Family-owned cheesecake shop makes dessert sweeter at Rockford-area restaurants
By Paul Anthony Arco
Special to the Rock River Current
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ASHTON — At the age of 7, Katelyn Glavac was obsessed with food. Not eating it but preparing it.
Glavac, with notebook and pen in hand, would prop herself up on a kitchen chair to watch her Slovenian grandparents whip up favorite traditional dishes like palačinke, a crepe-type pancake she would take to school for a class treat.
If she was not in the kitchen, Glavac took her notebook to the couch where she’d devour cooking shows to pick up more tips.
“I’ve always loved to research and experiment,” she said. “I like coming up with all types of recipes. But cheesecake is my favorite.”
So, it was no surprise then that last November, Glavac, along with her mother, Tina Glavac, and sister, Keri Creason, opened CheeseKake Ko., a small shop
based in Ashton, where Glavac grew up. The Ks in the name is a nod to the two sisters’ first names.
The shop, 906 Main St., is both a stop for customers to pick up a whole cheesecake or slice and the home base for wholesale baking that becomes dessert on multiple local restaurant menus from Rockford to Byron and Belvidere, among other places.
Glavac, 31, stumbled into her business by accident when she was tending bar at the Flight Deck Bar and Grill in Rochelle.
“I started making cheesecakes during COVID when all the restaurants shut down, and I wasn’t working,” she said. “I was always a good baker and loved to cook.”
Glavac used her free time to hone her cheesecake-making skills. When Flight Deck reopened the restaurant added Glavac’s cheesecakes to the menu — and the positive reviews were swift. Soon Glavac was researching how to secure a business license. She quit her bartending job and convinced her mother and sister to leave their full-time jobs as well to open their own business.
“It was a scary decision,” Glavac said. “My mom and sister were hesitant, but they trusted me. I had a lot of faith. I took a chance and I’m glad I did.”
Glavac kickstarted her business by selling her handmade custom cheesecakes at farmers markets and other special events. Her social media pages swelled to 13,000 followers. Her decadent desserts became so popular, Glavac knew it was time to start looking for retail space.
The cheesecake delicacies are created in the kitchen of a former pizza joint that Glavac purchased in downtown Ashton.
“It was equipped with ovens and mixers,” said Glavac, who, along with family, spruced up the space with a fresh coat of paint and new floors. “I didn’t want to take out loans to do a complete buildout. The location is perfect for now.”
CheeseKake Ko. held a grand opening last November, and the owners were greeted like rock stars. “The line was out the door until we sold out,” said Glavac. Customers came to Ashton in droves from neighboring towns and as far as Wisconsin, Chicago and Rockford. “I knew it would be busy, but it was crazy,” she said.
Ashton is central for many of Glavac’s 25 wholesale accounts including restaurants and pubs from Oregon, Dixon, Byron and a handful of Rockford restaurants such as Ernie’s’ Midtown Pub, Aero Ale House, The Goat Pub and Grill, 8th Ward Pub and Coaches Corner in Belvidere.
CheeseKake Ko. has 200 different flavors of cheesecake that range from basics such as key lime, blueberry lemon and red velvet. On the more creative side, customers can select from cereal and candy infused cheesecakes including Twix, Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Glavac’s favorite is New York Cheesecake with a side of strawberry sauce.
Glavac and Creason, who are both self-taught, love toying with new recipes.
One of their favorite approaches is baking cheesecake with actual cake layered in. “We’re always bouncing ideas off of each other,” Glavac said. “We’ve never made a bad cheesecake.”
But there’s a science to perfecting each masterpiece. “Cheesecakes are difficult to make. It’s a combination of the ingredients and the way we bake it,” she said. “You have to eyeball it to know when it’s done. If you underbake it, it’s raw. Overbake and it becomes too dry and gritty.”
CheeseKake Ko. is a family affair. Besides the owners, Glavac’s dad, John, her boyfriend, Sam, brother-in-law, TJ, and niece, Kristen, all chip in to help with deliveries, taking orders and marketing. “We’ve always been a close-knit family,” said Glavac.
If business continues at this rate, Glavac said her long-term goal is to find a bigger retail space, which could lead her to a larger market such as Rockford or the suburbs.
For now, Glavac is taking it one slice at a time.
Cheesekake Ko. | Fast Facts
About: In addition to whole cheesecakes, individual slices including squares, round bites and 6- and 10-inch slices are available for purchase.
Where: 906 Main St., Ashton
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday
Phone: 779-251-8464
On the web: cheesekakeko.com
815 Stocking Stuffer Guide | Shop small for last-minute gifts in the Rockford region
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The countdown of days until Christmas is now in single digits. To help take the stress out of finding last-minute gifts — and raise awareness of Shop Small options at our region’s brick-and-mortar stores — we’ve compiled the 815 Stocking Stuffer Guide.
Suggestions in this guide are mini-sized, going with the thought that you’re wrapping up your shopping season and at the stage of filling stockings.
But even if you haven’t started, read on. The intro to every suggestion gives you an idea of what else to expect at each shop. We also give holiday hours up to Christmas Eve.
Of the 25 businesses highlighted, five are new since our 2023 holiday guide. There are 26 suggestions overall; the last is a nonprofit promotion for foodies.
As we’ve done with previous gift guides, here too we’ve dropped numbers next to each suggestion so that as something catches your eye, you can easily reference it when sharing the info with family and friends.
For each suggestion, in case you need to refuel while shopping or relax with a nice meal afterward, there’s also listing of nearby options for independently owned restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and bars.
So, get ready, set, Shop Small!
For everyone pulling through tough times
merchandise marking recovery from a major setback. (Photo by Helen Karakoudas/Special to
the Rock River Current)
1) Check out “Through the Fire” tumblers and coffee-scented candles at Wired Cafe in downtown Rockford. They celebrate how the Wired crew met the challenge of reopening after someone had broken into the shop one morning this fall and lit a fire. There was extensive smoke damage. All the inventory was lost. Just over a month later, Wired was able to reopen.
Where: Wired Cafe, 414 E. State St., Rockford
How much: Candle, $25; tumbler, $25
Holiday hours: 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday; 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; closed Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
For teachers and other pencil loves
2) Check out glass, inkwell-style pencil sharpeners made in Germany and rainbow pencils made in Japan (one pencil draws seven colors) at a corner shop in downtown Rockford that specializes in stationery goods, letterpress art, and textiles block-printed by the shop owner herself.
Where: SRM Prints Studio + Gift Shop, 330 E. State St., Rockford
How much: $10, pencil sharpener; $3, rainbow pencil; $2.50, basic pencil (also shown above)
Holiday hours: Sarah Reed-McNamara, owner and mom of two, recommends checking updates on the store’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Gift cards: No.
Food/drink nearby: Inzombia Coffee, CJ’s Public House, Carlyle Brewing Co., Woodfire Pizza, Wired Café, Crust & Crumbles, Quixotic Bakery, Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, Omakase, LimaMar, Disco Chicken, The Music Box, Sisters Thai Cafe, The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails, Abreo, Union Lounge
For co-workers
3) Check out sweet and salty messages on desk signs and on Swedish dishcloths at Culture Shock, the vinyl and fun-gift emporium on Charles Street in Rockford.
The dishcloths, made of sustainably harvested wood cellulose and scrap cotton, are compostable. The ones shown would be on Santa’s nice list. There are others; naughty options too for desk signs.
Where: Culture Shock, 2239 Charles St., Rockford; 815–229-2997
How much: Desk sign, $9; Swedish dishcloth, $6
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Stockholm Inn, Sam’s Pizza, Hai Quynh Vietnamese Restaurant, Tien Tea House, La Michoacana Denisse, Katie’s Cup, Ernie’s Midtown Pub
For someone who deserves royal treatment
4) Check out crowns for dogs at Bark On Mulford, the pet boutique on Rockford’s southeast side where owner Kaye Busse-Kleber says these accessories are sought out for gotcha days, birthdays, and any day with a beloved pup.
Where: Bark On Mulford, 2002 S. Mulford Road, Rockford; 815-558-2275
How much: Small crown, $16; large crown, $20
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 3 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes. E-gift cards also available HERE.
Food/drink nearby: Sweet Basil Café, El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill, Bento & Bowl, Marrufo's Tacos
5) Check out one-of-a-kind, hand-made crowns for humans at Infinite Soul Vibrations, a full-service metaphysical shop in downtown Rockford. Owner Tamika Brown stocks crystals and tumbled stones that she can make into bracelets, necklaces and crowns. She also carries crowns from other artists. The crown pictured was made by another artist. It features amethyst crystals, copper, and denim accents.
Where: Infinite Soul Vibrations, 333 E. State St., Rockford; 815-668-2301
How much: Amethyst crown shown, $444; custom crowns start at $111; raw diamond chip necklace with raw diamond pendant $222
Holiday hours: 12 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 12 to 4 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Inzombia Coffee, CJ’s Public House, Carlyle Brewing Co., Woodfire Pizza, Wired Café, Crust & Crumbles, Quixotic Bakery, Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, Omakase, LimaMar, Disco Chicken, The Music Box, Sisters Thai Cafe, The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails, Abreo, Union Lounge
6) Check out intricate, limited-edition necklaces and earrings at Eurostyle+, a women’s clothing and accessories boutique at Edgebrook shopping village where you’ll see items chosen by the owner during her travels overseas. The jewelry shown here is by an Israeli artist of Afghani descent who uses Swarovski crystals, glass beads, and stones and fabric she sources from around the world.
Where: Eurostyle+, 1649 N. Alpine Road, Rockford; 815-222-7384
How much: Necklace on the left, $225; necklace on the right, $426; earrings, $86
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Baker Street Burgers, Sonny’s Place, Van Laar’s Farm Market & Bake Shop, Lucha Cantina
For Midwesterners braving the cold
7) Check out mittens locally made from second-hand and vintage sweaters. Each pair is lined with fleece; no two pairs are the same. These are at Winnie Nutter, a year-old boutique in the back of the Engine Studio building, near The Norwegian restaurant in Rockford’s North End.
The stylish women’s and men’s apparel here, vintage and curated second-hand, is hand-picked by Holli Connell, the owner, a thrift enthusiast whose fashion sense was honed years ago when she merchandised displays at local department stores.
Where: Winnie Nutter, 1410 N. Main St., Rockford
How much: $20 a pair
Holiday hours: 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: The Norwegian, The GOAT Pub and Grill, Plume
8) Check out boot cuffs handknit by the shop owner’s mom. These are at Proper on State, the shop that until November 2023 had been Primitive ’n Proper in Machesney Park. Owner Stephen King still has a curated array of casual chic clothing, old and new furnishings, and home and personal accessories, but now on East State Street in Rockford. Cindy King, Stephen’s mother, contributes handknit goods.
Where: Proper on State, 109 N. Show Place Dr., Rockford; (815) 601-9493
(Despite the address, this shop is on East State. It’s in the strip across from AMC Rockford 16, just after the first light east of Hard Rock Casino Rockford.)
How much: $18 a pair.
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Dec. 23 and Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes.
Food/drink nearby: Sticky Rice Bites, Vanakkam India
9) Check out fleece-lined touchscreen gloves and gloves that light up (eight lights, three modes) at Roxy Carmichael, a boutique at Edgebrook shopping village that stocks women’s casual separates and accessories.
Where: Roxy Carmichael, 1617A N. Alpine Road, Rockford; 815-316-7396
How much: $25, fleece-lined gloves; $28, light-up gloves.
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; closed Christmas Eve.
Gift cards: Yes. (Every $50 gift card purchase earns a $10 gift card.)
Food/drink nearby: Baker Street Burgers, Sonny’s Place, Van Laar’s Farm Market & Bake Shop, Lucha Cantina
For proud Rockfordians
10) Check out traditional and 815-clad sock monkeys — cuddly tributes to the red-heeled socks symbolizing Rockford’s industrial greatness — at Rockford Art Deli, the decade-old custom-print T-shirt and apparel shop in downtown Rockford lovingly known as RAD. Also stuffable into a stocking are magnets with iconic Rockford images and glassware with Rockford branding.
Where: Rockford Art Deli, 402 E. State St., Rockford; 312-725-4723
How much: $25, traditional and 815 sock monkey; $4.50, magnet; glasses, $12-15
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Inzombia Coffee, CJ’s Public House, Carlyle Brewing Co., Woodfire Pizza, Wired Café, Crust & Crumbles, Quixotic Bakery, Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, Omakase, LimaMar, Disco Chicken, The Music Box, Sisters Thai Cafe, The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails, Abreo, Union Lounge
11) Check out coasters with black-and-white photos of Rockford landmarks at Porch, a store in northeast Rockford that has aisle after aisle of home décor, women’s clothing, baby clothes and toys, and jewelry.
Where: Porch, 3065 N. Perryville Road, Rockford; 815-282-8881
How much: $19 each; $69, set of four
Holiday hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Poke Green, Mary’s Market Café and Bakery, Franchesco’s, Salt, JMK Nippon, RBI Brunch Bar and Dinner, GreenFire, Alchemy at Aldeen
12) Check out palm-size, limited-edition glass sculptures by world-renowned Swedish artist Bertil Vallien, whose weeklong 2007 visit to Rockford for a Rockford Art Museum exhibit of his and his late wife’s work celebrated the city’s Swedish heritage — and put Rockford on the map for art enthusiasts across the United States. The series, intended to evoke ideas blossoming from the mind, is called Brains.
Where: J.R. Kortman Center for Design, 107 N. Main St., Rockford; 815-968-0123
How much: $75 each, LOVE, HOPE and YES sculptures; $250, purple sculpture
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: 27 Aluna, Tortilla Express, Sheila’s Daiquiri Lounge, District Bar and Grill, Cantina Taco, Mo’s Coffee and Cafe, Minnihan’s, Ambiance Cuisine Cocktails & Catering, Wood & Brick Tavern
For connoisseurs of sweets and spirits
13) Check out housemade nostalgic candy at Sugar Britches in downtown Rockton, a tiny shop that shares an entrance with a law office. As an owner told us for our 815 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide, they’ve got everything you’d find at Grandma’s house to the latest and greatest on TikTok. In addition to what’s made by the owners, there are dozens of jars of bulk candy (including one for gummy flamingos), boxes of handmade candy from around the world, and fun gag items like Reindeer Snot (sour green apple candy slime, which comes with a spoon).
Where: Sugar Britches, 115 W. Main St., Rockton; 815-957-0515
How much: $3.50 a bag, Santa’s Coal (black licorice); $3.50 a bag, specialty marshmallows; (not pictured, Reindeer Snot, $4)
Holiday hours: 12 to 7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday; 12 to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23 and Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: DeeDee’s Main Street Coffee, Fibs, Rookie’s Pub and Grill, Ray’s Family Restaurant, La Croûte Bakery Café, Sam’s Pizza, Rockton Inn, The Mix, Dairyhäus
14) Check out mini bottles of small-batch whiskey at Artale & Co., a family-owned wine, beer and spirits store in Rockford. A shelf below these, find just as tiny bottles of liqueurs, simple syrups, and other cocktails ingredients like bitters and cherries.
Where: Artale & Co., 6876 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. 815-877-9463
How much: $8-10 each for the three brands shown
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday, Dec. 23; check Instagram and Facebook for Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Salt, The Canna Cafe, Alchemy at Aldeen
For baby's first stocking
15) Check out teething rings, a teething rattle and a board book about brushing at a children’s boutique in downtown Rockton where the owner ardently sources the highest quality items. The teething rings are made in the USA of a soft silicone and beechwood. The teething rattle is made of recycled fibers by a company based in London.
Where: Taylor + Max, 100 W. Main St., Rockton; 815-957-0290
How much: Teething rings, $23-$27 each; teething rattle, $18; book, $10
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes. E-gift cards available HERE.
Food/drink nearby: DeeDee’s Main Street Coffee, Fibs, Rookie’s Pub and Grill, Ray’s Family Restaurant, La Croûte Bakery Café, Sam’s Pizza, Rockton Inn, The Mix, Dairyhäus
For book lovers
16) Check out a pocket-size collection of poetry, essays and illustrations exploring post-pandemic isolation. “Cold Comfort” is the third book by Rockford author Dave Pedersen, and the first book from the publishing arm of Maze Books, his independent bookstore in downtown Rockford. For something even tinier, check out matchbooks made by shop employee Haley Noelle with cover art of classic novels.
Where: Maze Books, 406 E. State St., Rockford; (779) 970-5912
How much: Book, $12; matchbooks, $2 each
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday;11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes. (Gift certificates on library cards.)
Food/drink nearby: Inzombia Coffee, CJ’s Public House, Carlyle Brewing Co., Woodfire Pizza, Wired Café, Crust & Crumbles, Quixotic Bakery, Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, Omakase, LimaMar, Disco Chicken, The Music Box, Sisters Thai Cafe, The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails, Abreo, Union Lounge
For someone who loves fun accessories
17) Check out playful designs on zip-around wallets and coin/key fobs, all made of synthetic leather, at Shine, a store in the strip center next to Choices market that’s filled to the brim with colorful personal and home accessories. The largest collection here is of Polish pottery, #8 in the 815 Holiday Gift Guide published in 2023.
Where: Shine, 6730 Broadcast Pkwy., Loves Park; 815-977-4332
How much: $37, wallet; $18, coin/key fob
Holiday hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes.
Food/drink nearby: Maciano’s Pizza and Pastaria, Poke Green, Mary’s Market Café and Bakery, Franchesco’s, Salt, JMK Nippon, RBI Brunch Bar and Dinner, GreenFire
18) Check out some of the tinier finds from a boutique in the North End where nearly everything on its tables and shelves could be a stocking stuffer. The journal, patch, pin, cat key fob, and fragrance set are easy enough to recognize. The red and blue itty bitty bags in the photo are actually bag charms from one of the brands Rooted stocks: Baggu. Yes, what’s in the photo is the tiniest version of the viral Baggu crescent bag. Its larger siblings are here, too.
If you’re short of stockings themselves, Rooted has them, but not in traditional holiday colors. That’s because they’re from a company that puts to use yarns of varying colors which were overproduced for their intended use and might otherwise have gone to a landfill.
Where: Rooted, 1408 N. Main St., Rockford; 815-494-3649
How much: Martini patch, $8; pin, $3; bag charms, $22 each; key fob, $10; fragrance set, $32; self-care journal, $12; stocking, $50
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23 and Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: The Norwegian, The GOAT Pub and Grill, Plume
Ethically made, sustainably sourced stockings decorate the mantel at Rooted, a boutique in Rockford’s North End which occupies the building that had been Cacciatore’s Main Market. (Provided by Liz Schaer/Rooted)
For everyone who wants laundry to be fun
19) Check out whimsical faces on wool dryer balls, one of the many environmentally respectful items at One Love in northeast Rockford, a shop featured in our 815 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for the wide range of personal and home care products the owner and her husband make. The dryer balls are among the few lines brought in. These dryer sheet replacements are handmade, fair trade, compostable and carried in nearly a dozen designs.
Where: One Love, 3863 N. Perryville Road, Rockford; 779-774-4200
How much: $6 each
Holiday hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Meg’s Daily Grind, Crave, RBI Brunch and Dinner
For home decor enthusiasts
20) Check out vases on The Wall of Smalls at Nostalgic Dwelling, a shop that opened this year in Rockford featuring a mix of mid-century and post-modern furniture and furnishings. Most of the items in this shop couldn’t be stuffed into a car. But the handcrafted vases shown here would fit into a stocking; the largest two are about 4 by 8 inches. They come from California, Italy, Japan, India and Mexico. They’re curated by co-owner Stephanie Towell, an artist who worked in the film industry and has decorated sets.
Where: Nostalgic Dwelling, 4230 Charles St., Rockford; 779-970-7757
How much: $15-$200
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and by appointment; closed Christmas Eve.
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Mexico Clasico, 8th Ward Pub
21) Check out signature mugs and other locally made pottery at Elora Home Interiors, a boutique in downtown Rockford featuring modern décor and furnishings. The mugs are designed by owner Amie McDonald and handmade in Rockford at Dawn Wulf Studios. They’re part of a collection that celebrated Elora’s first anniversary this year.
Where: Elora Home Interiors, 214 E. State St., Rockford
How much: $48 for the mug shown ($16 for an ornament version of the mug, not pictured)
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 12 to 3 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Disco Chicken, The Music Box, LimaMar, Omakase, Carlyle Brewing Co., Crust & Crumbles, Quixotic Bakery, Bop Bop Korean BBQ & Rice Bowl, Inzombia Coffee, CJ’s Public House, Woodfire Pizza, Wired Café, Sisters Thai Cafe, The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails, Abreo, Union Lounge
For needlework enthusiasts
22) Check out jars for holding threads and magnetized trays for holding needles, scissors and thread pickers. These accessories for keeping needleworkers tidy, along with floss keepers in the shape of mittens and a Taylor Swift-inspired sticker, are at Bee Youtiful Sip and Stitchery, a cross-stitch shop that opened in Roscoe this spring. The jars and trays are exclusive to the shop, made by a local resin artist. The shop is owned by a local chiropractor, who has taught her husband to stitch. The gnome samplers in the background were stitched by the couple. His work is on the right.
Where: Bee Youtiful Sip and Stitchery, 11447 Second St., Roscoe (Next to MeMe’s Upscale Consignment Boutique; just north of VFW Post 2955)
How much: Tray, $34; jar, $35; scissors shown, $12; beaded thread pickers, $8 each; pack of 24 floss keepers, $12; Era sticker, $4; chart for the gnome sampler, $10
Holiday hours: 1 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes. E-gift cards available HERE.
Food/drink nearby: Louie’s Tap House, Poison Ivy Pub, Pietro’s Pizzeria, Whiskey Hotel Barbecue, Velvet Robot, Sophia’s Restaurant, Hidden Creek Estates
For Swifties
23) Check out Taylor Swift hair ties and baseball caps at Ric-Rac Embellishments & Gifts, a home decor, clothing, vintage goods and gifts shop in downtown Rockton.
Where: Ric-Rac Embellishments & Gifts, 109 W. Main St., Rockton
How much: $6, hair ties; $15, cap
Holiday hours: 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday–Saturday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday, Dec. 23 and Christmas Eve
Gift cards:Yes
Food/drink nearby:DeeDee’s Main Street Coffee, Fibs, Rookie’s Pub and Grill, Ray’s Family Restaurant, La Croûte Bakery Café, Sam’s Pizza, Rockton Inn, The Mix, Dairyhäus
24) Check out Taylor Swift bracelets, with glass beads and semiprecious stones, at luxury-brand retailer B Jones in Rockford’s Edgebrook shopping village.
Where: B Jones, 1655 N. Alpine Road, Rockford; 815-397-8135
How much: $25, bracelet; $12, candle
Holiday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas Eve
Gift cards: Yes
Food/drink nearby: Baker Street Burgers, Sonny’s Place, Van Laar’s Farm Market & Bake Shop, Lucha Cantina
For anglers
25) Check out how the resale boutique that came into former Finials Scandinavian gift shop building on Rockford’s Miracle Mile is true to its slogan: M’s Gems: Formal Wear to Fishing Gear.
Walk past the gowns, jewelry and collectible figurines to find a room with tackle boxes, fishing poles, plastic baits, vintage lures and reels. The reels shown here are used and have been cleaned and checked. Also available are old reels, still new and in their boxes.
Where: M’s Gems, 4626 E. State St., Rockford
How much: $4-60
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23; closed Christmas Eve
Gift cards: No
Food/drink nearby: Mary’s Market Cafe, Uncle Nick’s, Lino’s, Johnny Pamcakes
For foodies
26) Check out the 2025 edition of Rockford City Tins, a Golden Apple Foundation fundraiser that packs coaster coupons for 23 local restaurants and two Rockford boutiques.
Each tin contains $5 coasters for carryout and $10 coasters for dining in on orders of $30 or more at 23 local restaurants. They're also good for $10 off purchases of at least $30 at Porch and Roxy Carmichael (suggestions for both above).
How much: $30
Where: In addition to the two Rockford shops featured in the promotion (addresses given again below for handy reference), this tin is available at one shop in downtown Rockton: Taylor + Max, 100 W. Main St., Rockton; Porch, 3065 N. Perryville Road, Rockford; Roxy Carmichael, 1617A N. Alpine Road, Rockford; Elora Home Interiors, 214 W. State St.; Embassy Suites, 416 S. Main St.; Urban Farmgirl, 716 N. Madison St.; Anderson Japanese Gardens, 318 Spring Creek Road; and at the Golden Apple Foundation office, 5301 E. State St., suite 114, and on its website.
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.
From foundry to finished apartments: Water Power Lofts are open in southwest Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Urban Equity Properties has completed its transformation of a former foundry on the southwest side into new luxury apartments designed with an industrial look.
The Rockford-based developer and city officials cut the ribbon on Monday on the Water Power Lofts, 700 S. Main St., near the Rock River. There are 60 one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom units as well as a shared fitness center and a lounge with a billiard table, arcade and furnishings that incorporate elements from the former industrial site.
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The market-rate lofts have different layouts, including a couple two-story units, based on the shape of the vacant former Rockford Brass Works building. The building was constructed in two phases starting in 1927, with an addition made in the 1950s. Transforming it took about 30 months and cost about $32 million, according to Justin Fern, founding principal of Urban Equity
"To take a former foundry, which is one of the dirtiest things you could have in a building, and transform it into living spaces and a fitness center is not an easy task," Fern said. "We started. We finished. We did exactly what we said we were going to do. ... This is much nicer than I even envisioned this to look like."
Urban Equity started pre-leasing its lofts this summer and filled multiple units while completing the project. There are about 25 units open before full occupancy, Fern said.
Frankie Black, who relocated back to Rockford after about 11 years away in Georgia, said she was looking for a cozy place fitting for working remotely. She liked the design and the lofts modern industrial feel.
"Location was key. I know that it's a little farther south than a lot of things, but I also see the potential in what's going on around here and I'm really proud of what Rockford's done in the last 15 years," Black said. "I want to be heart of where everything is. It's been walkable to City Market. It's been walkable to BMO for Hogs games or whatever. The restaurant selection has really bloomed since I've been away, and I get to check all those out."
The design incorporates molds and components from Rockford Brass Works throughout the building. The floors in each unit are concrete, and the fifth floor fitness center has a russet brick floor.
Rockford artist Jeremy Klonicki created several pieces of furniture using elements from the old industrial site. The interior design was handled by Brianna Fern, Urban Equity Properties' director of design who is married to Justin.
There will be a rooftop deck come spring. The units have large windows that let in natural light and offer views overlooking places such as Tinker Swiss Cottage or the downtown riverfront. Monthly rent ranges from $1,350 to $2,250.
"I say luxury because all the apartments have very high-end finishes from marble tops to stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry, high ceilings, all have central air conditioning," Justin Fern said. "Basically we build our apartments like condos but we don't sell them, we lease them."
City officials say the lofts are a step toward addressing an increasing need for housing in the region. A recent market analysis presented to City Council showed the need for between 3,200 and 9,100 new housing units over the next decade in order to keep up with demand.
"I believe Urban Equity is one of the major drivers of our downtown revitalization," said Alderman Chad Tuneberg, who represents the 3rd Ward that includes parts of downtown. "Now coming and expanding that footprint down to South Main just says volumes not only about Urban Equity's but our city's continuance of revitalizing our downtown."
Public financial support for the project came from a pay-as-you-go tax increment finance district reimbursement and a $490,873 forgivable loan from the city.
Mayor Tom McNamara said the project shows redevelopment efforts are expanding from downtown to the southwest side. Just a few blocks further south is another major residential redevelopment in Colman Yards, the site of the former Barber-Colman factory complex. Colman Yards is expected to welcome its first residents in summer.
"I think what's taking place in southwest Rockford is pretty darn exciting," McNamara said. "This is really showing people want to live here. They want to live where they can walk, they can bike, they can run to the dry cleaner, they can walk to the grocery store. They can walk across the street and get a haircut."
Fern said his firm initially tried to tackle the project around 2008, but closing on the sale was a challenge for a multitude of reasons. The project also required an environmental cleanup before work could forge ahead.
Urban Equity closed on the project in 2021 and started the long process to transform the building in to apartments.
"When I first started down here I never thought we were going to get this far south - I tried to come down here right away. It didn't work," he said. "We're looking at further development on South Main now, too."
More photos
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
New energy storage system tied to Prairie Street Brewing Co. will play key role in state's energy future
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new battery-energy storage system in downtown will hold power generated by solar panels at Prairie Street Brewing Co. and its surrounding buildings for use when the sun isn't shining.
The system is also expected to play a key role in how ComEd rolls out future energy resource management systems with private business partners.
The power company held a news conference at Prairie Street on Friday with the Illinois Commerce Commission and Region 1 Planning Council to tout the commissioning of the new storage system, which is a few blocks away from the brewery along Madison Street in downtown.
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The battery storage project is funded by a $3.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant and $3.3 million from ComEd and its partners.
"It will help the brewery maximize the potential of its solar power and it will help ComEd learn about how best to match battery storage with distributed energy resources like solar in our region, especially the context of small businesses," said Gil Quiniones, president and CEO of ComEd. “Exploratory pilot projects like this one are crucial to ensuring the grid is fully prepared to support large-scale solar and battery energy storage solutions that are key to the clean energy future in northern Illinois.”
The system is tied to panels that were already installed at the brewery. Prairie Street initially added solar panels about four years ago, and more were added on nearby buildings and parking structures as recently as this summer.
The storage system itself looks like little more than a green box from the outside, but such units will be a critical part to the state's future, said Doug Scott, the former Rockford mayor who is now chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
"Storage is really a key to the future of how we're going to get clean energy in the state and in the country," Scott said. "We're harnessing clean energy, but clean energy that isn't produced all the time ... so having storage systems set up to be able to keep that energy and then be able to use it when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing — that's critical."
Data gathered from the new storage system will be studied to make future solar and battery energy storage solutions.
It also ties into the state's Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which calls for 100% clean energy sources by 2050.
Related: New life coming to former bottling plant in downtown Rockford
The solar panels, which are owned by the Koch family, are on top of Prairie Street Brewing as well as the adjacent former Cellusuede building, and the former Coca-Cola bottling plant and parking pavilion across the street.
“Prairie Street Brewing Co. and the Koch Family are excited at the opportunity to partner with ComEd on this solar and energy storage project. We installed our solar panels in 2020 and have seen great benefits for our power usage," the family said in a statement. "We hope that this project helps encourage other northern Illinois businesses to explore their own solar installations which can benefit their bottom line while simultaneously supporting their communities.”
ComEd's announcement on Friday comes about six weeks after announcing a $116 million initiative over the next five years to strengthen the city's power grid, prepare workers for clean-energy careers and expand the use of solar power and energy storage.
It's another way the Rockford region is preparing for economic development tied to sustainable energy, including through transportation and mobility infrastructure, said Mike Dunn Jr., executive director of Region 1.
"Regardless of the politics of the day, good or bad, mobility will continue being electrified," Dunn said. "Our economic development future here in this region is embracing that. Maybe not right away, but in the next 20 or 30 years, how are we going to support the mobility of people and goods and how are we prepared for a green energy future."
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
In a Top 3 finish on 'Dragula,' Rockford performer keeps the city center-stage
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Television viewers around the world this week saw Auntie Heroine, the drag persona of Rockfordian Stephen Ramberg, wow judges on the season finale of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” a reality series on AMC Networks’ Shudder service.
Auntie Heroine was a breakout favorite in the sixth season of the popular horror-themed series Ramberg describes as “America’s Next Top Model” meets “Fear Factor.” Out of 12 contestants at the start, Auntie finished in the top three. Last year, Ramberg had applied but not gotten a call-back. By the end of the finale that aired Monday night, where hosts praised the artistry in Auntie’s runway fashions as impeccable, the Dragula crown and $100,000 cash prize went to a performer from Portland, Oregon: Asia Consent.
“You don’t have to win to be a winner,” said Ken Germain, pushing back tears after the show. Germain was one of more than 125 people attending the Dragula watch party Tuesday night at The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, 513 E. State St.
“Auntie! Auntie! Auntie!” the crowd chanted at times before, during and after watching the finale, which was displayed on two big screens at the downtown spot that’s the region’s only LGBTQ+ venue and the oldest gay bar in Illinois. Over the past half decade, Ramberg, 32, has built strong relationships with Auntie fans of all ages and with fellow drag performers.
“Stephen is very conscious of where they come from. Very kind and compassionate, truly a pillar of the community. The love you feel here for Auntie is very real,” said Germain, who with his husband, Brad MacCullum, a bartender at The Office, sponsored Dragula watch parties at The Office and helped cover Ramberg’s travel costs to Los Angeles for the filming. The couple were first among the near-dozen people Ramberg publicly thanked Tuesday night for wide-ranging support.
In a viral moment early in the season, Ramberg corrected an introduction of Auntie as being from Chicago, hometown of the three other contestants from Illinois. “Let’s make one thing clear: I’m not from Chicago, I’m from Rockford,” Ramberg said, tossing their hands in the air, as the chyron changed from CHICAGO, ILLINOIS to ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS. For the rest of the season, the chyron read AUNTIE HEROINE: ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=534253689196515
“Auntie knows exactly who she is. She has a voice that's very defined. We actually don't have a lot of people like that on Dragula,” Emmy-nominated hosts Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet said to each other in the final episode of Season 666. Out of drag, Ramberg identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Their stage name is a play on anti-hero, bringing attention to people doing what they think is right even if society judges how they look.
“I'm very proud of what I brought to this show,” said Ramberg, whose frequent salty quips always circled back to gratitude for the culture they find at home. “Don't call each other out. Build each other up. That is my message.”
In addressing the crowd Tuesday night, Auntie spent little time talking about fan-favorite looks like that of an artichoke for a reimagined Audrey II from “Little Shop of Horrors” and a jack-in-the- box in the episode on dolls. Instead, Auntie focused on appreciation for community support.
“Asia has the crown, but I have people who just do stuff for the love of me and for the love of what I do, and to watch me succeed and fly. I have that here in Rockford,” Ramberg said.
A web search of hometown watch parties for other contestants shows the biggest gathering of drag artists to support a finalist was the lineup at The Office on Tuesday night.
Taking the stage to celebrate Auntie were drag performers Carb-Ho Hydrate and Caspian Moone (who teamed up to impersonate the Boulet Brothers), La Mira, Elektra Infiniti-Foxx, Barbara Busch Light, Zallury Lazureii and Sharon ShakeAlike. Out of drag, fellow Office performer Adenah Killz congratulated Auntie saying, “You have shown us that no matter where you come from, we can achieve our dreams. You are truly a one-of-a-kind. … I speak for everyone when I say, win or lose, you are an icon and a star, and we are so proud of you.”
One fan in the front row, who travels with an oxygen tank, came from Dixon – for this watch party, all the others, and is a regular at Auntie’s 11 p.m. shows at The Office.
“Stephen is one of the best, most genuine people in the community,” Nancy Webster said. “I’m proud to be here for them.”
A few rows back, Katie Lohr of Loves Park had an Auntie tattoo at the base of her neck. “Now, I keep a piece of Auntie with me all the time,” said Lohr, explaining how she sought permission from a Dragula fan in the United Kingdom to take a line drawing of Auntie, which Ramberg had shared on social media, to a tattoo artist. “I took it to Delicious Ink,” Lohr said, referring to the shop at 2310 Charles St., where Ramberg had worked and where their own Auntie Heroine tattoo was done.
As other watch party attendees pulled out their phones to show off albums of selfies with Auntie, everyone attending the party was treated to handmade caramels provided by Sugar Britches, a candy shop 12 miles away in Rockton. A note with the accompanying coupon for truffles read, “Sugar Britches wants to thank you for your support of the LGBTQ+ community.”
“She definitely unifies our community,” said Brian Finn, one of four owners of The Office, which has been a gay bar since the late 1940s. “The show of support from our community was immense. You could feel the excitement and energy every time. Auntie is a treasure here in Rockford.”
As love for their hometown continues to pop up on Auntie’s social media accounts, one follower
posted this Tuesday morning:
“I gotta say, I've never wanted to visit Rockford, Illinois so bad in my life.”
About | Auntie Heroine
Facebook: @Auntieheroinequeen
Instagram: @auntieheroine
Tik Tok: @auntieheroine
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.
From sewing lessons to a runway show in south Rockford, 'Miss Cleta' makes learning fashionable
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — On a pop-up runway Saturday afternoon in the city’s newest art space, 17 young people — from just over age 20 to as young as 7 — showed off to family and friends clothes that the teacher they know as Miss Cleta helped them make.
“Each student had a part in doing something on their clothes: from designing them, cutting them out, and sewing them. Some of the students have advanced to the place of completing their own garment, needing very little help,” Collettia Berryhill, their teacher at Cleta’s Stay and Sew, 1029 S. Main St., said at the close of the show.
Fashion in the half-hour show ranged from such casual looks as top and pant sets, and top and skirt sets, to such glamorous looks as high-low dresses (where the hemline is asymmetrical from front to back) and high-low gowns (where a dress with a straight hem is layered under a skirt with an asymmetrical hem).
The classes that led to these creations are free.
The three-hour sessions, which include instruction on quilting, are weekly during the school year and multiple days a week during the summer. Berryhill provides the material, tools, notions, and lunch she often prepares herself. She also offers adult classes. All you need to bring is the willingness to learn.
Students start out making pillows, tote bags and small quilts. Then they graduate to clothes.
Several students walked the runway in more than one ensemble. One student came out in three ensembles. Most designs were original, sketched by a student on an iPad and translated to a paper pattern with the help of Berryhill coaching how to apply arithmetic to taking your measurements. Audience members – 52 seated and over two dozen standing – cheered the confidence, the smiles, and the level of detail: lace sleeves, bows on shoulder straps, tulle on pant hems. A kimono designed by a 10-year-old had pockets, a belt, and fur trim on the sleeves.
“People say it’s is a lost art. I don’t think so. These kids are really enthused about sewing,” Berryhill said in an interview Thursday afternoon, pausing to praise 10- and 13-year-olds stopping in to check on finishing details for what they would be modeling.
‘I sew, but not as good as her’
One of those students was London Lauder, 10, a student at nearby Barbour Elementary School.
She modeled a top and pant set. “I didn’t have a pattern. I did it on my own,” London said. Asked about the lace and tulle trim on her pant bottoms, she said there were several ways she could have attached it but thought it through and found the better one. As for the trim at the neckline, wasn’t something with so much metallic thread tricky to sew through?
“No. I cut it to size and sewed it on. You need to use white thread and go right in the middle.”
The Lauders have a sewing machine at home.
“I sew,” said London’s mother, Bethany, “but not as good as her.” Bethany Lauder and her own mother, Susan Lauder, who lives in Machesney Park, take turns bringing London to Cleta’s Stay and Sew.
“It’s like a community center here, but not your typical community center. It’s somewhere safe where they can come, be kids, and learn something new in a different environment,” Bethany Lauder said.
Berryhill has run Cleta’s Stay and Sew since November 2022 in the century-old building in south Rockford where she and her late brother, Ruben Samuel Jr., had run Ruben’s Pharmacy since 1978. Her brother, the region’s first African-American pharmacist, died in 2019. She kept the building, honoring a promise to him that this would be a place for giving back to Rockford.
One student lives in walking distance of the building at the northwest corner of Main and Morgan streets; others come from throughout the city and the region, including from as far as Belvidere.
In the fall of 2023, after a barbershop moved out of the adjacent space, Berryhill didn’t seek another tenant. She decided this too had to be for community. In time for the Rockford Area Arts Council’s Fall ArtScene this year, she opened 1025 S. Main St. as Cleta’s Art Space. Lining its walls for ArtScene, and still, are paintings by Rockford-born artist Nathan Jalani Taylor. His work had previously been on limited display next door among her sewing supplies.
Just as she pieces together fabric scraps for her students to upcycle, Berryhill has a patchwork of funding to keep the nonprofit afloat. Berryhill relies on donations and grants. A grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, for example, helped replace several sewing machines, all of which had been donated.
A clothing designer herself and expert seamstress (having learned to sew at age 8 from her blind grandmother), Berryhill brings in a thread of support for her nonprofit by making and selling one-of-a-kind Afrocentric clothing items. Dresses, like the one featured in Rock River Current’s 815 Holiday Gift Guide, start at $70. She makes various styles of dresses (plus jackets, tunics, skirts and two-piece ensembles) from vividly patterned fabric she imports from Ghana, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She also sells the fabric from Africa in bundles; a 6-yard bundle is $60. Fashion accessories made in Africa from African prints are also available. A set of purses, one large and one small, made from the same fabric is $100. A fabric fan is $15.
'My teacher, an icon'
Berryhill’s humility is as strong as the bold colors in her beloved African fabrics.
Though this youth fashion show is her first, she was a featured designer — and the guest of honor —at last year’s Gilded Paradise Fashion Show at Nicholas Conservatory. Those details about her presence at that show surfaced in a web search. To hear Berryhill tell it, she was simply happy to be there in support of the organizer, Kelvin Candie II, and on hand to make it known the purses that he bought for the show were made by her students.
“I am very grateful and thankful to call her my teacher,” Candie, the designer behind the brand The High & Mighty, said of Berryhill in a message via his Instagram page. “Cleta is a great pillar of the Rockford community. She has guided and mothered me and a lot of artists and creatives in this community. Her unwavering support and her desire to pass on her knowledge to the next generation makes her an icon.”
Garments designed and made at Cleta’s Stay and Sew weren’t just on the runway at Saturday’s event. They were in the audience too, proudly worn by women who each had their own story of a Cleta gesture. The most dramatic look was a shoulder wrap. It was worn by 12th Ward Alderwoman Gina Meeks, who took a page from A$AP Rocky and Rihanna’s one-time entrance to the Met Gala and sported a quilt. It’s made up of pieces saying what cancer can’t take away from you.
“It was so important for me to see this at the beginning of my cancer journey,” said Meeks, who received the quilt from Berryhill last year shortly after she heard of the diagnosis. “My favorite piece is ‘Cancer Cannot Silence Courage.’ We all need to be so grateful for Cleta – she puts heart into everything.”
Meeks first met Berryhill at Candie’s show at Nicholas Conservatory. “ ‘Why don’t you do your own fashion show at Cleta’s Stay and Sew?’” Berryhill recalls, crediting Meeks with the idea.
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Berryhill said. “But she was right. I had the space. And when they were ready, the kids could put on their own show.”
But for this, like so many other aspects of a nonprofit in a building built in 1920, there was a cost.
Sixth Ward Alderwoman Aprel Prunty sponsored the show with a grant from the city’s Forward for Fun initiative. An English teacher with Rockford Public Schools, Prunty represents the neighboring ward.
“As an educator, I’ve always believed that investing in our youth is investing in the future of our community. Supporting a youth-led fashion show goes beyond the runway,” Prunty said. “It’s about providing young people with hands-on experience and skills they can carry forward. Under Miss Cleta’s mentorship, the youth are learning to sew their own fashions — a lifelong skill with real career potential.”
'A lot for one person'
One student, Zaniah Gray, 19, is now an intern at Cleta’s Stay and Sew, a paid position. With Gray’s help and that of a volunteer assistant, Berryhill manages the youth class. But to maintain the 1-to-5 level of attention she wants to offer, Berryhill isn’t currently accepting students. All her classes are now full.
As she seeks grant opportunities and awaits to hear about those she’s applied for, Berryhill works on designing and making quilted wall hangings hoping their four-digit price can cover some utility and building maintenance costs.
Her latest creation, finished last week, is a wall hanging she calls, “God heard their cry.” This quilt is an assembly of machine-embroidered portraits of 27 Black people who died in incidents involving police. For every portrait, bordered in African prints from Ghana, she has machine-embroidered the date of death and their age. She is asking $2,000.
While she could have put the time and materials into making something purely decorative and more marketable, she didn’t.
“This just means something,” Berryhill said. “One little girl said, ‘Miss Cleta, you like history, don't you?’ I said, ‘Oh yeah, baby. That’s what we live by: history.’”
Candie said it’s important for children to have a teacher like Berryhill: “She leads by example.”
One of her examples is making do with what you have when the ideal tool isn’t yet in reach.
The quilting on the wall hanging with the portraits, just like every other quilt that Berryhill and her students have made, was done on a basic home-use sewing machine. The larger a fully pieced quilt gets, the more difficult it is to gather it in sections and guide it through a home machine to stitch through its top.
“It’s a lot for one person,” said Denise Kittel Noe, referring both to projects like this and all of Berryhill’s day-in day-out work at Cleta’s Stay and Sew.
A quilter herself and a professional fundraiser for Rockford nonprofits for over three decades, Noe is part of a team at the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence working on a campaign to help Cleta’s Stay and Sew purchase a longarm quilting machine.
This tool, which can run in the tens of thousands, would make the last step of the quilting process efficient and give students additional skills in working with textiles. Given the age of the building though, its purchase would also mean the need for electrical improvements.
In the meantime, Berryhill appreciates the here and now.
“We have a messy environment we work in next door,” she said at the end of the fashion show. “But we don’t care because in that mess, (the kids) have peace. They are learning sewing and quilting and just having fun with one another.
“This story, my story, will never change. This is my mission: If one student walks in their passion and becomes a designer in the fashion industry, they will slay,” said Berryhill, 70, winking over the last word and noting she too learns from her students.
Cleta’s Stay and Sew | Fast Facts
Where: 1029 S. Main St., Rockford
On the web: Follow Cleta’s Stay and Sew on Facebook
Contact: cletasstayandsew@gmail.com;
or cleta131@hotmail.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday
How to help: You can make a donation in person at the shop or via CashApp to $Collettia or via Zelle to Collettia Berryhill, or by personal check.
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.
Reality TV show starring Rockford performer reveals 'the soul behind the drag'
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — If you’ve been to Pride parties or LGBTQ+ clubs in northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin, you know Auntie Heroine, Rockford’s ghoulishly glamorous drag queen.
Soon, people far beyond this corner of the Midwest will also get to know Auntie Heroine, the drag persona of local performer Stephen Ramberg. Starting Tuesday, Auntie Heroine will be on television screens across the globe as a contestant on the new season of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” a reality TV series Ramberg describes as “America’s Next Top Model” meets “Fear Factor.”
Ramberg, 32, is trans nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns out of drag. The name Auntie Heroine is a play on anti-hero, bringing attention to people doing what they think is right even if society judges how they look.
One of 12 contestants on the show’s sixth season, Auntie Heroine is competing against drag performers from Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, San Diego, Washington, D.C.; Kansas City, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; and Auckland, New Zealand.
“Everyone else is from a big city, and they like to loop me in with the Chicago people. I tell them every time, ‘I’m not from Chicago, I’m from Rockford — and proud of it,’” Ramberg said Monday afternoon in an interview on the patio of The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge, 513 E. State St., where Auntie Heroine has been hosting and headlining events for half a decade.
“The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula,” a show that started humbly on YouTube in 2016, now streams on AMC Networks’ subscription bundle AMC+ and its horror-focused premium service Shudder, which is available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In an email from AMC Networks, a spokesperson said the show’s fifth season was a runaway hit and one of Shudder’s most-watched titles in 2023. Sixth-season promotions began this month and include announcement of an Emmy nomination for the drag duo who lead the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3swlGcz6ag
The trailer for what’s called Season 666 of “The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” was released this week. If you use our lead photo as a guide, you will be able to tell which out-of-drag contestant will transform into Auntie Heroine — a process that can take four hours.
If you’re in Rockford on Tuesday night, you can catch the 90-minute season premiere — with commentary from Auntie and Scylla, a contestant from Chicago — during a watch party at The Office. There will be two big screens in the main room, a projector in the side room, and weather permitting, another projector on the patio.
Auntie will be back hosting watch parties every following Tuesday night until the show’s finale.
On the 10th and last episode of the season, the crown of The World’s Next Drag Supermonster will come with a cash prize of $100,000.
Six suitcases
Like the spandex on Auntie’s Elvira-inspired gowns, secrecy over how the drag competition unfolded is tight.
So respectful of the confidentiality agreement they signed, Ramberg won’t speak about even where they traveled for the filming.
National coverage of past seasons and local coverage of another contestant this season indicate the show is filmed in Los Angeles. All Ramberg would reveal is that packing up Auntie Heroine’s attire for a production this extensive involved six suitcases and $3,000 in UPS shipping boxes.
What Ramberg does speak of is pride in being part of a TV drag competition that’s inclusive — and pride in having auditioned for it with videos recorded all in the city they call home.
“‘Dragula’ is a space that creates community for all of the LGBTQ people that maybe don’t feel like they belong in their community. Dragula’s embracing of all identities and all types of people,” Ramberg said, recalling having followed the show since its second season and noticing that unlike "RuPaul’s Drag Race" initially, "The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula" featured trans performers.
“If you’re transgender, there’s a lot of people within the LGBT community that aren’t allies of the trans community. There are individuals that are ostracized. I felt like (Dragula) is a space that stands for me as a person and uplifts my community as an outcast.”
Ramberg credits a friend who competed on Season 4, a Chicagoan who performs as Sigourney Beaver, with the push to audition. “ ‘You need to get on next. You are perfect for this,’ she said. I think her believing in me and seeing that spark that I have, that was a big tipping point for me to start really seriously considering going out for the show.”
Ramberg auditioned for Season 5 but wasn’t called back. Undaunted, Auntie went out for Season 6. The audition is a video, which, like the year before, again was recorded on the streets of Rockford. This time, the callback came, and a video interview was next. Ramberg needed to find a frighteningly fitting local venue.
‘The soul behind the drag’
“We've had the joy of getting to know Auntie and the soul behind the drag. When we learned they needed a spooky place to record their interview for ‘Dragula,’ we didn't think twice about offering our spooky little store as the place to do it,” said Liz and Randy Wolf, owners of Wolf Hollow Gift Shoppe in Olson Plaza shopping center, 3800 E. State St. “Rockford should be very proud of how forward-thinking Auntie is, and of what they want to accomplish for the community as a whole.”
Ramberg is on the Rockford Area Pride Committee, helping organize the city’s Pride parade; on the planning committee for The Liam Foundation, helping organize the nonprofit’s annual Gayla; and on the Consumer Advisory Board at Crusader Community Health, helping in a program that supports people living with HIV. In July 2023, when protests to a library Q&A with a fellow drag queen escalated in the nearby Winnebago County village of Rockton, Auntie Heroine supported the newly formed Rockton Pride group by stepping in during a counterprotest potluck and hosting a thought-provoking, all-ages drag show.
“Everyone loves Auntie,” said Brian Finn, one of The Office’s four owners, who calls Ramberg a beautiful human and a shining star. “It’s not just the drag itself. It’s about being an advocate and being good for your community. Stephen is very appreciated here. That’s for sure.”
in Rockton on Friday, July 14, 2023, during the Rockton Pride Kickoff Party. (Photo by Helen Karakoudas/Special to Rock River Current)
A Rockford-area native area raised in the village of Winnebago, Ramberg moved away for college, briefly lived in Chicago in young adult life, and returned to Rockford with an appreciation for the opportunities to make a difference here. Until recently, Ramberg worked as an administrative assistant for the Disability Support Services office at Rock Valley College. Now a drag performer full time, Ramberg said a lot of people have been asking whether worldwide exposure on television brings with it a move to a big city.
“Every time I say, ‘No, I’m going to stay in Rockford.’ My whole stance on the show is about community, building community, and being a community leader. We’ve seen so much evolution here just in downtown in the last 10 years. We just had our first-ever official Pride parade; our last Pride festival was the biggest it’s ever been. And now a drag queen is taking Rockford to the international level. These are all steps in the right direction.”
‘Dragula’ watch party
Where: The Office Niteclub, 513 E. State St., Rockford
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, preceded by at Meet & Greet at 6 p.m. and a drag show at 7
p.m. Find details HERE for the season premiere.
How much: $5 cover
Also: 8 p.m. Tuesdays, from Oct. 8 to Dec. 3 (the rest of ‘The Boulet Brothers’ Dracula’
season), there will be no cover.
Fun fact: Bartenders at The Office will be concocting an Auntie Heroine cocktail and mocktail.
Each drink will be green, Auntie’s favorite color.
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.
Photos: 11th Ward parade and festival in Rockford
Photos by Susan Moran
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The third annual 11th Ward parade marched through south Rockford on Saturday before ending in a festival at Keye-Mallquist Park.
The parade coincided with Mexican Independence Day weekend and the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sunday, Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.
The event is put on by El Barrio Community Center and funded with help from the city's Forward for Fun initiative.
Mexico declared its independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810, and the parade and festival was highlighted by cultural music, dance and food.
Here are images of the parade through the eyes of photograph Susan Moran:
Photos by freelance photojournalist Susan Moran.
After delays, Belvidere couple ready to hop to it with new downtown brewery
By Paul Anthony Arco
Rock River Current
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BELVIDERE — The long wait for beer lovers of Boone County is over.
After more than a year of delays, mishaps and other obligations, Cheryl and Ryan Morris will officially open the doors today to 5 Bines Brewery, a microbrewery and taproom at 515 S. State St. in downtown Belvidere.
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This is the first business venture for the Belvidere natives. Ryan is an operations manager for a local company, and Cheryl has been a stay-at-home mom.
“It’s a little surreal to finally reach this point, but we’re ready to jump in with both feet and see what happens,” Cheryl said. “We feel like we’ve been holed up in the brewery for so long. We’ve missed seeing people.”
For now, 5 Bines Brewery is only open this weekend to coincide with Heritage Days, Belvidere’s two-day summer festival.
“We will see how this weekend goes and how much beer we have left,” said Cheryl, who predicts a full opening soon.
The road to opening day has been filled with plenty of potholes.
Originally scheduled to open in the summer of 2023, the Morris family's Belvidere home was struck by lightning, which left three large holes in their roof and a power surge that “fried” all their electronic devices.
“We had two projects going on at once,” Cheryl said. “Ryan was fixing our house and working on getting the brewery ready at night and on the weekends. Plus, he was doing more traveling for his full-time job.”
Getting the building ready presented its own challenges. They had to hardwire smoke alarms, update restrooms, replace light fixtures and handle ventilation work. Not to mention the stack of applications and permits that go along with opening a business.
“This building is 128 years old, and as we tore things apart, we found more issues like rotten floors and leaks in the ceiling,” Cheryl said. “When Ryan cut the hole in the basement for the pump fill, we found buckets of decomposed rubber-soled shoes down there. That took a whole weekend to clean up. All these little things add up.”
They decided to change the name of the brewery to 5 Bines from the original name, Full Circle, when they discovered a beer of the same name. Cheryl says the new name is more fitting. “We decided to do our own thing,” she said. “Besides, 5 Bines has a nice ring. It rolls off the tongue.”
Thanks to a helping hand from family and friends, the couple was able get the bar top, which is an old bowling alley lane that Ryan sanded and finished, ready for opening weekend.
There is table seating for 65 people and standing room for an additional 40. The brewery will offer snacks, but customers can bring order-in their own food.
The couple has maintained their sense of humor through the many setbacks. When making the official opening announcement on their Facebook page, they wrote "after working on this project for 400 years, we are opening our doors."
“We got a little discouraged because it was taking so long, but we knew we could pull it off,” Cheryl said. “Now we’re ready to move on to the fun part.
“We’re long overdue for a cold beer.”
5 Bines Brewery | Know before you go
Where: 515 S. State St., Belvidere
Opening weekend hours: 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 28; 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 29
Limited Menu includes:
Boone County Pale Ale
County Seat American Wheat
Honey Ale
Ryan’s Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
Water and soda also served
Because most sales are alcohol, a parent or guardian must accompany any customer under 21.
This article is by freelance journalist Paul Anthony Arco. Email news@rockrivercurrent.com with any feedback or questions.
Plume's traditional dishes with a twist give Rockford's North End a new culinary destination
By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — When Italians say “che capolavoro,” a phrase that means “what a masterpiece,” they may add a fingers-to-lips chef’s kiss.
In March, those two words appeared on county records as the name of a limited liability company that bought the former Der Rathskeller property, the iconic two-level building and popular patio at 1132 Auburn St.
Now, the English translation of che capolavoro sums up early reviews of Plume, a restaurant and bar project by hospitality-industry veterans Chase Williams and Lia Pennacchi that officially opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
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The Rockford newlyweds and self-proclaimed perfectionists began a short series of soft openings on Friday night. Among online comments from people who got coveted invitations to the first seatings and the invitees we talked to, excitement is strong for the northern Italian upscale casual spot. Plume is transforming the space that Rockford’s much-missed German eatery had filled for decades.
“This felt like we were going to a restaurant with a James Beard award or a Michelin star,” Jennifer Tillou Boviall, an adjunct professor of culinary arts at Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, Wisconsin, and the former executive chef at The Norwegian, said of her experience there on Friday.
“For Rockford, Plume means so much,” said Boviall, who worked with Williams at two restaurants and calls him one of her greatest mentors.
“We’ve already got amazing spots like SALT off Spring Creek, and Abreo and 27 Aluna downtown, amongst other greats like Crust & Crumbles,” Boviall said. “Now that Chase has his own place in the North End — which has seen such a come-up since the opening of The Norwegian — the love, passion and sense of community is flowing. I only expect all of that passion to bleed even more into the Rockford community and beyond.”
Williams is Plume’s executive chef. Pennacchi is Plume’s drink chef. Having worked together both in downtown Rockford and in downtown Janesville, they’re now marrying their hard work and talents in the kitchen and behind the bar to introduce Rockford to the food and drink traditions of Emilia-Romagna — the north-central region of Italy where Pennacchi’s father hails from.
Their focus is on sustainability, creativity and inclusivity. They grow their own herbs and some vegetables, source local and seasonal produce and meats, and make as much as they and their staff can in-house.
“We bring you the things we do best through the lens of northern Italian cuisine. You’ll get lots of very authentic traditional dishes reimagined with our little twist,” Pennacchi said. In the case of Plume’s lasagne bolognese, that’s literal: the pasta comes in the shape of a pinwheel.
'A magician'
Traditional dishes from Pennacchi’s family include tigelle, a board that comes with prosciutto di parma, an aged parmigiano reggiano cheese and petite muffin-like flatbreads which you can split and schmear with housemade strawberry jam and pesto Modenese.
Along with standards from northern Italy, you’ll find northern Italian-influenced sides like a polenta puree, olive-oil braised greens, and giardiniera-style pickled vegetables with hot chicken, a Williams signature since his days at Social Urban Bar and Restaurant in downtown Rockford (the pre-pandemic version of Social Charcuterie Bar and Cocktails) and later during his days as executive chef at Lark in Janesville.
Pennacchi takes immense pride in her husband studying culinary techniques from her father’s homeland and finding ways to apply them. If you order the pepperoni beef spiedini, you find it’s finished with fennel pollen — a treatment gentler than fennel seeds. Williams orders it from Italy.
“I know I'm a little biased, but Chase is a magician. He has so much talent and just so much knowledge,” Pennacchi told guests Friday night.
In Plume’s scratch kitchen, Williams has three chefs working with him.
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Expect all the pasta to be freshly handmade. Some of the pasta dishes can be ordered gluten-free, including paccheri pesto, a tubular pasta swirled in pesto made of almonds and tarragon, and then swirled again in roasted maitake mushrooms, goat cheese and micro croutons.
That was the dish Holli Connell, owner of Winnie Nutter (the vintage clothing shop inside Engine Studio), ordered Saturday night. She and her husband, Doug, who live and work in the neighborhood, were among the guests invited to the second of Plume’s soft openings.
“To be back on that patio after all these years was fantastic. And with the addition of the handmade pasta, which I was able to get gluten-free, and tasty cocktails — chef’s kiss,” said Connell, who also ordered Ca-Peach, one of Pennacchi’s cocktail creations. “This historical building in the North End has a new life and I’m here for it.”
The inclusive menu
Plume’s current food menu is divided into four sections: pasta dishes, small plates, large plates, and desserts.
In each category, there’s an effort to be inclusive of people with food allergies, sensitivities and dietary preferences.
- Four of the six pasta dishes can be made gluten-free. That’s in addition to a total of eight other gluten-free options: four small plates, three large plates and one dessert.
- There also are four vegetarian options: two for small plates, and two for pasta.
- There are three vegan options: two for small plates, and one for large plates.
- And there are two dairy-free options: one for pasta, and one for large plates.
Several menu options check two boxes, including halloumi, which is both gluten-free and vegetarian.
“Not Italian, but popular in the Adriatic,” Williams said as he briefly broke away from the kitchen during a photo shoot. His version comes with an almond puree, mint, and a strawberry-rhubarb compote.
Even when as the menu changes according to season and supply, the commitment to making more people feel comfortable there will hold, Pennacchi said.
Inclusivity extends to Plume’s drink menu.
“If you abstain from drinking for whatever reason, you can know that you can come here and get something that will be well-thought-out and flavorful,” Pennacchi said, referring to the mocktail option where a guest can list flavors they like, and she and her team take it from there. “I've made savory mocktails. I've made sweet. I've made spicy. I’ve made smoky.”
Sharing bar duties with Pennacchi are two drink chefs in training.
The drink menu includes Italian wine, draft beer, spritz cocktails, and a growing collection of amaro, an Italian liqueur served as a digestif.
So long as they have the ingredients, any better-known cocktail or spirit is also available.
From beer garden to spritz bar
Der Rathskeller closed in 2019 after 88 years. A short-lived iteration, Rathskeller Rockford, which had opened during the coronavirus pandemic, closed in October 2021 after a year.
Though the patio added in 2009 wasn’t there as long as the original restaurant, which dated to 1931, it was a beloved beer garden through both iterations.
At Plume, the wide-open outdoor space is for additional seating and a spritz bar — a spot to enjoy versions of the light, bubbly craft cocktail which originated in Italy and, thanks to its most recognizable version (Aperol spritz), continues to gain fans across the U.S.
Just like Williams and his kitchen team hand-making pasta for every dish day-in, day-out is a first for Rockford, so is a dedicated spritz bar.
Spritz options on the Plume drink menu include a Naperol spritz — a nonalcoholic version of the Aperol spritz.
‘Travel from far and wide’
“It will be a fresh asset for the North End and for all of Rockford as well,” Barbara Pennacchi, Lia’s mother, said in March after she and her husband, Claudio, a Machesney Park couple, bought the Der Rathskeller building.
At that time, the couple wouldn’t say more about the plans until the leasing agreement was finalized. The only clue was then their LLC’s name, Che Capolavoro.
The nod of a chef’s kiss is spot-on for Boviall.
“I see Rockford as a community for the foodies and budding culinarians,” Boviall said. “I expect people to travel from far and wide to check out Plume, whether it’s for employment or enjoyment.”
If you go | Plume Rockford
Where: 1132 Auburn St., Rockford
Grand opening: 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 19
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Reservations: exploretock.com/plumerockford
On the web: plumerockford.com
On Facebook: Plume Rockford
On Instagram: @PlumeRockford
Contact: info@plumerockford.com
More photos | Plume Rockford
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.