🍷 Local happy hours

Just about everything seems crazy expensive these days, but there’s something about dropping nearly $10 on a beer (perhaps closer to $20 for you cocktail folks) that really grinds my gears.

Here are some local happy-hour deals (one for each day of the week) to help alleviate that sticker shock:

✔️ Monday | Ella’s Italian Pub in Geneva: A pizza slice or bar snack paired with a glass of beer or wine for $8 from 3-6PM (Mon-Fri). See the menu.

✔️ Tuesday | GOAT in Batavia: $3.5 Modelos and $6 margaritas plus 1/2 off tacos and the Mysterio Burger on Taco Tuesday.

✔️ Wednesday | Duke’s Northwoods in St. Charles: $3 off all salads, specialty martinis and glasses of wine. More deals here.

✔️ Thursday | Riverside Pizza & Pub in Batavia: $3.25 beer, $4.25 wine and $5.25 martinis from 3PM-6PM — plus $3 well cocktails and 50% off wings all day.

✔️ Friday | Walrus Room in Geneva: Their “social hour” — which runs until 6PM — features $4 domestic beer, $5 local drafts, $8 wine and several other food/drink deals.

✔️ Saturday | Wok n Fire in St. Charles: $7 Sake, $5 glasses of wine, $3 beers and $5 food items are eye-opening deals for a Saturday. The catch? It’s from 9PM-11PM.

✔️ Sunday | Riverlands Brewing in St. Charles: Industry night at Riverlands applies to everyone — 25% off pours!

This is only a sampling of some of the better happy hour deals out there — I’ll unearth more of these if this little report proves popular.

In the meantime, happy partaking.

📰 News to use

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☑️ National spotlight: Geneva chef Carolyn O'Reilly reached the quarterfinals of the Favorite Chef competition, which could land her on the cover of Taste of Home magazine. You can vote for her here.

☑️ Summer wave: COVID cases are on the rise in the Chicago area, driven in part by the so-called FLiRT variants.

☑️ TIF #4 approved: Geneva City Council gave the green light to a fourth TIF district east of Kirk Road in the Southeast Master Plan Redevelopment Area.

☑️ STC detours: Work began this week on a new sanitary main that requires closing Dunham Road between Royal St. Georges Court and Country Club Road through early August.

☑️ Under investigation: An off-duty Kane County Sheriff's deputy was involved in a fatal shooting in Elgin on Monday.

☑️ Alarming incident: A St. Charles man driving a stolen car crashed into a traffic light in Palos Park, hit another vehicle, then ran into the woods.

🏘️ In the community

☑️ A chance to serve: Batavia is looking for candidates to fill its 3rd Ward City Council vacancy following Dan Chanzit’s retirement.

☑️ Big boys on campus: Linemen from 30 suburban high schools will be at West Aurora High School today (7/11) competing in the annual “Battle of the Big Butts” competition.

☑️ Century mark: During a recent City Council meeting, St. Charles officials honored resident Rosaline Kessler for reaching a key milestone in an already amazing life — her 100th birthday.

☑️ A source of serenity: The Fabyan Japanese Garden in Geneva is free to visit, but did you know you can get a docent-led private tour on Thursdays through September?

☑️ Eye toward autumn: The Batavia Park District released its 2024 Fall Fun Guide, highlighting new programs, special events and park opening celebrations for the season ahead.

☑️ Standardized tests: State education officials are preparing for Illinois high school students to shift to taking the ACT (instead of the SAT) in spring 2025.

🎸 Live music

Several additional performances have popped up for tonight (Thursday), including a “Standard Strings Summer Jam Fest” at Sturdy Shelter in Batavia — so check those listings before heading out this evening.

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🔥 Hot summer deals: Up to 75% off at The Little Traveler

The Summer Clearance Sale at The Little Traveler might be downtown Geneva’s best-kept secret.

Grab one-of-a-kind summer essentials, peruse dynamic fashion galleries and discover culinary delights — with 50%-75% off select items across the store.

Summer flies by in a blink — and so will these deals. Our advice: swing by The Little Traveler ASAP.

🏬 Local biz

☑️️ Soft opening: Chicago Ramen — a popular Japanese restaurant with several Chicagoland locations — opened its new St. Charles eatery this week on the corner of Dunham and Route 64.

☑️ Mentorship opportunity: Fermilab announced a new high school student apprenticeship program to nurture future lab technicians.

🗓️ Events + things to do

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☑️ Windmill City Fest | Fri 7/12 - Sun 7/14 | Downtown Batavia | This year’s event also includes the Boo Boo Days sidewalk sale.

🎟️ Kids Night Out - Ice Cream Social | Fri 7/12, 6-8PM | Color Me Mine, Geneva | Drop the kids off for ice cream, pizza and games while you enjoy a relaxing night out.

☑️ Second Fridays | Fri 7/12, 6-9PM | Batavia Arts District | A delightfully local combination of art, food, drinks, live music and shopping.

🎟️ 2024 Garden Walk | Sat 7/13, 10AM-3PM | Various local gardens | The Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners’ self-directed tour of local gardens.

🎟️ Youth Outlook Gay-Laaaa | Sat 7/13, 2PM | Comedy Vault, Batavia | Experience a comedic improv band, a live silent auction, raffles and more at this fundraiser event.

☑️ Peach Fest | Sat 7/13, 10AM-6PM | Windy Acres Farm, Geneva | Peach-themed everything! Food, drinks and treats — plus live music and family-friendly activities.

🎟️ Aloha Polynesian Revue & Pig Roast | Sun 7/14, 2PM | Moonlight Theatre, STC | Enjoy a delicious buffet-style pig roast, tropical drinks and Hawaiian-themed fun.

🌖 Weather snapshot

🌤️ Today: High 82F | Low 61F | Hot + summerlike

🌥️ Friday: High 84F | Low 64F | Muggy + clouds

🌩️ Saturday: High 84F | Low 69F | Storms hangin’ around

🌤️ Sunday: High 89F | Low 71F | Sticky humid

📖 Thanks for reading

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