In this week’s episode, Katie and Jess find themselves interviewing Ariel Kelly, a friend of Katie’s who works at Texas Roadhouse in town. Ariel speaks openly and honestly not only about working at Roadhouse since they have reopened their doors for dine-in but also about working there for carry-out during quarantine. The restaurant, which is consistently one of the busiest in town, barely slowed down during quarantine. Thus, the conversation, though on familiar takes on a slightly different tone than some of Katie and Jess’s other summer interviews. Check it out!

This week, Katie and Jess find themselves interviewing fellow Mahometan/Mahomasean/Mahometite/Whatever, Nick Jukes. If you know anything about Nick, you know he is working...all the time. Nick always has more than one job and that is just as true during COVID times as it has been in the past. Nick’s plan to come on and talk about Pour Bros Champaign’s reopening process morphs itself into more of a discussion of practices across downtown Champaign. Listen to find out why.

In episode seventeen, Katie and Jess speak to Jake, a manager at Collective Pour in Champaign. Jake speaks not only on how reopening is affecting the bar so far, but also about the importance of wearing a mask to protect each other and to protect our collective futures as we move forward during this time. He also shares a special announcement with our listeners! Be sure to tune in to check it out!

In episode sixteen, Katie and Jess continue their efforts to see how reopening is going for restaurants and bars around Champaign-Urbana. This week, they are joined by David Hunter, Mike Lovejoy and Curtis Crowell, the management team at Punch Bar in downtown Champaign where they gab all things reopening, quarantine and just exactly what it is that sets them apart.

This week on Faking It, Katie and Jess speak with Michael “Figgy” Newton about how reopening is going at the Esquire and Jupiter’s downtown. Figgy speaks passionately about how he views the future of the industry as Illinois enters Phase Four of their reopening plan and finally allows patrons back into restaurants. Their conversation leads them to discuss many of life’s big questions, including the ever-debated question: where are the best wings in the Champaign-Urbana area sold?

In episode fourteen, Katie and Jess speak to one of their Two Week Media co-founders and manager of Big Grove Tavern, Tommy Tracey, about how reopening is going for them. Tommy speaks candidly about how widely the experience has varied guest to guest in the restaurant. Plus he shares his experience getting tested for COVID-19 and talks a little about how he spent his extra time in quarantine! Speaking of which, be sure to catch his podcast Phenomenal Flicks - another Two Week Media production.

Episode thirteen begins Katie and Jess’s summer project! They will be touching base with a different restaurant in town each week to see how reopening is treating the service industry. And where better to start than right at Katie’s home base - Seven Saint’s?! The two speak with Anne Clark Skuse, Seven Saint’s general manager, who speaks openly and honestly about reopening and the new procedures that make up a strange “new normal” for both staff and guests.

In episode twelve, Katie and Jess focus on closures in their community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They speak with former executive chef of DESTIHL Champaign, Chris Alwes, who shares some great perspective on what the future of restaurants might look like as we all move into the unknown. Despite some technical issues, the trio are able to candidly discuss not only the closing of DESTIHL, but also unemployment and a number of other issues affecting restaurants as they attempt to reopen.

The last episode in our Call Around the World miniseries finds Katie and Jess speaking to Katie’s friends Jen and Tom, who are living up north in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The conversation is a candid and unapologetic look at the difficulties our bartenders and servers are facing at this time. The group speaks about how reopening is going both here at home as well as in Grand Rapids and explores all the questions that are a result of not really knowing what the future holds.

This week in our Call Around the World Series, Katie and Jess find themselves speaking to Jess’s friend Ashley, who is living in Indianapolis. Currently a news producer, Ashley is able to speak candidly with our hosts about how the pandemic is affecting our neighbors in Indiana and reflect on the parallels that have come to fruition as Illinois approaches its own reopening strategies.