SAVE MAIN STREET – Why the Whole World Needs a Little Small Town Flavor

By Stuart Meyer

The long days of the Summer of 1979 were waning and the August haze had softened the sun’s piercing rays in the Southern skies above.  I anxiously hurried out the front door racing through the invisible cloud of humidity toward the family car.  In the South, this was the time of year for which iced sweet tea was invented.

That's me... back in the 1970s with precision bowl helmet haircut.

Earlier that morning, the local newspaper sat in a state of disarray on our round family breakfast table.  As I glanced down at the pile of news, there sat a full-page advertisement partially blanketed by the Sports section.  The black-and-white text of the ad heralded the three most dreaded words feared by any small town kid who roamed freely upon Mother Nature’s playground through those long Summer days… “BACK TO SCHOOL”.

The Family Car - Our 1972 Buick Electra

As the youngest, I wrestled my way into the car and laid down on the coveted floor boards of the backseat rather than brave the smoldering aromatic blaze of the vinyl bench-like seat.  Walking barefoot over fiery coals was no match for the backseat of a 1972 Buick Electra baking atop the driveway in the heat of a Kentucky Summer.

A little ways down the road, I re-surfaced from the depths of the floorboard and turned my attention to peering out the window at all the familiar landmarks as we made our way toward the courthouse square.  As a kid, every trip into downtown was like a small town reunion as all main roads flowed into “the square”, much like the precious lifeblood which flows into the heart.

The State Theater - Elizabethtown, KY. Photo courtesy of www.historicstatetheater.org

The Dixie Highway flowed in from one direction and Mulberry St. the other.  The unique character of each original downtown building stood proud like a strong, yet silent actor quietly emitting its own unique story and history.  A lone cannonball fired during the Civil War still sat lodged in the second story of a corner building just down from the town’s first movie house, the 1940s era State Theater.  Just down from the square was a regular Farmer’s Market, where local farmers sold a little bit of their harvest to the community from the back of their pick-up trucks.

We arrived in downtown and I spilled out of the backseat onto the street along with my older brother and sister.  I sometimes felt as though we were related to everyone in town as everyone seemed to know everyone.  I stood there on the street for a moment and looked all around with wonder almost as if time had frozen for just a few moments.  Our destination was the People’s Store and the Factory Outlet shoe shop of which we always came through the back alley entrance.  A trip downtown to buy some new school clothes and a new pair of shoes was one of the cherished consolations of the collision course with Summer’s end and the eminent start of a new school year.

Stuart Meyer is the show creator and producer of "Small Town Flavor" a web TV show hosted by Panini Pete

Over the many years of my life which have opened and closed like chapters of an epic American folk literature work, this particular “page” of my own auto-biographical volume of small town life has remained permanently imprinted upon my heart and mind.  The collection of experiences and time spent in small towns throughout my first 27 years of my life followed by the past 12 years in the Chicago area have served as the inspiration for the web TV show I created, “Small Town Flavor”.

Small towns and their downtowns are like the “grassroots” of American life, firmly rooted as one-of-a-kind blades of grass in the rich and abundant soil of our American identity.  Life has taught me that the essence of small town life may very well contain the secrets to happiness as measured above all else by the collective and individual relationships we share with each other.  Interestingly, the scientific world is catching up as research has shown that fundamental happiness is rooted in the strength of our social connections.

In many ways, food has also defined our connection to each other throughout history.  From the time when hunting and gathering food was the main business of the day to modern times in which we use our shared connection to food to strengthen social bonds.  In small towns, local food culture is not just about subsistence, it’s ingrained in the identity, tradition, rituals and pride of the community.

I believe the next great chapter in American history is threatened by the decline of our relationships, our connection and our accountability as “neighbors”.  While we all need money to make a living, the one thing we need most to make a happy life is each other.

For these reasons, we should celebrate our small towns, share their stories, their unique food culture and enrich our lives through the lessons we can all learn from the small town way of life.   I like to think we either come from small towns or there is a little bit of small town living within us… on our streets, in our neighborhoods, throughout our cities, around our states and across our country.

These thoughts reside at the heart and soul of what Small Town Flavor is all about and we hope you’ll become part of our Small Town Flavor Family.

SAVE MAIN STREET… watch Small Town Flavor.

http://socialfrequency.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/save-main-street-why-the-whole-world-needs-a-little-small-town-flavor/

Zigfield Troy Golf – A Family Tradition of PGA Member Professionals Since 1950

Who’s ready to polish their golf game?  Or, if you’re like me, poised to scrub some of the rust off after years of neglect?  Spring is here and I’m very blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with another family business with a multi-generational legacy in sharing their unique story.

Zigfield Troy Golf is located just down the road on 75th Street in Woodridge (1535 W. 75th Street).  Back in the 1930s, Zigfield Troy Golf was born of the vision of a Chicago South-Sider by the name of Zigfield Troy.  He opened his first driving range in his teens and spent his whole life making the game of golf affordable and accessible to all.  In Zigfield’s own words, he wanted to create a “Poor Man’s Country Club”.  Over the years, Zigfield Troy and his family became familiar names in the PGA as both members and professionals.  Today, the legacy continues year-round at Zigfield Troy Golf where you’ll find an outdoor and covered/heated driving range, a 9-hole precision Par 3 course, a staff of PGA Member Professionals for individual/group lessons, a full service Pro Shop, professional club assessment/fitting/repair, a Jr. Golf Program for kids during the Summer, the Annual Zigfield Troy Open Tournament (last weekend in June), putting/chipping practice greens and more.  In other words, most everything you would expect to find at a private country club, but far less expensive and open to the general public year-round.

In a nutshell, there’s something for golfers of all levels and families where you can enjoy the game of golf without spending an entire day  playing 18 holes.  Green fees range from $7 – $12, they have family buckets of range balls and will even provide you with some clubs to hit if you don’t have them.

There is also a vacation-style miniature golf course by the name of Lost Mountain Adventure Golf as part of the facility.  So, the whole family can come along and have an memorable time.

If you’re interested in getting involved in the Zigfield Troy Golf legacy and would like to interact, get golf tips from their PGA Professionals, exclusive offers, golf trivia/history, free giveaway challenges, connect with other area golfers, updates, see Zigfield Troy Golf videos and more, you should consider becoming part of our Zigfield Troy Golf Facebook Family by CLICKING HERE.

At the end of the day, what excites me about working with Zigfield Troy Golf and will capture your heart as well is the story told in the video below about Zigfield Troy, which was featured on the Golf Channel’s “PGA Today” show.

We are indeed very lucky to live in an area where inspiring and extraordinary family stories are so commonplace.  SM

Naperville’s Vostry’s Mobile Tune-Up and Repair: An Unsung Hero of the Blizzard of 2011

To say the least, when we all reflect upon the Great Blizzard of 2011, our memories will be full of eye-popping snow drifts, jubilant kids and plenty of sweat equity invested in the ongoing removal of the crushing 18-20 inches of snow from our driveways, walkways, sidewalks and all the extra “plowed” in egresses to our residential streets.

If you’re like me, you gave plenty of pep talks to your grossly under-sized and under-equipped little snow blower as you forcibly choked their way through creating nicely squared ice mazes.

We also spent plenty of time helping our neighbors, some of which had no snow blower and were forced to face the icy white depths with only a shovel and empty expressions of overwhelmed bewilderment.

Personally, my last round of snow removal ended across the street helping my neighbor plow the end of his driveway from the icy mounded barriers created each time the city plows would come through.  I asked much of my “little snow blower that could” and while it died many times within the strangulating snow it never gave out until the very end.  Finally, after completing this last round the belt snapped and those tiny paddle blades ceased to move.

I needed convenience and a quick fix.  Truthfully, I wasn’t crazy about taking the time to load “little red” into the mini-van only to take it somewhere that may have taken a couple of days to get fixed.  Even more, I had no idea when the next snow would hit.  Thus, I recall once upon a time hearing about a local service that is a repair shop on wheels and sure enough, after a quick internet search found Vostry’s Mobile Repair and Tune-Up.

I gave them a call and expecting a long waiting list, I actually ended up getting on the schedule that afternoon.  Even more, expecting to pay a big premium for the home service I was very pleasantly surprised to find the cost wasn’t anywhere near what I expected.

After Mr. Vostry finished up, I was so excited by how easy and painless the repair had been that I asked if it would be okay to take a couple of pictures as I told him about the World of Naperville blog.  He was more than happy to indulge and I told him I would continue spreading the word about his outstanding service.  My personal thanks to Vostry’s Mobile Tune-Up for the passion and commitment they put into making these types of services so convenient here in Naperville.

Now as we head into lawn mowing season, I’ll be giving them another call to drop back by for my lawn mower maintenance as well.  SM

A Weekday in Downtown Naperville at Tasso’s Greek Cuisine, Naperville Running Company, Gelati and Le Chocolat

Not Downtown Naperville, but the City Center of Trento, Italy

The sun was shining today despite the swirling winter winds.  It was great to finally reconnect with Downtown Naperville today after having been in Europe for the majority of 2010 thus far.  A long overdue homecoming indeed.

The joy of starting your own business is you move from working most of the time to most days working all the time.  With the pressures of start-up comes the loss of those fleeting moments you thought you would have with all the new found elusive “flexibility” in your life.  Nonetheless, I wouldn’t change a thing!

Today I took  Downtown Naperville “by storm”, meeting my wife for lunch at the newly opened Tasso’s Greek Cuisine. My wife loves Mediterranean food and I thought it would be a “slam dunk”, however, I realized as our meal progressed that March Madness is still weeks away.  Truthfully, I wanted to love Tasso’s as did my wife, but our experience was rather average in terms of food and service.  We will give them another chance and I do hope they succeed.

After lunch, we headed down to the Naperville Running Company to appropriately buy some new running shoes, perhaps subconsciously believing that we could manifest an early Spring in doing so.  As for the Naperville Running Company, you don’t need me to tell you how great they are as their well-known reputation speaks for itself.  What a tremendous approach to small business, passion and service.  If you are a lifelong runner or considering taking up running for the first time… run as fast as you can to Naperville Running Company to get on the right track and make you feel as though you are part of the running community no matter your fitness level.

After buying our running shoes, the only natural next stop was a couple of doors down at Gelati of Naperville for a SMALL cup of gelato.  I will admit it was my first visit AND I was consuming gelato in February AND just after spending three-and-a-half weeks in Italy, so I have agreed to return when the warm weather arrives to give them another shot.  I will say that Gelati of Naperville is definitely the type of Downtown Naperville business I would love to survive as they are both local and fun Downtown Naperville option.

Finally, with shopping on her mind my wife and I parted ways and I headed for my car.  Though, out of the corner of my eye as I began to cross Washington Street was Le Chocolat Bar.  Again, I am ashamed to confess that until today I had not stepped foot into their Downtown location since moving from their obscure former location on 5th Street behind Naperville North High School.  Though I had just consumed gelato, my memories of European chocolate were fresh enough in my mind to curiously lead me through their front door.  Upon walking in, I was floored by what an amazing job they have done in creating the genuine atmosphere of “Chocotopia”.  Retail national and international chocolate to the left, chocolate-by-the-piece case to the right and a long bar farther back in the shop for an assortment of indulgent drinks.  I browsed around comparing my mental notes of the many chocolate shops I had spent time in Italy, buying gifts of course, and the experience felt very familiar.  I had to at least sample something so I approached the chocolate-by-the-piece case and was warmly greeted.  After sharing some notes on different types of chocolate, I was offered a complimentary piece of their own dark chocolate, which was quite firm but a decadent balance between sweet and bitter richness.  This is yet another Downtown Naperville business we must all support as, again, they are local and provide a memorable experience to anyone visiting Downtown Naperville.

It’s great to be back in Naperville and I look forward to a renewal of my regular visits to Downtown AND my postings to the World of Naperville.  SM

White Chocolate Grill Broadcasts Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Episode of WCG Cooks Filmed in Naperville

While most of us struggle to avoid overindulging in our favorite holiday foods this time of year, the holiday season can be a particularly frustrating time for those with food allergies.  In showing it’s commitment to the gluten-free dining community, the  White Chocolate Grill recently released an episode of its WCG Cooks series featuring Executive Chef Robert Kabakoff and Chef/Owner Bobby Fitzgerald demonstrating how to prepare a delicious gluten-free pumpkin pie.  Though White Chocolate Grill is based in Arizona, this episode was filmed right here in Naperville at their location on Diehl Road.  You can view the video below:

I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with White Chocolate Grill, producing this episode through my social media production company, Social Frequency Media Communications. While we only entered into this creative partnership within the past couple of months, I’ve had the good fortune to build a friendship with Bobby Fitzgerald over the past two years and am continually impressed by his passion for the restaurant business. SM

White Chocolate Grill Launches ‘WCG Cooks’ Cooking Show with Pumpkin Cheesecake in Naperville

If you were at the White Chocolate Grill on October 21st, it may have looked a bit like Food Network was invading the kitchen.  Though it wasn’t Food Network, the White Chocolate Grill began production of a new online cooking show, WCG Cooks, filming during the dinner rush at its Naperville location.  What is the source of my inside information?  The answer is my new firm, Social Frequency Media Communications, produced the first two episodes.

The series, which features WCG Executive Chef, Robert Kabakoff, and Chef/Owner Bobby Fitzgerald, takes viewers behind-the-scenes into the WCG kitchen to celebrate great food, explore ingredients,  see how menu favorites are prepared and to learn great tasting recipes you can replicate at home.  Episode one focuses on a refreshing spin on a seasonal favorite, Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Hungry yet?  You can experience episode one below.

Another benefit of producing these first two episodes is being able to sample the finished product and let me say WCG’s Pumpkin Cheesecake is amazing.  But you don’t have to produce a cooking show to try this Pumpkin Cheesecake, just head on over to the White Chocolate Grill Naperville for a slice.  SM

The Tale of a Perfect Date Night in Naperville, Complete with a Little Joy Yee and Tutto Dolce

As any of you with a young family will attest, it is truly a rare occasion when the planets align with the stars and moon to offer an evening window for a simple old-fashioned date, free of chicken tenders, plastic kid’s cups, broken crayons and other unexpected outbursts of fatigue-induced pint-size drama.  Simply put, date nights for husbands and wives make us much better moms and dads. 

With the Labor Day Weekend in full “Fling”, one such opportunity presented itself last evening.  Now your first assumption would be that we headed into Downtown Naperville for Last Fling, right?…BZZZZZZ… wrong!  While it was a tempting thought to walk along hand-in-hand amidst the twinkling lights of carnival midway and smell of powder-smothered funnel cakes riding upon the gentle September breeze, we opted to go a different direction all together in branching out to try somewhere entirely new… well at least new to us.

As you may recall, we moved to South Naperville last year and its now easy to understand the geographic divide between North and South given the route and commute times.  Nonetheless, the movie we wanted to see, 500 Days of Summer, was at AMC Cantera so we decided to head somewhere on the Northeast side of Naperville.  The choice was easy as I’d been wanting to go to Joy Yee’s Noodles, well, for about 4 years now. 

Located in Iroquois Center just west of Naper Blvd, Joy Yee’s Noodles lives up to its authentic pan-asian experience which I first learned about from WTTTW’ Check Please program ( click here to see the WTTW Check, Please video on Joy Yee’s location in Chinatown).  We headed over about 6:30 PM thinking that it would be a quiet Sunday evening.  To the contrary, as we pulled up we saw a crowd out front carefully examining over-sized menus.  Had the kids been in tow, we may have kept driving… but hey, this was date night and the world was our oyster… if only for a couple of hours.

Speaking of “pearls”, I will confess that I love fresh fruit smoothie/freeze drinks loaded with those large black tapioca pearls and completed with one extra-wide straw.  At Joy Yee’s, these drinks are a main event as the first thing you see when you walk in is the the wall of fresh fruits and the drink assembly station.  Though the place was packed, we were warmly greeted by the host and a bit surprised when he said the wait would be around 10 minutes.  He was right and soon we were seated among the sea of tapioca fruit freeze slurping humanity. 

The place was crowded and tables were packed close together, but I really liked this fact as it added to the charm of walking into the door of a Naperville restaurant that truly transports you to Chinatown.  Even more, the closer you are seated to others, the easier it is to quickly eyeball the dishes being served up as the commitment-averse should beware, Joy Yee’s menu is a bit mind-boggling with its wide assortment Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and a touch of Chineese culinary offerings.

We started with, of course, a couple of fruit freeze drinks.   Mine was Strawberry and Lychee with a nice gob of tapioca pearls and my wife’s a Mango and Lychee minus the gelatinous chewy wonders.  My wife spent a number of weeks in China when she was in high school, which is where she developed a fond affection for the exotic tree-fruit lychee.  Perhaps the best part is that Joy Yee not only offers  quality and selection when it comes to the ”bubble” fruit freezes, but their prices in the $3.50 – $4.o0 range is great.  This should be a lesson to the other Asian restaurants in town that offer the same tapioca fruit smoothie drinks for $5.00 and up… and you know who you are.   

As we emerged from our disoriented menu-scanning haze, we were actually more confused than when we first opened the epic volume.  Knowing that we wanted to try a dish that we had never eaten before, we went with our gut instinct which was telling us a relentless blast of hunger was closing in on us, which drove us back to the first thing that caught our eye.  For me, it was the Spicy Korean Pork served on a hot plate and for my wife… well, it was a pot full of rice, beef, cabbage, hot sauce, onions and fried egg on top.  Both dishes were absolutely delicious and only got better as the flavors continued to combine before our eyes once the food reached the table. 

One word of caution, the innocent benign-looking slivers of dark green peppers hanging out on the spicy pork hot plate like a peaceful Friday night at the “Gas-n-Sip” are, in fact, sleeping volcanic daggers of tongue-numbing, head-melting shock waves which burn slowly through your mouth up to the top of your head like a slow-burning explosives fuse.   Once the cute little pepper has you in its merciless clutches, your only choice is to ride out its fury and hope the table next to you doesn’t spot the shower of sweat cascading off your sizzling forehead.

Despite my lapse in judgment as the other peppers on the plate mocked my foolishness for eating their little green cousin, the meal was absolutely delightful leaving us in antipation of our next trip to Joy Yee’s.  The good news continued when we received our bill, which was under $30… including our towering fresh fruit freezes.  A great all-around culinary and cultural experience, which left me lamenting the fact it has taken so long to check out Joy Yee’s. 

Upon emerging from the bright and colorful strip mall space into the crisp moonlit breeze, our only thought was to make the walk to our car as long as possible to “burn” a few minutes as we were still early for our movie time.  Two doors down from Joy Yee’s, we discovered another unexpectedly delightful experience in Tutto Dolce Gelato.  I mentioned to my wife that it might be nice to have something to cleanse the pallet as she said, “what, the giant fruit freeze wasn’t enough?”.   A point well taken, but still we had time to kill and I love checking out new Naperville spots. 

Now I’ve had gelato locally and in Europe which leaves me a bit spoiled, but Tutto Dolce really impressed me in its quality and variety.  The other factor that really impressed me was the service as the owner was more than happy to patiently serve as our host in providing samples from one end of the freezer case to the other.  We talked about the gelato-making process and the fact his humble-yet-affordable strip mall location enables him to spend more money on quality ingredients.  You can see the passion and creativity in Tutto Dolce, which we were told has been around a for a while, but recently changed ownership. 

If you aren’t familiar with gelato, allow me to give you two great reasons to give it a try.  First, it’s less fattening than regular ice cream or custard and, second, it is smoother, creamier and more flavorful in my estimation.  While we were told that Blood Orange is their best-seller, my heart found its home with the Chocolate Orange.  It’s almost like eating the chilled center of a chocolate truffle with a touch of orange citrus.  Is there a better combination?  Tutto Dolce has one full case of fruit-based gelatos and another entirely consisting of new spins on familiar favorites, such as French Vanilla, Coffee, Chocolate and Banana.  For these reasons and more, I can only rave about Tutto Dolce and will be back very very soon.  This is a gem which is deserving of our local support and enjoyment. 

The evening would have been a wonderful success even if it had ended there, but we proceeded to Cantera and really enjoyed 500 Days of Summer… a great date movie which can be truly enjoyed by those of us who are much further down life’s path than the film’s characters, but at the same time remember the trials and tribulations of finding and falling in love.  In a way, a special date night like this one is almost like falling in love all over again as we pause to cherish and reminisce about the past and look toward the future.  All too soon, we were pulling our carriage back into the garage as it returned to the more familiar form the family car, complete with booster seats, matchbox cars and coloring books in the backseat.  SM    

Naperville Olive Mill a Flavorful Experience both In Store and Beyond

Last month, during our family vacation to in South Haven Michigan, we drove up to Saugatuck for day to visit the art galleries and shops.  Shortly after lunch, we stumbled upon a small shop called The Olive Mill.  From the street, we could see customers standing in front of rows of shiny stainless steel containers. 

Curious, we walked in to discover one area of small-batch flavor blended olive oils and on the other side of the store another area of small-batch flavor blended balsamic vinegars .  Given our love for cooking, how could we resist the warm offer to sample as many from tiny paper cups as possible.  Our kids even got into the action, of course with us helping them pour a little from the spout of each stainless steel container.

Now keep in mind, we had just finished a lunch of freshly fried lake perch and were not exactly hungry.  Nonetheless, I first tried the Strawberry Balsamic and my taste buds unexpectedly sprung back to life with delicious excitement.  From small-batch traditionally aged balsamic to others including apple, pear, black currant and champagne balsamic.  As shown in these pictures, we settled for an amazing Tangerine Balsamic.

While I was sampling the balsamic vinegars, my wife was over with the small-batch olive oils.  Flavors included blood orange, walnut, truffle, lime, Meyer lemon (had to try of course), garlic and many more.  We settled on an extremely refreshing basil olive oil.

We were so excited by our find, then suddenly heard from across the store one of the clerks say, “Naperville”.  We walked over to ask if they had other locations, and the clerk mentioned Naperville.  Now I’ll have to admit that in a moment of pride I questioned how could I, the “World of Naperville”, not be aware of this gem of a store in our own backyard.  Then as soon as she mentioned the English Rows, it dawned upon me that in fact we had noticed the store in the English Row shops just off of Rt. 59 a number of times.  I’ll have to confess though, I made no connection between the name ”Olive Mill” and the wonderful hands-on consumer experience and products we sampled. 

Thus, last Friday, after having lunch at Tommy Nevins my wife and I walked over to the Naperville Olive Mill store for a closer inspection.  Steve greeted us warmly and we enjoyed our conversation about the company and the many rich flavorful products they offer.  The store format was almost identical to the Saugatuck store.  If you love rich olive oils, balsamic vinegars or any number of related products, I strongly recommend you drop by the Naperville Olive Mill on Rt. 59 at the English Row Shops a short distance south of 95th Street.

In the meantime, here’s recipe I would share from our family dinner this evening:

Grilled Basil and Tangerine Portabello Mushrooms

Start with fresh portabellos from the Naperville Farmers Market (each Saturday during the summer at 5th Street Station).  Blend one part basil olive oil with two parts tangerine balsamic vinegar from the Olive Mill.  Next, add a couple of fresh bruised basil leaves (ours from a basil plant purchased at Trader Joes in Gartner Plaza) along with some fresh crushed garlic, salt, pepper and a little bit of all seasoning.  Marinade the portabello mushrooms in plastic bags for 30 -60 minutes and toss onto a beyond hot grill to sear in the juices. 

With so many combinations to consider, the possibility of new flavor experiences from the Olive Mill is seemingly limitless.  What are you waiting for?  Head over to the Olive Mill to support this wonderful and relatively new Naperville business.  This is one place I’m really excited about.  SM

Big News from Stuart Meyer in the World of Naperville

To my regular readers, you may have noticed that it’s been nearly a month since my last post to the World of Naperville.  Atop the 4th of July holiday, a week-long vacation and quick business trip to London there has been much change brewing in this Naperville household. 

As many of you may recall, part of my original reason for launching the World of Naperville back in 2006 was to become a virtual activist of sorts, participating in our community despite the fact my job carried me 35 miles away each day.  For a long time, I’ve dreamed of not only living, but also working in Naperville being able to stay connected to our community on a daily basis.  Today, I’m pleased to say that I’ve made the leap of faith.

As of July 2nd, I launched my own social media and association management consulting practice, Social Frequency Media Communications and Association 2020 Consulting right here in Naperville.  It has been natural next step for me and I’m humbly excited to be embarking upon this new venture which moves me further down the path of my life’s purpose. 

Additionally, this move also positions me to focus more time and energy on my current documentary film project, Imprévu – The Kenneth von Heidecke Story , which will be finishing principal photography by early 2010 and immediately heading into post-production.

As for the World of Naperville, my new path will provide me more time to focus on my labor of love… this blog.  With that said, upcoming postings this week will focus on Safety Town and a film shoot with legendary opera stage director, John Copley, in London.  SM

DOUBLE FEATURE – Bobby Fitzgerald of White Chocolate Grill Vying for Regis and Kelly Appearance AND Newest Chicagoland Apple Store to Open Doors in Dowtown Naperville

As summer has abruptly heated up over the last couple of days, so has the pipeline of World of Naperville postings.  There were two big pieces of news I wanted to get out and wasn’t sure which to post first, so I decided to post both as a first-ever World of Naperville Double Feature.

First, with fingers crossed, an overdue congratulations to White Chocolate Grill Chef-Owner Bobby Fitzgerald on being a finalist in a recipe contest which could land him a special appearance on Live with Regis & Kelly later on this week.  If you haven’t eaten at the Naperville White Chocolate Grill, what are you waiting for?  Get over to Freedom Commons now for one of the most unique culinary experiences Naperville has to offer. 

I’ve gotten to know Bobby over the past year and have to say that I think I’ve met my match in terms of energy, vision and goals for one lifetime.  At an age not far from my own, he’s really making his mark and is on the rise in the U.S. restaurant industry.  Below is a sneak peek at the video submission in which Bobby manages to get upstaged by his adorable “chef apprentice” daughter. 

My second post is regarding what I personally find as one of the most exciting new business announcements for Downtown Naperville.  First, allow me to premise what I’m about to say by reiterating that I’m generally not a big fan of national chain retailers taking up space in Downtown; however, this one is a big exception on a personal level. 

The final renovations are nearly complete as Apple will be giving Naperville it’s very own Apple Retail Store which will be located in the former Sharper Image space on Jefferson Ave. just west of Main Street. 

As you can see, in celebration I’ve proudly posted a photo of my own Mac G5 tower  to the right.  Perhaps it’s a “Mac thing” but the great value of Apple Retail Stores is not merely the fact you buy Apple products, such as Power Macs, iMacs, iPods, and of course iPhones, but most importantly the on-site training which is typically provided at each store.  Needless to say, I’m always looking to expand my knowledge of Apple and related products and software. 

I don’t have a firm date, but I believe I heard the Naperville Apple Store will open its doors sometime in August.  SM