With his longtime business partner Jon Walker, Steve Roulandis in the midst of transforming the old Sunbeam Bakery near Sheridan and Main in Peoria into a thriving cultural center, complete with an art gallery, artist studios, antique store and recycled office furniture store. And this isn’t their first rodeo: in the ‘90s, the two men helped renovate an old warehouse on Water Street, now the Riverfront Arts Center, and still own the first floor—home of the Rhythm Kitchen and the Academy of Fretted Instruments.
A “sucker for quirky comedies” who dreamed as a child of becoming a secret agent, Rouland traded in his James Bond fantasies to become an agent with Traders Realty, where he serves the real estate needs of Peoria while balancing a tremendous passion for the arts.
- Favorite aspect of central Illinois: The amazing amount of talent here. There are so many great artists, both in visual and performing arts.
- Favorite meal: My wife and I love the food at The Rhythm Kitchen. There are always delicious specials and great jazz and blues.
- Proudest achievement: I am very proud of what we are building at Studios on Sheridan.
- Three things I’d want on a deserted island: My wife, a good bottle of wine, and…a boat. I would go crazy if I wasn’t busy.
- The one TV show I don’t usually tell people I watch is… American Pickers. My partner Jon Walker and I were pickers before we could get our own show.
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being forced to watch Wife Swap.
- What would you say to your 20-year-old self? VHS, not Beta.
- What’s one thing you should throw away but haven’t? My comb.
- What’s some of the best advice you’ve been given? Plastics.
- What’s on your iPod? I don’t know… I can’t work it. a&s
