When one front door closes, another opens, to a brand new place.

— Yet another large-scale local remodeling project is taking wing. Buffalo Wild Wings is closing to do this mega-makeover at 11 p.m. Saturday, July 25, and reopen the following Thursday — when they invite you to join them for a brand new experience. These are what the sign on the front door calls, “exciting times.” It adds that for more information, “check with a team member,” because you don’t want to have to go too long without seeing your favorite sports team members in action. As it was, crews with lots of equipment were already on scene at 10:50 p.m. Saturday.
— It’s last call, literally, until fall. In another big change occurring this weekend, Guv’s Place in Houlton is using huge drink specials to celebrate its customer appreciation day, going strong all day on July 26. The previous day, and it just wouldn’t be Guv’s without this, is a beanbag toss tournament. Guv’s then plans to reopen in North Hudson in early October.
— Draft parties for things such as the NFL have been all the rage for the past few years, but now there are even pre-draft parties. At Buffalo Wild Wings, they note that all you have to do is give them a call, meet a couple of qualifications, and they’ll mail you a kit complete with draft boards, B-Dubs paraphernalia and special food offers so you can have your shindig there, (they add that they’ve been doing draft-related parties since they opened quite a few years back). Across the street, Green Mill also is having such parties, and offers a contest where you can win free bonus cards, large pizzas and wing samplers and soda for when you hold your party. There are of course lots of official rules listed, among them that your likeness, etc., can be used by Green Mill for promotional purposes, and if you really draft well, why wouldn’t you want to share that with the world?
— Based in Minneapolis, but having shared the stage with bigtime bands that hail from all over the place, Almost Famous plays the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday, July 24. The band consists of past and present musicians from Austin Healy, Wicked Sensation, Rad Company and Thieves Carnival. Just formed, Almost Famous has opened for numerous national recording artists that have many different styles, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Jason Aldean, Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, Georgia Satellites, Marshall Tucker Band, Leon Russell, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Little River Band, Black Oak Arkansas, Blackfoot, Foghat, Loverboy and Quiet Riot.