Illini-themed Oskee's Sports Pub expects soft opening this week at Atkins Golf Center

URBANA — A new restaurant and bar with a Fighting Illini theme is on the cusp of opening.

Atkins Golf Club general manager Jim Buyze anticipates Oskee’s Sports Pub will have a soft opening this week, with a focus on serving golfers. He expects the restaurant to be fully open by Memorial Day weekend.

“We’ll do a little bit of a soft opening where we work the kinks out with our golfers,” he said. “The health department’s given us a little list. As soon as we take care of items on their list, we’ll start to serve golfers. I do anticipate that being by the end of the week with a limited menu.”

He expects they will be working out of the Champion Lounge and patio this weekend, as the main bar and restaurant space will likely not be ready for use.

Those wishing to stay updated on the opening of Oskee’s should follow the restaurant or the golf club on social media, Buyze said.

Some of the items on their to-do list include lighting work, installing more televisions, staging the restaurant, training staff and adding displays that pay homage to Illini history. Buyze said that some upgrades to the patio space are also planned down the road, with this being a more long-term project.

Troon Golf, which has managed golf operations and agronomy at Atkins since the course was donated to the University of Illinois, is taking over the food-and-beverage component through this venture.

Atkins has worked with university officials and RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design, a division of Troon, to create the proper UI atmosphere, theme and logo for the pub, Buyze said.

The Atkins Group donated the golf course and its amenities to the UI Division of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2020.

After the DIA took possession, Ryan and Abbie Rogiers operated the club’s dining space as the Homegrown farm-to-table restaurant until the fall of 2023.

Buyze said the club hopes to make Oskee’s a gathering place for a variety of different groups and events — and they’re already getting calls about holding weddings there.

And, of course, they hope to host watch parties for all UI sports.

“When an Illini athletic team is on TV somewhere, it will be on here,” Buyze said.