Kick off your new year by indulging in new flavors, experiences, and more throughout Champaign Center! With ways to Step UP your volunteering game, a new place to curb your waffle cravings and 2023’s edition of Restaurant Week, January is coming at you full force with plenty of offerings and things to check out. So strap on your NEW YEAR party hat and get ready to celebrate everything that the city center has to offer this month!
1. Waffles at La Bahía Grill
132 W Church St | Downtown
La Bahía Grill’s new breakfast menu is one thing we will happily bring into 2023 with us. With a wide variety of breakfast favorites, including their array of options to upgrade mouthwatering waffles, it will be tough to pick a favorite meal! You’re in luck though because you can come back again and again for breakfast or, better yet, brunch!
217 N Neil St. | Downtown
Winter is here and Punch! Bar and Lounge in downtown has the perfect way to welcome it. Their seasonal craft cocktail menu offers an exquisite mix of flavors in their drinks that will ensure a perfect night out. From their delicious “Take the Gun, Leave the Cannoli” that effortlessly combines the sweet tastes of the aforementioned pastry with the bite of vodka to the sultry “Sparkle” that is the sheer definition of sugar, spice and everything nice – this menu is bound to have you proclaiming winter as your favorite season.
[Click here to see the full winter cocktail menu at Punch! Bar and Lounge.]
201 E Healey St. | Campustown
You’re in for an exterior upgrade when you choose to get a tattoo at Flatland Tattoo in campustown. Helmed by owner and operator Eric Cain, this tattoo parlor offers world class custom tattooing and is a dedicated space for local art exhibitions. Whether you are an artist in need of a wall to showcase your masterpieces or are ready to become a work of art yourself, Flatland Tattoo has a place for you. Book today!
4. Step UP: Volunteer Event
January 25
Here’s a new year’s resolution that everyone can get behind: make 2023 the year of giving back. Uniting Pride of Champaign County has your back on this resolution and is even offering you an easy way to fulfill that with their Step UP event happening this month. LGBTQ+ and allies are invited to Cafeteria and Co. on January 25 to learn about all the ways they can get involved and help out during the much-needed expansion of this wonderful charity. Step UP and step out with Uniting Pride and help make a difference.
5.Pineapple Fest at Esquire Lounge
January 21| Downtown
Credit: Esquire Lounge
Get ready to head to the tropics for the inaugural Pineapple Fest at Esquire Lounge on January 21. Enjoy pineapple food and drinks all day plus a keepsake cup for the first 200 customers, live yacht rock music with Jake and Jackson Tatar, and pineapple inspired crafts. Sail away to a tropical paradise and leave those winter blues behind!
