Big horses and beer both can be fun, although as a general rule I don’t recommend combining the two. (I still don’t know how the horse ended up wearing the hat and I ended up wearing the halter.) The exception to the rule, of course, is the Budweiser Clydesdales, and Lawrence soon will have a chance to see them. The Clydesdales will be in downtown Lawrence from about 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. You’ll ...
Passersby soon will see a “for lease” sign in front of the historic Castle Tea Room building on south Massachusetts Street. Yes, it also is a sign that the future of one of Lawrence’s more distinctive buildings is uncertain. The nonprofit foundation that owns the Castle Tea Room, 1307 Massachusetts St., has fallen into disarray. A Douglas County Court judge has appointed a custodian — a position ...
About 20 years ago, one of the great hand-wringing fears was that homebuilding was going to grow so quickly that all the good farmland in Douglas County was going to be built over. And there was some reason to worry. From 1997 to 2002, the number of farms in Douglas County fell by about 4 percent, the number of acres in production dropped by about 13,000, and the value of all agricultural products grown or ...
If you are old enough, there was a time when a trip to the bank was at least a weekly event. As a tag-along kid, I got discs of gum wrapped to look like silver dollars from the tellers. (That’s the No. 1 reason I never became a coin collector. I chipped too many teeth hoping to find gum.) Well, a downtown bank branch that evoked memories of that era has closed. The old Capitol Federal branch at 11th and ...
One of the things I hope to do more of over the next year or so is have face-to-face conversations with more community leaders. While sitting across from my face is a lot to ask of someone, I’m hopeful to do such interviews with community leaders on a semi-regular basis. I’ll call it a "Conversation With ..." and it will become a new addition to the Town Talk lineup. So, first up, a Conversation With ...
Maybe I'll do a melon-grab when I'm on the half-pipe. All right, I confess, I don't know what any of that means — and probably shouldn't guess — because I can't speak skater lingo. Whenever I get on a skateboard it's not words, but numbers — like the type on my insurance card — that take precedence. But there are plenty who do speak the language, and they once again have their own store in ...
Associated Press Executive Editor Sally Buzbee remembers how her fellow journalists at the AP were being labeled as unpatriotic in the mid-2000s when they reported the war in Iraq was going poorly for the U.S. “I thought the U.S. was over that sort of thing,” said Buzbee, who was the AP’s Middle East regional editor at the time. “Hadn’t Vietnam taught us to listen to those on the ground?” Buzbee ...
I no longer drink beer when I play Monopoly. I’ve hurt myself too many times falling off the Boardwalk. But booze and board games, plus some food, is precisely the type of activity that will be encouraged at a restaurant and pub in the works for downtown Lawrence. A Lawrence duo has reached a deal to open Trader’s Cache at 724 Massachusetts St., in the spot that used to house the Latin American restaurant ...
One of Lawrence’s most beloved holiday traditions may be ending. Organizers of Lawrence’s Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade — the horse-drawn spectacle in downtown — say they plan on quitting after this year’s event. That means someone else will have to take the reins, or else this year’s event — slated for the first Saturday in December — will be the last. If so, it would mark the end of a ...
After being presented with evidence of accounting irregularities, leaders with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism have said they’re launching an investigation into cash-handling practices at the state park near Lawrence. But already the effort is facing a roadblock: The public documents that could prove the case have mysteriously turned up missing. “They were stolen by someone for some ...
Get ready for a brand new player in the Lawrence auto market. McCarthy Auto Group, which owns nine dealerships in Missouri and the greater Kansas City area, soon will own two in Lawrence. A McCarthy official confirmed today that it has reached a deal to buy the Lawrence Nissan and Subaru dealerships currently owned by Manhattan-based Briggs Auto Group. The deal, once completed, will mark the end of the ...
Some of you may still have a green thumb left over from St. Patrick’s Day. (I told you that was way too much food coloring for a pint of beer.) For the rest of us, green thumb syndrome is about the start of gardening season. I do have news of an eastern Lawrence garden center expansion, which also involves an effort to grow food for the hungry. One Heart Farm and Nursery has been operating kind of quietly ...
Big changes continue to happen in the local auto market. It looks like one of the larger out-of-town auto dealers is preparing to exit Lawrence and be replaced by a locally owned operation. I’ve received confirmation that Lawrence-based Dale Willey Auto Group has signed an agreement to begin managing the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealership owned by Manhattan-based Briggs Auto Group. Jeff Hornbeck, ...
I have experience with a border wall. I usually hit one after about my 12th refill of chips and salsa at On the Border. Well, that’s one wall no one will have to worry about any longer. The Mexican restaurant chain has closed its lone Lawrence location. On the Border closed its location at 31st and Iowa streets on Sunday, and by Monday morning crews already had removed the big sign from the restaurant. I ...
Rodger Henry got his money’s worth out of his cup of coffee at McDonald’s. The longtime Lawrence businessman is part of a group that regularly drinks coffee at the McDonald’s at 1309 W. Sixth St. Right across the street from the McDonald’s is a car wash that Henry owned. One day, he asked Tom Dobski, an owner of the local McDonald’s franchises, whether he would ever be interested in owning a car ...
When you talk about housing activity this time of year in Lawrence, it usually involves a KU game on the television, approximately 32 pounds of cheese dip and maybe a bit too much crimson and blue body paint. But actually, I’m talking about housing activity of a different type today. The latest home sales numbers are out, and they do show a slowdown might be in the making. Thus far in 2019, home sales in ...
I would guess there is a benefit to living in a town with two Casey’s General Stores. You can buy breakfast pizza at one and brunch pizza at the other. Lawrence residents soon may get to find out. Casey’s has filed a plan for a second store in Lawrence. The Iowa-based convenience store chain has filed plans to build on the site of the former Steak ‘n Shake restaurant at 3111 S. Nieder Road. If you have ...
You had better get some industrial-strength kneepads if you want to participate in a Lawrence Beer Co. pub crawl. The East Lawrence craft brewery has filed plans to open a west Lawrence location. The company plans to open a smaller bar and restaurant near Bob Billings Parkway and Wakarusa Drive. Plans call for the new location to open by midsummer at 4811 Bob Billings Parkway. If you are having a hard time ...
Most often a four-by-four in my life is used as part of a misguided home improvement project. Now, it can also be a part of breakfast. The Greenhouse Cafe has opened in downtown Lawrence serving square biscuits — roughly 4 inches by 4 inches, the staff touts — and that is just the beginning of the twists served by this new eatery. The biggest one is that the cafe is owned by a church. The Greenhouse Church ...
One of Lawrence’s more unique restaurants has closed its doors. Sully & Hank’s, which opened in the former Presto gas station location at Ninth and Louisiana streets, shut down earlier this week. The closing marks the end of what had seemed to be an experiment in slightly funky fare that began with the restaurant’s opening in mid-2017. If you remember, Brad Walters, the former owner and chef at The ...