When Monique and Antwon Brown are looking to go to brunch or have dinner in a lively atmosphere, they are likely heading to Chicago, but the Oswego couple is now looking to bring those types of “Vibez” to downtown Aurora. Their new restaurant, Vibez on the River, is located in the storefront whe re Endiro Coffee used to be, which is on New York Street across the river from the current location of the Hollywood Casino. Its soft opening is planned for this Saturday, Feb. 21, with a grand opening expected on March 7. Patrons of the riverside spot can expect to enjoy soul food with a twist alongside music that will have them wanting to groove in their seats, Monique Brown told The Beacon-News. The couple said they haven’t really seen a restaurant like this around here. Plus, many places in downtown Aurora close early, but they don’t want to be in bed by 9 p.m., according to Antwon Brown. He said that, as responsible adults, they should be able to come out and have a drink at midnight without having to drive to Naperville or Chicago, which is why their restaurant will have extended hours. The top floor of the restaurant, which sits at street-level on New York Street, is expected to be more of a family-friendly restaurant, Monique Brown said. But the bottom floor, she said, will have an after-hours, lounge-type vibe. Still, both upstairs and downstairs will have the same menus and full bars, she said. Many people they know go to Chicago to eat, but the couple wants to keep people here in Aurora, Antwon Brown said. During a recent taste-testing for the restaurant, he said, people were telling him that they just can’t get food like this around here. One of the restaurant’s main dishes, Antwon Brown said, will be the catfish for similar reasons — they don’t know of anywhere around Aurora that makes it the way they like it. The restaurant’s menu, posted on its Facebook page, lists both a Southern-style fried catfish filet dinner as well as an appetizer of fried Cajun-seasoned catfish chunks. Monique Brown said the catfish will be breaded and seasoned with their own unique recipe. Another dish Antwon Brown expects to be one of the restaurant’s biggest sellers is the lamb chops, which the menu says will be marinated and grilled. In general, the restaurant will have a lot of seasonings and marinated meats to “bring the flavor,” said Monique Brown. Beyond catfish and lamb chops, the menu also includes Cajun chicken alfredo pasta, crispy golden fried wings, seasoned and lightly breaded salmon chunks, fried green tomatoes and more. The Browns are used to cooking large amounts of food — after all, their house has always been “the party house,” according to Antwon Brown. Food brings people together like nothing else can, his wife said. Although Vibez on the River is the couple’s first brick-and-mortar restaurant, they ran a jerk chicken catering business for years, they said. That got overwhelming, Antwon Brown said, because they would work their regular jobs all week, sometimes even going out of town on business trips, and then cook all weekend for the catering orders. They originally looked at doing a jerk chicken restaurant, but the kitchen build-out and labor was just too expensive, he said. While that may be a concept they revisit in the future, he said, the current restaurant idea was built around the location they found in downtown Aurora, which is located at 29 W. New York St. Being on the river, the restaurant has partnered with the city of Aurora to have outdoor seating. Like at bars and restaurants along the riverwalk in downtown Chicago, the couple hopes people walking the Fox River in Aurora will stop to grab some drinks or a bite to eat, especially during the summer. “I never really paid attention to how beautiful this atmosphere was until recently,” Antwon Brown said. “You’ve got the waterfall over here, you got another one down there. Like, the river is really beautiful.” Once the weather gets warmer, the plan is to open up the doors, bring out the patio tables and really let the summertime in, according to Monique Brown. That way, she said, patrons can have an appetizer and a cocktail on the river and just enjoy the ambiance and the view. As for the music, patrons at any time can expect the restaurant’s sound system to be playing RB and pop music. But, the weekends may also see live DJs and brunches with live bands, the two owners said. “There’s going to be music in the background,” Monique Brown said. “Not too loud, where you can have a conversation, but definitely something you can groove to while you enjoy the food.” The couple chose Aurora because it is diverse and because it is up-and-coming, she said. The couple understands that the city is working to revitalize its downtown, she said, and they thought this restaurant would be a piece of the puzzle it has been missing. But their future plans might extend beyond Aurora city limits. Eventually they want to make this their full-time job, they said, and potentially expand to additional locations. “We’re hoping, a couple of years down the line, we have ‘Vibez on Michigan Avenue,'” Monique Brown said. “That’s the goal.” [email protected] ...read more read less