Tagged / Southern Illinois Tourism

12
Apr

Solar Eclipse Report from 17th Street

Posted by on . -- In Our Restaurants

Post-Eclipse Report from 17th Street
Welcome to the total solar eclipse report from 17th Street Barbecue!

We prepped for several weeks and were excited to welcome thousands of visitors who started trickling in on Tuesday. By Saturday, we were hopping and the excitement had reached a fever pitch. On Sunday and Monday we served close to 1,000 people on each day, in addition to pre-booked catering jobs and bulk pick-up orders. We even did a whole hog!

Faye, our coffee/breakfast/lunch/specialty grocery cafe is fairly new, and guests were thrilled to find great coffee and breakfast, right around the corner from 17th Street. There was a line out the door all day and our baristas were busy.

Staff from 17th Street and Faye on eclipse day
NONE of this is possible without a tremendous team and ours is the B E S T. They remained cheerfully flexible and never slowed down. We were on a perpetual 1.5-hour wait and, once seated, I watched our guests visibly relax, smile, and enjoy themselves as they interacted with our staff. We had lots of nice compliments about the food, but the ones that meant the most were about our crew.

Groups of visitors at 17th Street during the eclipse

We dubbed our viewing event the “Solar Eclipse in the Park” and a few hundred people joined us in our beautiful park across from the Warehouse. We also had a concession stand there during the day.

The most fun part was chatting with people about how much they love Southern Illinois. If even a percentage of them come back, this will impact tourism for YEARS to come.

Four chalkboards filled with signatures of visitors from dozens of cities and countries duing the eclipse

Every time I look at these chalkboards, I see something I missed. I also know that during the madness, we neglected to collect towns from a few tables. Dubai (Tuesday night, not on this board), China, Japan, Singapore, Ireland (multiple parties), Germany (multiple parties), Poland, and Ecuador were represented … as well as so many states. One couple drove from Alaska with their two daughters! Tuesday was also hopping as tourists enjoyed one more meal before the hitting the road.

We’ve been strategizing for months. Based on the crowds during the August 2017 solar eclipse, we knew we’d be busy. We kept our entire fleet of Ole Hickory Pits loaded around the clock. We’re so thankful to everyone on our crew who helped us execute ~ mostly we’re grateful for Mike Mills and the systems and procedures he developed and drilled into us over the years. As he would say, “if it was easy, everybody’d be doing it!” 💛

21
Jul

Shining a Light on Southern Illinois

Posted by on . -- Cook-Off, Design, In Our Restaurants, Press, The Mills Family

Shining a Light on Southern Illinois

Shining a light on Southern Illinois is one of our core business values and pillars. At 17th Street Barbecue, we relish any opportunity we might get to shine a light on this special region and to invite people from all over to our little corner of the world. There is some pretty incredible history, geography, innovation, and creativity to be found all around Southern Illinois. We tend to focus our efforts mostly on lifting up our barbecue culture, heritage, and local small business community members however we can. But when we stop and consider all at once the bounty that surrounds us, it makes us feel pretty darn lucky to be doing what we do right here in the #MiddleOfEverything.

This year has been a busy one when it comes to our promotion of Southern Illinois, and there’s much more to come. Please allow us to share with you a few quick takes…

Still shot from commercial. shine a light on southern illinoisIf you haven’t yet experienced this fun commercial recently released by Illinois Tourism, we highly recommend you take 30 seconds to check it out. It stars Illinois native Jane Lynch, and features several top destinations that are not to missed in the southern region of the state. 17th Street Barbecue is included in the fun, along with Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch, Walkers Bluff, Cache Bayou Outfitters, the Shawnee National Forest, and the spectacular Garden of the Gods. There’s so much to see and do right in our backyard ~ let’s get out there!

Small Town Big Business Logo shine a light on southern illinoisEarlier this month, Amy was a featured guest on the podcast Small Town, Big Business, produced in Marion, IL.  The discussion begins with the story of three generations of the Mills family. Each had a hand in building 17th Street Barbecue into the national brand it is today, starting with a dream and a sauce recipe. Additional topics include what it takes to be an entrepreneur in a small town, and what kind of choices a small business owner might need to make along the way. It also touches on  how it is both the successes and the failures over time that serve as important building blocks for positive business growth.

Logo17th Street Barbecue is looking forward to exhibiting again this year at the Southern Illinois Made Expo, an exciting event developed through a partnership between State Senator Dale Fowler and the Southern Illinois Chambers of Commerce. It’s a showcase of innovative and unique products made and beautiful destinations available in Southern Illinois. This year’s Expo will take place on July 22-23 from 10am to 4pm at The Pavilion in Marion. Stop by and see us!

Faye facade with Restoration Hero sign shine a light on southern illinoisThe Murphysboro Historic Preservation Commission presented its first Restoration Hero Award for 2023 to Amy Mills for her restoration work at 1616 Walnut Street. In choosing to restore instead of raze this building Amy saved not only a part of Murphysboro’s architectural history but also its unique streetscape. The spot is now home to Murphysboro’s newest café, Faye, serving specialty coffees, scratch-made breakfast and lunch, local beers and cocktails, along with a gourmet grocery and gifts section.

Animation of Amy with award plus historic shots of MurphysboroThis past March, Amy was honored to be named a Landmarks Illinois 2023 Influencer. The organization produced a profoundly lovely 3-minute video featuring Amy to share at their Preservation Forward award ceremony in Chicago. Full of rich archival footage and storytelling, the piece focused not only on the work the Mills family has put into their Murphysboro businesses, but on the story of Murphysboro itself. Historic images and anecdotes about the town’s factories and mining companies paint a clear-eyed portrait of the town’s history, and summon a promising look forward to its future. This was an excellent opportunity to shine a light on Southern Illinois in front of a crowd of invested restoration fans, right in our state’s largest city.  You can read more about Amy’s experiences at the event here.

"To preserve these beautiful old buildings on ourmain street is to preserve the soul of our community.But preservation is not only about buildings andstructures, [it] is also about food and food culture." –Amy Mills Logo shine a light on southern illinois

Now in its 36th year, the Praise the Lard Murphysboro Cook-Off is a highly anticipated local event. It is a huge draw for barbecue enthusiasts from across the nation. The Cook-Off takes place the third week of September, every year since it was started by Mike Mills and friends in 1986. The contest draws visitors from 14 states and several countries. Over 90 teams compete for national notoriety, SCA, KCBS and MBN titles, and cash prizes. Attendees savor delicious food, barbecue culture, hospitality and all that Southern Illinois has to offer. For the duration of the Cook-Off, the regional population swells by several times its normal size. This shift helps lift up the local economy and create Southern Illinois memories for visitors to savor — and planting the seed for future return trips.