Why I Oughta...

Saw a sign on Polay's in the Elmhurst City Centre this morning saying that they're moving up the block from 100 N. York to 378 N. York.  Which... looks like Google Maps is saying is North of North Ave .  Close to the Burger King up there.  Bad news for the City Centre - as another vacancy comes up - but potentially great news as this signature corner, which is just north of the tracks as you enter our Downtown can be reborn as something that has more foot traffic than the interior decorator.

Walking by the storefront of Gur Sweets on York in the Elmhurst City Centre, you'll see this sign.  They're closing their store but will continue to take orders. I first covered Gur Sweets back in October of 2012 .  They tried to ride the Cronut craze this past summer.  But, unfortunately for all of us in Elmhurst, it appears it wasn't enough. Add this to the other vacant storefronts on York Street:  Jamba Juice (gone), Plass Appliances ( gone ), My Favorite Toy Store (gone), Cash for Gold ( gone ..thankfully!). The City Council is talking about building a huge parking deck on Addison Street.  Some think that *might* help with the vacancies and it will make it easier to park and shop.  That's probably a good first step, but the government can only do so much.  These businesses operate in a free economy, so it is up to us - the residents of Elmhurst - to decided which businesses we want to support and keep in town.   We have a vote.  We cast that vote with our

Sad news is being reported by multiple outlets :  The Qdoba Burrito joint on St. Charles near 83 is set to close as part of a restructuring.  And it is happening fast.  As in TODAY. All total, they're closing 67 stores.  17 of which are in our area. I have to be perfectly honest.  It always felt like a knock-off of Chipotle.  I have no idea which one came first, but in my mind it was the Burger King to the Chipotle McDonald's.  And...while I ate it a few times, I didn't love it.  I think that was largely because in my head a "quick serve burrito" was supposed to taste like Chipotle. Too bad for Elmhurst.  Too bad for the folks who worked there, too!

Not all store closings in our downtown are created equal.   While I'm bummed about Jamba Juice , I actually couldn't be more pleased to see the Cash For Gold location at 122 N. York fold up shop.  Or...at least I *think* they've fold up shop. They emptied out the store.  You can't really tell from that photo above, but there is no furniture in the store any more. What can we get in here?  As you know, the places/types of businesses on my list include: Kitchen/cooking stuff store (think independent Williams Sonoma) Manly Craft store/hardware store minus the nuts/bolts) (think Kaufman Merchantile ) What else?  We don't need more yogurt shops or salons.  But...I'm a free-market-guy, so I guess until I'm ready to put my money where my mouth is, we'll just have to sit back and see. 

That's a sad sign up in the front window of our Jamba Juice in the Elmhurst City Centre.  Seems like the tweens who constantly hang out inside there couldn't quite keep the place open.  Or, the fact that three yogurt places have opened within a few hundred yards of this place? Losing an independent business in our downtown is bad, but losing a national chain?  Even worse. What are we doing to turn things around in the City Centre?  Besides put in yogurt places?

Glam! Nails - which was at 206 N. York Road, right across from City Hall - is closed and there is now a For Lease sign in the window.  This spot is right in between the Edible Arrange and the newish building that houses an eye doctor and the Koening and Strey office . Seems like a hard spot for walk-by retail as the parking situation is unknown?  City Hall has plenty of parking, but most of it is used up during the day.  Could we get a kitchen products store?  Or a store that guys like me would want to go in and spend 30 minutes?

Goalie's Goodies - moving into the old Bleeding Heart Bakery - isn't the only change on the east side of York Street south of the tracks.  The Smoothie Factory has their blinds pulled down, the store emptied out and it looks like someone is picking flooring for whomever the next tenant is going to be. I don't know how long the Smoothie Factory has been closed, but they haven't updated their Facebook page since last September .  That post - which talked about soup - might help tell the story of why they're no longer open?  Of course, competing with Jamba Juice couldn't be easy, but....it is far too easy to move further away from your core offering when trying to make profits.   Panera offering pasta comes to mind.  Just focus on what you do best and make it the best in the area. The space that the Smoothie Factory occupied is HUGE, so I'm looking forward to seeing what moves in next.

We hardly knew you.  Actually...I *never* actually knew you.  But...I think Nat had been in there both before it moved from across the tracks to this location on the east side of Addison Street.  This vacancy is right between the coins/gold shop and Splatters - the art store. Let's hope we're not going to get yet another Yogurt shop, right?

Anyone who has spent a moment in our City Centre the past week has likely seen the sad signs hanging up in the Plass Appliance store on York:  they're closing .  It isn't just the Elmhurst location, but everything up here in Illinois including Elmhurst, Geneva, Naperville, and Addison. This is going to be a massive street-level hole right in the heart of Elmhurst's City Centre.  Both a huge problem, but also a HUGE opportunity.  There are *at least* 2 storefronts they're leaving behind and what looks like either offices/apartments upstairs.   What can we recruit to set up shop? And...what is going to happen to the big neon sign?

Another closure in the Elmhurst City Centre this week with Play N Trade closing at 158 N. York Street just a few store fronts south of Starbucks.  At almost 1400 square feet , the store is a good size for retail and likely too small for a full-service restaurant.  What would I like to see?  A funky hardware store that focuses on projects/diy'ers, a kitchen product/supply store that carries things like Williams Sonoma, or as Nat would like; a bookstore. As long as it isn't a Cash-for-Gold joint or a salon, we'll be better off with this space filled.