Downtown Champaign’s first Ethiopian restaurant has set an official opening date. The new Blue Ethiopian Cuisine & Cafe will ...

This week is the last week of publishing for the year on Smile Politely, and I want to end 2025’s Thirsty Thursday column with drink that’ll keep us warm on the cold weeks ahead. This week, I’m ...

Curious about the buzz surrounding the new restaurant Sumo Kitchen, I did what anybody would do and looked up what they had on their website. With a sumo wrestler as mascot, I read that the guiding ...

A year ago, when we published this annual article, we were post-2024 elections facing the terrifying uncertainty of what the next administration would bring us. Well, we know how all of that has ...

Central Illinois’ dining scene can feel like a whirlwind with beloved restaurants coming and going, sometimes before we even have the chance to say goodbye. For those who can relate, it can feel like ...

The City of Champaign’s final yard waste collection, originally scheduled for December 1st, will now begin on Monday, December 8th. So, if you haven’t bagged up your leaves yet, you still have time.

Anyone who has spent an evening in Downtown Champaign knows that there is no shortage of options for places to drink. Whether one’s drink of choice is beer, wine, cider or craft cocktails, there’s an ...

Doesn’t everyone love a good bang for the buck? Especially during December. This notoriously spendy time of year makes treating oneself tricky with the holidays and people to present with presents.

Seasons Greetings and all the what have you, dear reader! Last year, after we announced our Autumn 2024 donor campaign, a monumentally generous couple of readers offered to help us raise even more ...

Before the hustle and bustle of the end of the year wears us out so much that we prepare to hunker down after the new year, get out and make some friends with whom to keep in touch. Experience ...