Founders of TURBO FIRE PIZZA have talked of local expansion plans nearly since opening the original Springfield fast casual pizza joint in 2015.
Expect 2019 to be full speed ahead.
A second brick-and-mortar location at 605 W. Jefferson St. has been announced with a projected opening as early as March.
Turbo Fire Pizza has claimed 3,500-square-feet of the former First State Bank building now being renovated into a strip mall. A significant portion will house production of Turbo Fire Pizza’s six-month-old frozen pizza line that is fast becoming a staple at taverns throughout central Illinois.
And fans of the new Turbo Fire Pizza food truck — which helped identify Jefferson Street as the pizzeria’s most desirable new home — will become a daily feature around Springfield this spring.
“The amount of people that come has just amazed us,” owner Tim Collins said of the food truck’s regularly scheduled Thursday stops at the Willard Ice Building, 101 W. Jefferson St. “Traffic there is the best we’ve had anywhere.
“There’s just so many people who work in the revenue building and then there’s (Springfield) High School within walking distance.”
Not to mention, Jefferson Street serving as one of the main east-west corridors for downtown traffic.
Collins — who opened the first Turbo Fire Pizza with his father, DeWayne at 2415 N. Dirksen Parkway in fall 2015 — said the original retail site will remain unchanged. However, frozen pizza production will move entirely from that site to Jefferson Street once the new location is completed.
Collins said a full-time sales representative has been hired to handle the frozen pizza accounts, which already can be found in two dozen establishments stretching from Athens to Hillsboro and Springfield to Tallula.
Along with these changes, Collins said he also has changed business partners. His father recently retired and local businessman Paul Carlson is Turbo Fire Pizza’s new co-owner.
The new downtown lunch spot TASTE OF JAMAICA is adding Saturday hours next weekend.
Owner/operator Joan Thomas and her authentic Jamaican recipes are familiar to fans of her longstanding Ethnic Village food booth by the same name that operated at the fairgrounds from 1992 to 2009.
Taste of Jamaica’s menu staples are jerk chicken, chicken curry, jerk tacos and beef patties. Thomas said daily specials will join the lineup soon.
Current hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Saturday hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. begin Jan. 26. Taste of Jamaica is at 213 S. Fifth St. in the former home of JOJO’S STREET QUISINE.
Alcohol is off the menu for two Springfield fast-casual chains.
Management for PIE’S THE LIMIT and NOODLES & COMPANY are not seeking to renew their liquor licenses, according to filings at Springfield city hall. Owners for both the Springfield-based pizza brand and Noodles & Company franchisee, IWI ADVENTURES, said the cost of required licenses outweighed revenue generated by alcohol sales.
Noodles & Company — 2575 Wabash Ave. on the south side of the White Oaks Mall campus — stopped offering beer and wine Dec. 31. That outstripped corporate-owned sites of the Colorado-based chain that ended the practice in 2017.
Franchise owner Britton Wiedemann said it also was the last of his eight locations throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. The timing, he said, was based on the expiration of both his local liquor license and insurance coverage.
Pie’s the Limit replaced their tap with smoothie drinks last fall at both 3429 Freedom Drive and 1710 S. MacArthur Blvd. in Springfield. The Champaign store never offered alcoholic drinks.
On a different note … Pie’s the Limit now has even more choices when constructing your own slice of heaven.
The pizzeria has added a thick crust option to its build-you-own selections. Thick-crust personal pizzas cost $9.99 — a dollar more than the thin crust and gluten-free options.
Two more beers made by ROLLING MEADOWS FARM BREWERY have earned the right to wear the Good Food Award’s seal.
Both the Cantrall-based brewery’s Session IPA and Coffee Break — made with Springfield-based roaster CUSTOM CUP COFFEE — were among the 220 winners announced Jan. 11 at the not-for-profit Good Food Foundation’s awards ceremony held in San Francisco.
The goal of the nationwide competition is to identify delicious food products that support sustainability and social good.
The winners were culled from 324 finalists announced in December. Five Illinois businesses were among the finalists. Only three won.
Other Land of Lincoln winners include two Chicago establishments: TEMPESTA MARKET for its NDUJA ARTISANS label Bresaola, an air-dried salted beef, and SOUTHPORT GROCERY & CAFÉ for its apricot preserves.
This was the ninth year the Good Food Foundation has given the award.
Rolling Meadows has won twice before for its Abe’s Ale (a 2013 winner) and Barrel-Aged Abe’s Ale (a 2016 winner).
SCHNUCKS AT MONTVALE is hosting both its beer and wine clubs this week.
The Beer Club meets Tuesday. Tom Guccione with BREAKTHRU BEVERAGE will lead the wine club Wednesday. Meatballs and an assorted cheese tray will accompany the wine tasting.
Both clubs meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the community room of the grocery store at 2801 Chatham Road. Cost is $10. To reserve a seat, contact Gregg Donaldson at 698-2980 or via email at gdonaldson@schnucks.com.
Area restaurants preparing special Valentine’s Day fare will be featured in the Feb. 3 column. Businesses wanting to participate should submit information by Jan. 30.
The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings closings, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.