PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

O N E L A S T T H I N G

THE BAR DOG OF BAR DOGS In tiny Hollowayville, Izzy is the main attraction at Hollywood & Vine

BY PHIL LUCIANO PHOTOS BY PHIL LUCIANO

I n Hollowayville, at this old burg’s lone watering hole, the staff ’s friendliest face belongs to Izzy. Of all employees at theHollywood & Vine tavern, Izzy might not seem like the best. She spends a lot of time perched atop barstools. She sponges snacks off customers. She even can be seen snoozing under the sink. But she is a customer favorite. She greets visitors at the door, dances merrily upon request and always adds a fun-loving twinkle into days and nights at the old-time saloon. She is lively. She is loving. She is a dog. It’s not unusual to find a pub that allows dogs. But it’s really rare – maybe even a one-of-a-kind set-up – where a four-legged staffer serves as the establishment’s hostess as well as the face of the operation. People stream in not only to visit Izzy but to buy stickers, t-shirts and merch boasting her happy face. “I think she’s sweet and cute and loveable,” said co-owner Jennifer Nichols, 38. “Everyone kinda gets a chuckle out of seeing her.” “She makes everybody happy,” added Nichol’s husband and co-owner, Marshall Nichols, 36. “Everybody’s happy to see her.”

the hot spot for radio and movie production. Today, the spot still hosts the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Meantime, the heart of Hollowayville features two square blocks of clapboard homes – plus, right in the middle, one throwback saloon. The bar was built in 1894, during Hollowayville’s heyday as coal mines dotted the Illinois valley. Though never huge, Hollowayville — named after an early doctor, S.S. Holloway — once sported four bars, a general store, several eateries and other businesses. Way back when, it got the nickname Garden City for the most logical of reasons: “Everybody had a garden,” Marshall Nichols said. Like many communities throughout the area, Hollowayville thinned out as mines shut down during the first few decades of the 20th century. But Hollywood & Vine continued to thrive into the 1940s and ‘50s. The business never featured much more than four walls surrounding a rectangular bar. But crowds kept coming mostly due to the fun-loving spirit of owners Dom and Peggy Paglia, who served shots and beers and smiles. Plus, there was their dog, Lulu. According to legend, Lulu – later, maybe several generations of Lulus – was on

Izzy is a big reason why Hollywood & Vine, a 19th century saloon that recently underwent a structural rejuvenation, is enjoying a surge in popularity in rural Bureau County. A good crowd can temporarily double the population of Hollowayville, whose 36 residents make it one of the smallest incorporated municipalities in the state. As far as names and settings go, Hollywood & Vine might be considered ironic, as compared to the famed intersection in Los Angeles. There, Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street became renowned a century ago as Izzy, the popular mascot/greeter at Hollywood & Vine saloon in Hollowayville, pauses atop a barstool, a frequent perch for her. Customers stream into the rejuvenated old saloon not only to visit with Izzy but buy stickers and T-shirts boasting her friendly face.

108 OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE