A little bit of Rockford and ‘Bago all rolled into one

By Doug Schroder

Editor

WINNEBAGO – Winnebago resident Melinda Grap has been working very hard for the past year and a half in getting her new business Rock-A Bago Hall up and running. The building on West State Street in Rockford was the old DaMar Lounge, which closed many years ago. The building went through a few different owners after the DaMar, but then it sat empty for some years. When Melinda purchased the place the building was gutted and in need of much repair. Melinda did much of the refurbishing herself. She gained much experience on her own over the years in construction, even remodeling part of her husband’s business, Mr. C’s, which is next door to her. Melinda did all the work on the Firestone Lounge at Mr. C’s. She designed and built the bar, as well as replacing the entire floor and painting the walls. That experience helped her to tackle remodeling the old DaMar.

Melinda grew up in the area and would like to bring it back to the way she remembers it as the Village of Lincoln Park, which was annexed into Rockford in 1976.

“This area used to be a vacation spot for out-of-towners. All of those small homes across from Farm & Fleet were built as summer homes,” said Melinda.

Melinda is not quite through with the remodel. She plans on getting a pizza oven and to start selling food at the Hall also.

For now the establishment will serve as a lounge and is available to rent out for parties or other occasions. A live band has been scheduled to play.

A Grand Opening is planned for April 18.