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For Jeff and Dakota Thomas Wilhelm, the idea of starting their own coffee shop was appealing, but with several already in the area, they had to answer an important question: What would make their shop different?
The answer was bagels.
“That was a niche thing that I came up with to make something special,” Jeff said, “Then I sort of figured out how to make bagels over the last few years and started selling them at farmers markets in Champaign, Urbana and Mahomet.”
A little over a year after launching in spring 2023, Good Judy’s Bagels is now gearing up to open its first brick-and-mortar location at The Pines in Urbana, at 2740 S. Philo Road, Suite D. Jeff said their goal is to open this fall.
When asked how he decided it was time to have his own store, Jeff replied, “I think it was the Urbana Summer Market. When that started up, sales were so high that I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I can do this.'”
Jeff has been working as a barista at Espresso Royale for the past year until May 2024, when he will focus on the summer farmers’ markets to learn the ropes of the coffee shop business.
When Thomas and Wilhelm were looking for a brick-and-mortar store, it was hard to find a location that would fit their needs, until they heard that Namken Nutrition was moving out of its Urbana location at The Pines.
The couple had hoped to find a location in downtown Champaign, but Jeff said they think the spot they found would be the perfect location for a “neighborhood coffee shop.”
According to the Good Judys website, the store’s name comes from a slang term members of the LGBTQ+ community use to refer to a close friend, and is a reference to Judy Garland.
Jeff said he hopes the cafe will provide a place where people can enjoy time with friends.
“We’re trying to open a coffee shop, but at the same time, we’re trying to open a destination of sorts,” he said.
High school sweethearts open a cafe and event space
Further south, another new coffee shop has opened in Tuscola.
Hometown Grounds Coffee and Events, located at 123 W. Sale St., had a soft opening last weekend and a grand opening on Monday.
The store is run by Cody and Sam Shelmerdine, who grew up in the area and were sweethearts during their time at Tuscola Community High School.
Sam said the support from the community has been “overwhelming in the most positive way.”
When asked what inspired them to start the business, Cody said, “We’re both coffee lovers, but there aren’t many coffee shops in our hometown.”
“In our small town, there aren’t many options to host these events,” Sam added.
In addition to their new business, both Shelmerdines work in the health care industry: Cody is a traveling nurse in a local emergency department, and Sam is a patient safety coordinator for Carle Health.
Atomic Wings takes off
Atomic Wings’ new Campustown location — its first franchise location in Southern Illinois — held its grand opening yesterday.
The local franchise location at 622 E. Greene St. opened for business a little over a week ago with a soft opening, which local franchisee Kavita Venkatesh said gave them a chance to iron out any issues that may have arisen.
Asked if the situation had improved with students returning to campus, Venkatesh said, “Of course. The summer vacation and the new semester are completely different.”
She added that her daughter recently graduated from the University of Illinois, so the community is near and dear to her heart.
“I’m from Chicago, but I used to come here almost every weekend or every other weekend while my daughter was studying,” Venkatesh said, “so we kind of developed a deeper connection to the place. We love Champaign.”
Venkatesh added that Atomic Wings is halal and uses “fresh, never frozen” and hormone-free chicken.
“A lot of it is made to order,” she said, “so we have everything prepped and ready to go. People think we’re fast food, but we’re not fast food. We’re just trying to get fresh food out there faster.”
New gay bar planned for Champaign
Amy Beth Meyers has announced plans to open a new “queer bar” in mid-2025.
Myers declined to say where the bar would be built, but told the News-Gazette that there is an architect working with the city of Champaign.
She said if all goes to plan, they plan to take over the location in February, renovate it and open in April.
She added that she is very keen to open a facility where “everyone is welcome in a safe space.”
Myers’ career in the service industry includes stints at Fiesta Cafe and Chester Street Bar, as a bartender and host of drag shows at Chester Street Bar. He is currently an employee of Sam’s Cafe, where he helped develop the restaurant’s new nighttime offerings earlier this year.
The secret is (almost) out
The Kitty Crib, a new cat cafe at Moore’s Rescue Ranch, 3113 N. Market St. in Champaign, will hold its grand opening Sept. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Owner Kim Dalji said the event will include story time for children, a chance to meet the cats up for adoption and “unlimited coffee, tea and hot chocolate.”
Real estate auction deadline fast approaching
Champaign County has completed the tax deed process for properties that were delinquent in 2020, as well as mobile home properties that were delinquent in 2021 and earlier.
The county will be offering six real estate properties and 92 mobile homes to the public through a sealed-bid auction. Bidder packets and sales catalogs are available at iltaxsale.com or at the county treasurer’s office in the Brookens Administrative Center, 1776 E. Washington St. in Urbana.
The minimum bid required is $801 for real estate and $915 for mobile homes.
All online bids must be submitted by the close of business Friday via iltaxsalebids.com. All written bids must be submitted to the County Treasurer’s Office by the same deadline.
For more information, contact the County Tax Office Auction Sales Division at 1-800-248-2850 or 618-656-5744.