Business Barometer

Frontier adds Vegas flights

BLOOMINGTON — Frontier Airlines will offer nonstop flights from Bloomington’s Central Illinois Regional Airport to Las Vegas on Thursdays and Sundays, starting Aug. 12.

Growmark CEO retiring

BLOOMINGTON — Growmark Inc. CEO Jim Spradlin told the board of directors of the Bloomington-based agricultural supply cooperative on June 10 he’s retiring Feb. 28.

COVID limits eased

BLOOMINGTON — Bloomington-Normal business owners greeted a renewed sense of freedom and normalcy when Illinois entered Phase 5 of its reopening plan June 11, eliminating most COVID-related mask requirements and capacity limits.

Avanti’s marks 50 years

NORMAL — Avanti’s Italian Restaurant, with locations at 402 S. Main St., Normal, and 3302 E. Empire St., Bloomington, celebrated its 50th anniversary June 2 with a ribbon cutting complete with cake and trademark Gondolas and attended by Chamber of Commerce members, business partners, past employees and customers.

Normal extends outdoor dining

NORMAL — The Normal Town Council on June 21 unanimously approved extending the uptown outdoor restaurant seating program through the end of the year and directed its staff to begin planning for how it will handle outdoor dining moving forward.

Agreement helps workers earn degrees

NORMAL — Heartland Community College, Lincoln College and State Farm signed agreements to make it easier for working adults and State Farm employees to complete bachelor’s degrees through the Lincoln College Accelerated Bridge to Education program.

ZBA backs wind farm

The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals recommended a plan by Sapphire Sky Wind Energy LLC, an affiliate of Invenergy LLC headquartered Chicago, to build a $350 million, 64-turbine wind farm spread across 14,000 acres in the the southeast corner of the county.

Unemployment falls in B-N, state

BLOOMINGTON — Unemployment fell by nearly seven points in Bloomington-Normal, sitting at 4.2% this May after hitting 11.5% in May 2020, and by about 8 points statewide, going from 15.3% to 6.7% in the same time period, the Illinois Department of Economic Security reported June 24.

Cooking oil cost affects eateries

BLOOMINGTON — Staple bar snacks like chicken wings are becoming harder to come by and more expensive because of supply disruptions, labor shortages and other factors nationwide affecting commodities like meat and cooking oil.

Sugar Mama Bakery moves

BLOOMINGTON — Sugar Mama Bakery owner Susie Tod announced plans to close her uptown Normal store in July and open in a downtown Bloomington storefront formerly occupied by a Subway restaurant.

Texas Roadhouse to open

Construction of the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the Bloomington Commons shopping center, 1701 E. Empire St., is progressing with the location set to open at the end of August.

Car wash to be built

BLOOMINGTON — Developers Jeremy and Jeffrey Schoenherr want to build a new automated On Track Car Wash at 1509 E. Vernon Ave., Bloomington, largely replacing the 10-bay do-it-yourself Car Wash Express that occupied the site between 1988 and 2010.

Panda Express planned

BLOOMINGTON — Las Vegas-based CFT NV Developments LLC plans to build a 2,381-square-foot Panda Express Chinese-American fast-food restaurant at 1901 W. Market St., Bloomington.

Jersey Mike’s Subs coming

BLOOMINGTON — A storefront is being remodeled for a Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurant at Eastland Commons, 305 N. Veterans Parkway, Bloomington, with plans to open in August.