Grand Island Rumor Mill

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:32 pm

My wife who works at a local doctors office just told me one of their drug rep's had said a Red Robin was looking to build in Grand Island.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:41 pm

That would be a HUGE get for GI..

Some people may say that it's just a resteraunt..

But I think that there is no place that has as big of a variety of specialty burgers that are as awesome as the ones that RR makes..

1/3 to 1/2 times I go out for dinner is to RR on 180th and Center..

Good get if true..

NDizona · Post by **NDizona** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:16 pm

Ive never been there despite living on 188th and Q...

is it really that good?

Post by **nebugeater** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:53 pm

NDizona wrote:Ive never been there despite living on 188th and Q...

is it really that good?

NO

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:07 pm

Well, I like it for one. Been there many times and the only thing I've ever had was a Royal Red Robin burger which is basically a burger with cheese, bacon, some other stuff AND a fried egg in it! It is awesome but I don't know if I can rank it ahead of what would be my personal favorite, the King Kong burger with cheese (but only at the 40th & dodge location).

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:13 pm

Mmmmmm, did someone say Quaker Steak?

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:48 pm

Like it or not, the best burger place in town right now is uhm...Wendys...er Burger King...er McDonalds...well, you get my point.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:01 pm

Well....... I think that Texas T-Bone and Grandma Max's dish out some pretty righteous burgers, but, maybe it's just a matter of taste.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:38 pm

It is all a matter of taste, at least GI will have a respected gourmet burger restaraunt in RR..

Like I said, some will disagree and some will agree, but in my opinion I crave RR burgers all the time.

This is a huge get for any city without one, absolutely!

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:20 pm

NDizona wrote:Ive never been there despite living on 188th and Q...

is it really that good?

No. The burgers are about $10 each, but do come with unlimited fries. For my money there are plenty of places with better burgers at a fraction of the cost.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:32 am

Oops! My wife reminded me that my all time favorite burgers come from Nathan Detroits. Since they reopened the kitchen last year, the burgers are still great, but the fries must just be pre-fab... not nearly as special as I remembered.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:17 am

Good ol' reliable Nathan.

Nathan, Nathan, Nathan Detroit.

-Big E

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:34 am

Well, quality burgers aside...I will still be amazed if Grand Island actually gets a new restaurant, one that doesn't close down because of poor service.

jcitta · Post by **jcitta** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:39 am

That would be great for GI.
My favorite burger is from Fuddruckers!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:46 pm

Has anyone alerted the GI city council members that it's not ok to feel up the underage mascot and to certainly not take pictures of the whole thing.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:52 pm

DTO Luv wrote:Has anyone alerted the GI city council members that it's not ok to feel up the underage mascot and to certainly not take pictures of the whole thing.

Now that's funny.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:56 pm

I wish we could catch Garry Gernandt feeling up the Bluejay mascot so he would just go away.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:00 am

DTO Luv wrote:I wish we could catch Garry Gernandt feeling up the Bluejay mascot so he would just go away.

Well, is Jason Smith close enough?

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:37 am

Catching Gernandt feeling up Jason Smith would be awesome! Good bye save Rosenshat. So did anyone attend the post rally circle jerk?

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:24 pm

While I was driving by the former Old Chicago building outside Connestoga Mall this afternoon, I noticed a good amount of construction/improvements being done to the place. I happened to see a guy hanging some new light fixtures. Did that finally get another tenant? Who

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:40 pm

I'm guessing it did. Don Mehring owns the building and he never lets his properties sit empty for long. But then again, he's pretty good at giving people sweetheart deals to get started, but not with the best track record for longevity. He owns every out building on the Mall property except for Red Lobster and McDonalds.

On the other hand... good news for the old SunMart. The guys that own the two Furniture Clearance Centers are closing those and going to open a legit furniture store in SunMart, I've heard.

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:11 am

That is interesting about Sun Mart...now, if they can fill in the rest of the Grand Island Mall. Anyways, the Old Chicago building was getting painted yesterday afternoon. So, hopefully we'll be seeing a sign or something go up before long!

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:35 pm

Candleshoe wrote:On the other hand... good news for the old SunMart. The guys that own the two Furniture Clearance Centers are closing those and going to open a legit furniture store in SunMart, I've heard.

drove by Sun Mart tonight and a sign is up saying "Furniture Super Store Coming Soon"

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:00 pm

Rumor central reports that:

Coming into the old Old Chicago in Grand Island is Nebraska's first Johnny Carino's Country Italian Restaurant.

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:41 pm

You mean quality italian food will stretch beyond valentino's and fazoli's?? Wow, that would be a huge get for GI!

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:52 pm

Candleshoe wrote:Rumor central reports that:

Coming into the old Old Chicago in Grand Island is Nebraska's first Johnny Carino's Country Italian Restaurant.

Not to be a total b*tch here, but can't there EVER be originality in restaurants anymore?

Yes, Carino's is good (and so is Valentinos and so is Fazolis, actually) but it seems like any time someplace new opens up, it's another chain of some kind and uber-formulaic and oh so predictable!

I mean in Omaha we have Austins closing for yet another Famous Daves! I admit Famous Daves is good, but you can get it almost anywhere anymore!

(Yeah, I know, b*tch b*tch b*tch!)

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:08 pm

The thing about Omaha and even Lincoln, you can be picky. Ever since I moved out here to GI, I have realized that you enjoy what you get, because you don't get much, even if it is a chain.

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Tue May 06, 2008 2:08 pm

So much for Johnny Carino's ....the sign was put up last night. Welcome Johnny Casino's!

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed May 07, 2008 8:59 am

Yeah, I saw that too. So much for the spelling skills of my source heh heh.

On the other hand, this probably means that it's gonna be a LOCAL restaurant, rather than a chain. I couldn't find anything via google.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Wed May 07, 2008 5:18 pm

Candleshoe wrote:Yeah, I saw that too. So much for the spelling skills of my source heh heh.

On the other hand, this probably means that it's gonna be a LOCAL restaurant, rather than a chain. I couldn't find anything via google.

Which maybe be even better. GI has been doing very well recently with its growth, between 2005-2006 it grew by 650 people and I'm wondering what it grew by between 2006-2007.. 650 is quite a bit that's about a 1.35% increase in one year.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed May 14, 2008 4:15 pm

Yep, Johnny Casinos it is. The owner has managed casinos in Iowa, Kansas and Colorado and decided it was time to come home to his roots in the Tri Cities. The restaurant will have a casino theme to it in decor, while the food will run from prime rib to pizza. They just got approved by the city council for a liquor license last night. Don't look for them to open for a few more weeks yet.

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:59 pm

You can safely say we are saturated with pizza and prime rib places now.

Any ideas on the construction happening just south of State St. and north of Sam's Club? Looks like a pretty large site, maybe offices, but not sure.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Wed May 28, 2008 4:24 pm

It's called 'Aspen Circle Trade Center" and looks to be a spec two level "L" shaped retail/office complex. Can't imagine what kind of retail outside of real niche stuff would locate there. Aspen Circle is off the beaten path, tucked behind the buildings along Diers Ave. It'd probably be nice and quiet. The brokers have (402) area codes listed and they're not Hastings numbers. I didn't write them down... Looks like they're going pretty slow about it. It's all framed and that's about it for now. I'd think with all of the spec strip retail centers built in the last 5 years that aren't filled yet, this is one project that you might just cut bait on... but I'm no expert like they are, I'm sure!

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:22 pm

Candleshoe wrote: Looks like they're going pretty slow about it. It's all framed and that's about it for now. I'd think with all of the spec strip retail centers built in the last 5 years that aren't filled yet, this is one project that you might just cut bait on... but I'm no expert like they are, I'm sure!

yes, they are going very slow. There is also that other strip that is sitting empty behind KMart on 13th. I am wondering what it will take to start filling these places.

Candleshoe · Post by **Candleshoe** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:41 am

There is also that other strip that is sitting empty behind KMart on 13th. I am wondering what it will take to start filling these places.

What it's gonna take is probably some of the older properties being taken out. GI is waaaaaaaaay saturated with retail and offices for a city it's size, which is a testament to it's regionalism. There is enough draw from the trade area (which you can argue is from the north to south state lines) to support much of the existing businesses. However, the building of new complexes is mostly just cannibalizing the older existing strip malls. Look at the GI Mall and Webb Plaza for starters. Both were doing quite well just a couple of years ago till many of their major tenants were coaxed to move to other buildings.

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Sat May 31, 2008 6:31 pm

Well, not a rumor but concerning Grand Island anyways...

Smoking ban takes effect at midnight June 1

GRAND ISLAND — Smokers beware.

Grand Island's new smoking ban goes into effect this weekend.

The ban impacts all indoor areas of all public places -- places where the public is invited in to do business or work. The Grand Island City Council approved the ban in March to take effect a full year ahead of a similar statewide ban.

http://www.theindependent.com/news/x784 ... ct-tonight

gisbuxfan · Post by **gisbuxfan** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:04 pm

Johnny Casino's is now open. Didn't look to busy today as I was driving by, but then again, the only advertisements I saw was on their marquee,"Open at 11am"

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:58 pm

So how are thing progressing on the state fair financing front?

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