Paula’s Flower House has changed hands, but former longtime owner Paula Hopkins is still on board as the Rantoul shop’s lead designer.
New owners are Marlana and Chad Smith, with Marlana, formerly the daycare director, running the store’s day-to-day operations.
Customers can find this business at 113 E. Sangamon St. – from goods and services to employees – is the same under the new owners, said Marlana Smith.
“Paula has worked for years to make this a wonderful business, and we want to carry on her legacy,” she said.
Marlana Smith said another part-time driver and a part-time designer were hired to help.
Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
Grab your pack
The new Conrad Grill under construction at 301 E. Green St., C, will open in the second half of August, the company said.
in Madison, Wis. and East Lansing, Mich. The Michigan chain, which has locations in Michigan, said it is not planning any more Illinois locations at this time.
Conrad Grill’s specialty is Great American Tot Wraps.
That’s grilled meat, cheese and sauce wrapped in a tortilla. For breakfast, with eggs and bacon, for example, lunch and dinner wraps come in steak, chicken and veggie versions.
Sides include French toast sticks, spicy pickles, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, tater tots, waffle fries and mac and cheese bites.
Respected
The Hire Big Ten+ Consortium presented Michael Valadez, assistant director of the University of Illinois Career Center, with the 2022 Outstanding New Career Services Professional Award.
According to the UIA Career Center, it has been recognized for developing an online document review service that will allow the center to continue serving students while the campus is closed.
He is also recognized for leading the Campuswide Committee on Diversity and Inclusion Network Exchange and co-directing the FOCUS Scholars Program, which seeks to reduce disparities in post-graduate outcomes for underrepresented and first-generation graduates from Illinois.
Hire Big 10+ is a network of career services professionals from top ten schools.
