Barrington gives facade grant to Showtime Eatery

Barrington trustees have agreed to provide a grant to help boost the appearance of a new restaurant that replaced Boloney's Sandwich Shop adjacent to the downtown Catlow Theater.

Village board members Monday night approved the $2,642 facade improvement grant to help cover what officials said will be improvements including new awnings and gooseneck lighting for Showtime Eatery on Main Street. Tim O'Connor, owner of the Catlow and Showtime, applied for the grant funded from a pool of money set aside for downtown facade improvements.

Barrington's economic and community development director, Peg Blanchard, said O'Connor will receive the village grant only after the work is completed and by submitting proof of paid invoices. Reimbursement is limited to 50 percent of verifiable, eligible expenses up to a maximum of $10,000 in facade work.

Showtime will feature appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, a few desserts and some best-selling holdovers from Boloney's menu. O'Connor and his new wife, Laura, made the conversion from Boloney's to Showtime last week.

"They're turning it into more of a bistro-type place, changing the menu," Blanchard told the village board in a nonvoting committee session before the grant approval. "They have applied for a liquor license so that they can serve alcohol. People can come in, have a meal and then take a glass of wine or beer in to watch a movie."

Blanchard said the new work will replace bubble awnings that have been removed from Boloney's exterior. She said the village wants to eliminate bubble awnings from downtown buildings.

O'Connor and his late fiancee, Roberta Rapata, started Boloney's on Oct. 1, 1981, and bought the Catlow in 1988. O'Connor ran the Catlow, and she operated Boloney's.

Rapata died at age 57 in 2016. O'Connor said the employees tried to keep Boloney's running out of respect for Rapata, but increasing competition and costs made it too difficult to continue.