Business news: Sports bar closing, QuikTrip store coming, IHOP may return

A new sign, indicating that a new IHOP will be opening soon, is displayed in front of the old IHOP location Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

A new sign, indicating that a new IHOP will be opening soon, is displayed in front of the old IHOP location Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

The Springfield region is seeing multiple changes to its business landscape.

A local sports bar just closed its doors after a little more than a year in business, a previously closed IHOP now bears a sign suggesting it might reopen, work has started for an Italian restaurant moving to Urbana and a new gas station and convenience store may come to Springfield.

Mango’s Lounge closes

Mango’s Lounge, at 1805 W. First St. is listed as permanently closed on Google and its doors have been chained shut the past few days. A Facebook post by a member of the group “Cold Beer and Burnouts,” which was supported by the business, said the restaurant has shut its doors “for good.”

The News-Sun was not able to reach owner Limary Nunez Flores, but when the business opened last year, she told this news outlet that the restaurant was intended as a place for parents and their children to enjoy themselves.

The bar stemmed from the family restaurant business, with the family owning Los Mariachis. Nunez Flores’ brother, Armando Nunez, owns Chido’s Tacos inside CoHatch as well as its food truck.

An “OPEN” banner waves in the wind outside Mango’s Lounge but the doors are chained shut Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

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IHOP returning?

An IHOP location at 2206 N. Bechtle Ave. in Springfield has been closed for several years, though hiring signs have been posted multiple times.

According to a sign in front of the building this week, the restaurant will open in a new location. No timeline was given.

The News-Sun reached out to IHOP representatives for more information, but has not yet received a response.

QuikTrip coming to Leffel

National gas station and convenience store chain QuikTrip, which opened its first Ohio location this year at 2121 Edwin C. Moses Blvd. in Dayton, received permits for land at 2 W. Leffel Lane, which used to be a hotel.

Demolition permits were approved in July for the hotel that used to be a Days Inn and other brands, with demolition on the 53,611 square-foot hotel being completed at the end of last month.

QuikTrip, like Sheetz and other gas station chains expanding in Ohio, markets its made-to-order snacks and sandwiches as much as its gas and convenience store offerings.

A timeline for a Springfield location is not yet known. QuikTrip did not return requests for comment.

The former Days Inn at 2 West Leffel Lane is now a pile of rubble as a demolition crew finished tearing the hotel down Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

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Credit: Bill Lackey

Eatly firms up Urbana plans

Italian seasonal restaurant Eatly announced on Facebook that its new year-round downtown Urbana location will be located at 116 Miami St., the former location of the Miami Street Tavern.

In July, owner Tom Thompson told the News-Sun that the restaurant, which has been open at 601 N. Fountain Ave. since 2021, will be “steps off the square” in Urbana, and while it will continue serving its traditional Sicilian fare, Thompson said he will add homestyle foods like baked mac ‘n cheese, baked steaks and homemade chicken and noodles, to the menu. The new location will also have a full bar and an event room.

The Springfield location will remain open until the Urbana move, which could come in early November.

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