“Name that Year” is designed to put your knowledge of Tracy and its newsmakers of the past to the test. Each week, we will publish a news item that ran in a past edition — maybe it was a major event, or a story about a Tracy resident — it’s up to you to determine in what year that particular news item hit the pages of the paper:
• NEW OWNERS OF THE FORMER 21ST CENTURY BANK BUILDING PLAN TO OPEN A BAR AND SUPPER CLUB AT THE SITE IN THE SPRING OF THIS YEAR.
Shirley Matson and Marge Kronback have finalized the purchase of the vacant Downtown Tracy building. Their new establishment will be called “Thelma & Louise’s.”
May 4 is the targeted opening date. “It’s a nice building with a lot of history,” Matson said, of the Sioux quartzite building on the corner of Third and South streets. After 21st Century Bank was sold in 1999, the facility was remodeled into a bar and restaurant.
“It’s a turnkey operation. Everything is in good shape. It just needs a good cleaning and a little tender loving care,” Matson said.
Food fare will include short order items such as burgers, sandwiches, and fries, as well as chicken, fish, and steak dinners.
“We will have good food at medium prices,” Matson said. “We don’t want to be expensive.”
Food will be served from 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays, with the bar opening at 3 p.m. The new owners have obtained city split-liquor and Sunday liquor licenses.
The hospitality business is a familiar one for the partners. Matson, a 1955 Tracy High School graduate, owned the Cactus Bar & Lounge in Revere before selling the business 10 years ago. Kronback, a Belview native, was a cook for Matson at the Cactus. Matson lives on Lake Shetek, while Kronback resides in Currie.
“We get along pretty well,” Matson said. The women plan to leave the restaurant’s décor and seating arrangement intact. The building’s bar and dining area seats 75 people. They have no plans to use a second-story apartment..
• Last week’s answer: Major renovations were planned at the former Cozy Grove Motel in Tracy in 2003.
