Rockford couple works to create downtown’s next family destination

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A local couple is working to transform a once vacant industrial building into downtown’s newest destination for families.

Cahoots Rockford is coming to 505 N. Madison St. with a mix of arcade games, mini putt, duckpin bowling and other activities for people of all ages. It fills the former Coca-Cola bottling plant across the street from the Prairie Street Brewhouse. The family entertainment center is the vision of Megan Huels, who’s been developing the concept for years with her husband, Brian Huels.

“The goal is to be the place to hang out, and to have something going on all the time so that it’s not just one thing that you would go for,” she said.

The roughly 52,000-square-foot venue will also include a restaurant and bar, a second-floor VIP seating area, a banquet space, rooms for smaller gatherings and a party room for special events such as a paint and sip.

“I think the ultimate honor is when people decide to hold important events here — so birthdays, weddings, anniversary parties, whatever,” Megan Huels said. “I just want people to make memories here, and meet friends here and gather. I want this to be the hangout. The place that everybody wants to come and stay and have fun.”

The goal is to open in early 2026. The company has started its hiring process at CahootsRockford.com.

Megan Huels’ parents, Loyd and Diane Koch, purchased the building across the street in 1999 and began developing it into what is now Prairie Street Brewing Co. The family has also owned the bottling plant building for roughly four decades, and it has been Megan Huels’ long-time goal to transform it into a family destination.

“This has been her vision for the last 10 years, was that Rockford needs something downtown for families,” said Brian Huels, an accounting professor at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The couple, who live downtown, hope Cahoots helps downtown build on the momentum of the Brewing Co. and other recent developments such as historic loft developments by Urban Equity Properties.

“I think this is the next step of OK, we’ve got all this housing downtown. Now we need things to do, walkable, family, stay downtown, you don’t have to go out to East State,” Brian Huels said. “Our hope is this does that.”

Architectural work was done by Rockford-based Place Foundry. The Huels handled or contracted the construction, and they’ve laid out there own design for elements such as the mini putt. The course will have 18-27 holes.

“We’ve done a lot of research, we’ve gone to a lot of different mini golf places to try to find the most fun holes,” Megan Huels said.

The mini putt course will include rival elements where players can affect the outcome of their opponents shot. For example, a hole could be setup like a giant foosball table where other players can spin the sticks to affect a putt.

“We’ve got some pretty cool props planned ranging from boats to ambulances,” Brian Huels said.

The other family activities will include 10 lanes of elongated duckpin bowling, which uses smaller balls with no finger holes, lighter pins and provides three rolls per frame instead of two. There will also be an arcade with approximately 50 games. Other possibilities are activities such as bags and artificial curling in other portions of the building.

The Huels recognize the concept may sound a bit like Henry Dorrbaker’s, which opened about a year ago in downtown Beloit, Wisconsin. Cahoots is a little more than double the size of the Beloit venue that’s centered on duckpin bowling.

“We’ve had the idea way before Henry Dorrbaker’s. They just have more money and beat us to it,” Brian Huels said. “We think that’s great what they’ve done up there, but we’re from Rockford, why do we have to go to Beloit to have a good time?”

The City Council unanimously approved a redevelopment deal with the family in August 2023. The approximately $7.5 million development, which included an adjacent solar-panel covered parking pavilion, is largely privately funded by the owners. The city is also providing a rebate of the property tax increment that’s generated from a TIF District around the building. The city estimates a total of $600,000 will be generated over the life of the deal.

The development keeps much of the historic character in tact. That includes the exposed brick and wood reclaimed from other parts of the property that was used for the ceiling of the banquet room.

There will be no gambling or slot machines in the center.

The Huels hope Cahoots can also be a hangout for families in-between tournament games at places like the Sports Factory and Riverview Ice House.

“These families come for a whole weekend and it’s like, ‘Well, you’re at 7 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday — good luck finding something else to do,'” Megan Huels said. “Sports Factory, Ice House, all of that, I would love for that to spread this way when they’re not playing their games.”

They also hope they’ve created a place for people to play before and after other activities in downtown, whether it’s a show at a theater, dinner at another restaurant or spending time across the street at the Brewhouse.

“We’re not trying to compete with anybody downtown,” Brian Huels said. “We want everybody to succeed with us.”

Online | Cahoots Rockford

Go to CahootsRockford.com to learn more about job opportunities and other details.

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This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas