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Q. What's going on at Hettie's in downtown Belleville? The restaurant suddenly closed, and now they're gutting the place.
-- J.K.L., of Belleville
A. Have you heard of Tavern on the Green, the once chic restaurant in New York's Central Park?
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Five New Screens Coming to Belleville
This is an old story, but it does look like the Edge is making progress on the theater.
The miniature golf course was cleared this summer and, according to SIBA, bids are due for the first construction package next week. Clearly it won't be completed by Christmas, but it looks like it's definitely coming.
Five new screens coming to Belleville
posted by CSWalczak on May 3, 2011 at 7:40 am
BELLEVILLE, IL — The owners of the entertainment complex called the Edge (Eat, Drink, Games, etc.) plan to substantially expand their complex by the end of the year by adding two theaters, one which will be a general admission triplex and the other a 21+ VIP twin cinema with plush leather seating and food and cocktail service available. The owners have received $80,000 in incentives from the City of Belleville, but now must operate for at least a decade. The new screens will place competitive pressure on the classic 1921 Lincoln Theatre in Belleville (now a triplex) and the Skyview Drive-in which is the only operating drive-in in the greater Saint Louis, MO area.
Both theaters will show mainstream, "first-run" films, and because they'll be using digital projectors, they also plan to broadcast major sports games or concerts, and have other events, such as Xbox video game tournaments.They hope to have the theaters open by Christmas.
The story appeared at BND.com.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tavern on Main Eatery and Fine Spirits
Answer Man: New bar to open in downtown Belleville
- News-Democrat
Well, get ready for Tavern on Main Eatery and Fine Spirits, brought to you by the same person who has been treating us to tasty eats and drinks at Marco's on Main and Shenanigan's at the other end of town: Mark Onstott.
You seem unaware that after about three years behind the stove, Hettie Moore hung up her apron and locked the door at Hettie's for the last time several months ago. So, Greg Crawford bought the property at 301 E. Main St., and now he's going gangbusters to breathe new life into the place.
"He's going to put a couple of nice lofts upstairs, and he's going to build out the bottom for us," said Onstott, who is leasing the restaurant space. "And we are going to have a nice restaurant. I wouldn't call it upscale -- I'd call it a trendy kind of place."
In the old courtyard that many may remember from the original Marilyn's Pie Pantry will be the main dining room.
"It's going to have a cool, trendy kind of menu," Onstott said. "About 25 percent of it will be Marco's stuff, and the rest of it will be new items. But it's going to be the homemade dough and everything like that."
In addition, walls are being ripped out for a martini bar that will run across the front half.
"We're going to make our own sangria and muddle our own mojitos, so we'll have a real nice drink menu," Onstott said. "And we're going to have a frost rail running through our bar so if you're sitting at the bar eating or drinking, there will be like a 4-inch ice block running through the bar -- a refrigerated kind of thing."
But wait, there's more. Behind the dining room will be two small party or chill-out rooms that will hold about 15 people each. And, it also will boast an outdoor patio that will seat 40 or 50.
"We'll have two entrances," Onstott said. "One will be like a big, glass garage door. I mean, it won't look like a garage door, but it will open up so we can have an open-air place when we want to. In the winter, people will enter through the foyer, of course."
Originally, Onstott was planning to open last August, but work has proceeded more slowly than anticipated. Now, Onstott is shooting to have his Tavern on Main (with a small 'Marco's' running up the "T") in business by St. Patrick's Day to take advantage of the next outdoor season.
"A lot of those walls they took out were bearing walls so they had to put headers in and stuff. And they're relocating the bathrooms and just really redoing the place. We're just taking our time. It's not like I'm unemployed. I've got plenty to do down here on the west end."
But he's eager to get his act going downtown.
"I've always been in places where we've had to make our own foot traffic," he said. "So I'm looking forward to having a place where if someone is walking down the sidewalk, they can just walk in and see what's going on, you know?"
Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/12/10/1974230/new-bar-coming-to-downtown-belleville.html#ixzz1gC1vz8k8
