After spending 3 1/2 years in a motor home as a “nomad jiujitsu instructor,” maybe it is not surprising that Robert Riley ended up at a Lawrence liquor store. But no, this is not one of those types of stories. Riley actually is turning the old liquor store building into a jiujitsu studio, with the help of a business partner who also has his own story of a winding journey. Riley and business partner Charlie ...
A longtime Mexican restaurant is back from a nine-month break, and it has reopened in a spot that may remind you of its beginnings. Tortas Jalisco has opened in the back room of Empire Bar & Billiards near Ninth and Iowa streets. Being in a pool hall is a new experience for Tortas, but operating a restaurant in a small space isn’t. If you remember, Tortas Jalisco got its start in the corner of a gas ...
The hoopla in Washington, D.C. is about an impeachment inquiry. The Hoopla in East Lawrence is, oddly, about paper dolls of Richard Nixon. If you are confused, I can’t really explain presidential paper dolls, but I can tell you that Hoopla is the name of a new East Lawrence boutique. Indeed, Hoopla, 840 Connecticut St., is a vintage furniture and antique shop that specializes in items from the 1950s, 1960s ...
When it comes to all-you-can-eat buffets, a question hangs over such establishments: What will break first, my belt or the will of the buffet owner? For one of Lawrence’s largest buffets, it looks like it is the latter. The CiCi’s pizza restaurant, and its buffet, at 23rd and Iowa streets seemingly has closed. While there is no sign on the door, the restaurant was locked up on Thursday. A peek through the ...
That boom you heard in July wasn’t a firework after all. Apparently it was the Kansas economy exploding with new energy. The state has released its latest sales tax report, and it shows the vast majority of cities and counties in the state posted big increases in sales tax collections in July. Remarkably, the report shows that more than 80% of the 381 counties and cities that have a local sales tax posted an ...