We’ve been hearing whispers for a while suggesting that Chicago’s Zazas Pizzeria would be bringing its famous New York-style pies to downtown Geneva soon.

One detail the whispers failed to mention — a new name will accompany the new space.

Nemec Brothers Pizzeria is planning to open its doors on December 1 with a fresh brand identity to pair with its passion for crafting high-quality, Neapolitan pizza.

The rebrand aims to establish a clear distinction between Nemec Brothers Pizzeria and other Tri-Cities establishments. In a Facebook post announcing the opening date, Zazas emphasized that the change is driven by respect for local businesses and a desire to spotlight their family name.

Given that I lived in Chicago for 10+ years and harbor a mildly unhealthy pizza obsession, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve yet to indulge in Zazas. But from what I gather, we’re in for a treat.

In July, Zazas was featured in Eater Chicago’s compilation of The Essential Pizza Restaurants in Chicago. A couple months earlier, Bon Appétit recognized Zazas as one of The 8 Best Pizza Shops for a NY-Style Slice Outside New York.

Zazas will be taking up residence in the former Osteria Bigolaro space at 317 W. State Street. A representative of the restaurant posted that they are looking to hire as well.

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☑️ Small Business Saturday: All three cities are offering ample opportunities to get out and support local this weekend, including a St. Charles Holiday Shop Crawl on Saturday and Sunday plus special deals at shops in Geneva and Batavia on Saturday. Elburn is organizing a “shop small crawl” as well.

☑️ Mystery illness: With reports of a respiratory infection that’s affected dogs in Illinois, you may want to consider extra precautions with holiday travel and family gatherings approaching.

☑️ Civic updates: Batavia City Council approved the new tree preservation ordinance and the video gambling license for the new Overflow business adjacent to Riverside Pizza.

☑️ Dentist development: Geneva City Council approved the Khanna Dentistry site plan for a 5,000-square-foot, two-unit commercial building on the 600 block of East State Street.

☑️ Batavia’s best: Batavia MainStreet released a useful Holiday Gift Guide to help folks find unique items crafted by local artisans and businesses.

☑️ Climate friendly: Solar-curious Kane County residents and business owners can explore the benefits of switching to renewable energy and group buying as part of the Solar Switch program.

☑️ Upcoming detours: Street closures are planned for 12/1 and 12/2 (Friday and Saturday) to accommodate the Christmas Walk and Holiday House Tour in Geneva.

🔒 Let the renovations begin: The Daily Herald details the recommended $290K agreement that would revive the Little Owl/Flagstone building in Geneva — including a glimpse into its history dating back to 1837.

🔒 Back to business support: If you launched a small business in 2020 or 2021, you may be eligible for $25 million in grant funding through Illinois’ Back to Business (B2B) program.

We’re making a slight change to this issue of the newsletter: the live music schedule is now featured on its own, separate page.

With 40-50 performances listed in many issues, the newsletter was becoming overloaded. Hopefully, this makes for a more seamless reading experience — and Gmail won’t cut off longer issues before the end.

There are no shows today, but a jam-packed weekend lineup more than makes up for the lack of performances on Thanksgiving.

☑️ On Friday, you’ll have 18 shows to choose from, highlighted by performances by Noah Gabriel, Ryan Carney and Chris Palmerin at Pollyanna Brewing.

☑️ Saturday will match Friday with 18 performances, including Interstate 90s at The Hive in St. Charles.

☑️ Sip n’ Shop Group Ride: Batavia’s BOJ-E-BIKES has organized a festive ride along the Fox River Trail with various stops for shopping and sipping in the Tri-Cities. It kicks off at 1PM.

☑️ Lighting of the Lights Ceremony: The St. Charles Holiday Homecoming event will commence with the flip of a switch and a dazzling lights display at 5PM — plus carols, snacks and Santa photos.

☑️ Pancake Breakfast: Fuel up on syrupy goodness and grab photos with Santa during the Batavia Masonic Lodge’s annual pancake breakfast from 8AM to noon.

☑️ Geneva Commons Christmas Tree Lighting: Indulge in some free hot chocolate during an evening (6-8PM) of toy giveaways, festive photo ops and the lighting of the big tree by the Clauses.

☑️ Batavia Celebration of Lights: Bring the kiddos along for a visit with Santa, hayrides, craft activities, Christmas Tree Lane and the lighting of the Peace Bridge. Free from 5-7PM. A Peace Bridge dedication will happen at 3PM.

You’re welcome, dogs of the Tri-Cities. Happy Thanksgiving!

🦃 Today: High 46F | Low 21F | Mostly sunny, pigskin weather

🌥️ Friday: High 35F | Low 22F | It’s winter, guys

🌤️ Saturday: High 38F | Low 24F | Small chance of precip

🌨️ Sunday: High 33F | Low 21F | Snow likely

We’re also on Facebook and Instagram. Follow us for updates about what’s happening in the area throughout the week.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with:

I respond to all replies — let’s work together.

Cheers,

Sam

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