URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — There are three new businesses coming to Urbana’s Main Street, and the mayor is excited for the growth.

A few business spaces have been vacant since the pandemic and Mayor Diane Marlin said they are still in the recovery phase of the pandemic. But the city has been working to transform the street back to what it once was.

“So The Main Scoop is ice cream, Encanto is going to be a Mexican restaurant and that will go in the place that was occupied by Crane Alley, and then the third one is a bar called The Gallery,” Marlin said.

She said The Gallery will include cool lights and art displays. Marlin also said Maize Mexican Grill is opening in the Illini Union, a woman owned nutritional company is coming to town and said the future of the old Iron Post looks bright.

“The property was purchased by a group of people and they’ve been working hard to come up with a new plan for the place and a lot of work is going on inside,” said Marlin.

She said they plan to stick to the roots of the old restaurant, featuring food and music. Jessica Hanson, the owner of The Main Scoop, said she’s excited to be a part of all the new development.

“It was just a really cool opportunity to say ‘Okay, we can be a part of new restaurants and new life coming to downtown,'” Hanson said.

Hanson has a store in Mahomet and Monticello, and soon, The Main Scoop will be at University of Illinois home football games.

“We’ll be in the horseshoe, inside the stadium, having the opportunity to serve ice cream there and also our gourmet popcorn,” Hanson said.

Hanson is just one of many who are working to revitalize downtown Urbana, and Marlin said she is just excited to see it all come together.

“We want people who visit here, who work here, and who live here to enjoy all that we have to offer, and that’s what we’re working toward providing,” Marlin said.

Marlin said there are lots of festivals coming up that she hopes will get people downtown and excited about the new businesses.

She also said the town’s Meijer store just went through a $4 million remodel; they will have a reopening in September. She also said that H-Mart is coming to downtown Urbana.