinging” at the bar, it's not because you're a little tipsy. Three swings have been placed at the far end of the bar for what is definitely a different twist on the time-tested “bellying up to the bar” concept.
“We saw swings like that while on vacation in Cancun and thought it would be fun to have it here,” Lindsey said. “A lot of the ideas came from being in other places or on vacations.”
Another is the “smart glass” on the bathroom that amazes patrons using the facility. When entering the bathroom, the full-length glass window on the door makes it appear that privacy won't be easy. But when you lock the bolt on the door, the glass suddenly becomes opaque.
Various pieces of graffiti, some from local artist Joe Gagnepain, adorn the walls. But much of the art and wallpaper has come together through Lindsey's own art skills.
“I finally get to use my art major,” said Lindsey, who prior to helping her husband launch the Cantina in 2007, worked as a therapist at TriCity Family Services. She earned her art major at Adler University in Chicago, and specialized in art therapy.
Mostly, 1910 chefs are putting out some excellent food. The El Macho steak taco and Brisket Taco were nice choices on this small plates menu, and my wife enjoyed her Maui Fish taco. The bar has just started its daily Happy Hour menu, with inexpensive food choices.
It all works in the bar, or the outdoor patio area that is below the Cantina's al fresco dining spot.
The bar offers music and dancing with a deejay on weekends. On Thursday nights, dance instructor Jamie Vargo offers salsa instructions.
Add it all up, and the De Los Santos family has come up with one of the cooler places in town.
No more sweet corn:
A few readers have wondered what happened to the sweet corn stand on Bliss Road just north of I-88 that was operated by the Hankes family for more than two decades.
The stand was recently removed and, in hearing from some Sugar Grove residents, it appears one of the ladies broke an ankle. Because of their age, it was decided it might be best to close up that stand.
But there is a sweet corn and vegetable stand operating on Main Street in Batavia, between S. Mill Creek Drive and Nelson Lake Road. This location is known to some as Poplar Farms, and the only difference now is that owner James Muetze and his family refer to it is as Poplar Acres.
“We should have sweet corn available into October, and then we'll be switching over to fall items,” Muetze said.
I munched on a couple ears of this sweet corn last week, and it would be stating the obvious in noting that when this particular food item is fresh off the farm, it can't be beat.
A helping hand:
Yes, our social media channels can be full of political nonsense and hateful comments at times, but they also can save the day when needed because good people far outnumber the bad.
Cathy Villwock of Geneva turned to her social media network last week to help a single mom with a 6-year-old child “get back on her feet.”
Villwock found out this lady had a small apartment and nothing else, and it didn't take long for folks to step up with donations large and small.
“I'm overwhelmed at the response I've gotten, and just blown away at the wonderful people around this area,” Villwock said in an e-message. “They are dropping things off at the shop (Kernel's Gourmet Popcorn and More in Geneva), and I am having the kids give them a bag of popcorn for their kind donations.”
The Villwock family has operated the popcorn shop that was on Third Street, but most recently on State Street, in Geneva for more than a decade.
A welcoming vote:
After watching the episode of “Wahlburgers” on the USA Network that featured the star-studded Wahlberg family's pitch to St. Charles to open a new restaurant in town, it was easy to see why city officials welcomed this addition with open arms.
The episode featured Donnie Wahlberg working hard to convince the city that it meant a lot to him and his family that they could possibly open one of their famous restaurants in the town he now calls home with his wife Jenny McCarthy and her son.
Donnie is definitely the comic relief on the show, interacting with his intensely focused brother Mark, and the true restaurateur brother Paul, to set a vision for how the Wahlburgers chain can expand.
We echo the feelings of St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina, who simply said, “Welcome to St. Charles” to Donnie after the unanimous vote to approve his project for the west side of the city.
• dheun@sbcglobal.net