PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

which has just one other business, a barbecue joint, to help fuel an annual budget of $65,000 — has enjoyed a boost in sales tax revenue from the bar. In fact, more and more outsiders are flowing into Hollowayville to take a peek at the revived saloon, he said. “The Vine has surprised the village with the amount of interest it is generating,” said Barnes, 52, a lifelong resident. “Both the older crowd and newer crowd have a place to come together and create new traditions.” In this undated photo, customers ride up on horseback to the Hollywood & Vine saloon, 101 S. First Ave. in Hollowayville. (Photo courtesy of Hollywood & Vine)

hand for decades to greet customers. “Izzy kind of looks like Lulu,” Jennifer Nichols said. “The dog tradition continues.” Actually, for a while, it was unclear if any tradition would continue at the saloon. At times, the pub got a wee lean and threadbare. Under one ownership, at wintertime the thermostat was kept so low that shivering customers used bar-top candles to warm their hands. Sometimes, to stave off the chill, they’d borrow community clothes – dubbed Vine Wear – hanging on a coatrack inside the front door. In the years leading up to 2020, Hol lywood & Vine would open sporadically, then shutter. Jennifer Nichols, who owned a clothing shop in Princeton, andMarshall Nichols, who owns Nichols Outdoor Lawn Care & Snow Removal, dreamed about one day buying a bar or restaurant. In mid 2020, the couple saw a “for sale” sign

at Hollywood & Vine and decided to give it a whirl. The couple – they grewup together in nearbyMalden and still live outside that town – faced a lot of work in repairing and rehabbing the weathered building. They encountered a lot of wood rot, along with a sagging floor punctured with multiple holes. “The joke here was that you didn’t sit on the north side of the bar, because your chair might fall in,” Jennifer Nichols said. But the elbow grease paid off. The saloon retains an old-fashioned atmosphere, paying homage to days of yore with ancient photos dotting the walls, while simultaneously flashing a renewed sparkle. Plus, the couple added an outside bar and patio, along with a grassy lot for bags, bands and other fun. But perhaps the most important addition might’ve been Izzy, a squatty, 5-year-oldmix-breed that is 50 percent German shepherd, 50 percent beagle and 100 percent adorable. “I’m assuming the beagle was the female,” Marshall Nichols said. Jennifer Nichols used to bring Izzy to her clothing shop, a practice she continued when she changed her day job to saloon proprietor. Izzy immediately made the place her home away from home. Says Marshall Nichols: “She’s a good bar dog.” As such, she’s good for Hollywayville. Mayor Bob Barnes said the village —

Marshall and Jennifer Nichols bought Hollywood & Vine in 2020

One of those new traditions involves brisk sales of Hollywood & Vine merchandise. In fact, t-shirts boasting Izzy can increasingly be seen around Bureau County and beyond, which tickles the Nicholses. “It is fun,” Jennifer Nichols said with a smile. “She’s probably our top-selling shirt.” Phil Luciano is a senior writer/ columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP

In a photo likely taken in the 1940s or 1950s, then-owner Peggy Paglia takes a seat while clutching a tambourine outside Hollywood & Vine. With her is Lulu, then the mascot of the bar. (Photo courtesy of Hollywood & Vine)

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