Unique new businesses coming to St. Elmo
A special delivery to downtown St. Elmo also served as a reunion of sorts.
Former “Forged In Fire” contestant and friend Robby Bowman brought a nearly 2,000 pound tire power hammer to a new unique business that will be opening this spring.
“It is going to help move a lot of steel really fast,” said Bowman, who brought the equipment in from his shop in Pigeon Forge, TN.
Local entrepreneur Dustin Rhodes, who has also competed in the History Channel reality show, has known Bowman since 2017.
The grand opening for Dustin Rhodes Forge Works, Forge A Memory and Axe on Main is set for Saturday, April 8 at 10 a.m. at its location, 409 N. Main St.
Rhodes has been the owner and operator of Dustin Rhodes Forge Works in rural Shobonier for the last several years, specializing in early American and frontier style pieces. He has had several smiths come in and learn the craft.
The new hammer will be used in the new venture that Rhodes is planning. He said he purchased the buildings in the downtown area at the end of last year as a way to give back to the community.
“Now we are bringing it to St. Elmo,” Rhodes said. “We have a central Illinois location, where people can come in and forge a knife, learn about forging and are able to get the materials they need to forge.”
Other plans for the various stores include knife and ax throwing stations, a tattoo parlor and an oddity shop. The stores are Axe on Main, Forge a Memory, Ink Cap Tattoos and CB’s Bone Works run by Cheyenne Brown, who was also on “Forged in Fire.”
Rhodes, who graduated from St. Elmo High School, said it is their hope to bring back renewed interest and tourism to the city’s downtown area while offering something that is unique.
“It’s a way to give back to the community and for fans of the show ‘Forged in Fire’ and ‘Master of Arms,’” Rhodes said. “That’s what we are looking to do. We are coming through and offering something up to the public.”
“There ain’t no perfect place to forge a memory than right here,” Bowman added. “You can have husband and wife come in as a valentine’s sweetheart together. Father and son come in here and forge memories for birthday parties for wedding parties. The opportunities are going to be endless here with Dustin Rhodes taking the reins.”
Check out the business Facebook page here.
Robby Bowman, Dustin Rhodes and others pose together after the arrival of a tire power hammer for the new Forge A Memory business in St. Elmo, which will allow the public to come in and learn how to forge their own knives. “We have a lot of talent around here and we are trying to showcase that and have a venue where people can enjoy that,” Rhodes said.
