Why I Oughta...

Down at the Epcot Center in Florida, there is a store in the Japan pavilion that sells all sorts of novelty items from Japan including a live oyster/pearl tank where you can pick out an oyster and once opened, discover a pearl.  That store is called Mitsukoshi.  I had been going to the store for a couple of years until Natalie told me that it was called Mitsukoshi and that it is a department store in Japan.  Like...this isn't just a 'shop' in the Japan Pavilion, it is actually a location of this department store .  Having been to Japan a few times now for work, on my most recent trip, I decided to try to get into one of the Tokyo locations.  Turns out, the Ginza location was located on the walk between my hotel and the office I was working in all week.  You can see the store in the photo above:  the *older* store is the main portion located on the corner.  A bit down to the right, you can see the *newer* addition they've added.  Here's a look at that new s

It has been almost a full year since the Elmhurst Olive Oil Company closed it's doors in the spot just north of the York Threatre in the Elmhurst City Centre.  But, if you walk past the store today, you'll see these new signs hanging up in the window that herald a new beginning:  The Gaming Goat store is coming to the City Centre. Going back in the archives, I have this post from January of 2011 when this location hosted a recently-closed business called "Let's Have a Party" .  Remember that? But, what *is* the Gaming Goat?  I can't get to their site for some reason, but the Oak Park Store has a Facebook page and from the looks of things this isn't a video game store.  It is more of a Settlers of Catan-type of store.  Or Magic The Gathering-type of store.  Board and dice games.  The Geeks shall inherit the City Centre, it seems. I am assuming that they're going to hustle to get the store open before the holiday shopping season and I'm gl

At one point, I have to think that Elmhurst and our City Centre was one of the sweet treat capitols of the world.  We had - what - three yogurt shops.  And two ice cream shops.  And a shaved ice place.  All within like three blocks of each other. Now we're down to three total.  TCBY on the yogurt side.  And BrainFreeze on the ice cream side.  And the shaved ice place that operates seasonally. And that's because the Cold Stone Creamery on the east side of York - right across from the bowling alley - is shuttered.  That sign was posted on the windows earlier this month and if you walk by the place now, it is empty.  All the signage inside and out is gone.  The fixtures and furniture...gone. And while we're saying 'so long' to this place, I have to raise my own hand and say 'sorry'.  We just flat out didn't support this store.  Not sure the reason, but it wasn't in our world and didn't appeal to us.  Maybe our kids are too young to see the ap

Over the weekend, while I was out on a walk, I noticed that one of my favorite buildings in downtown Elmhurst - at 126 N. Addison Street - appeared to have some rehab work begun on it.  It is a gorgeous building with an interesting facade that is made of brick, has some neat iron elements and that great looking green tile roof.  It is on the west side of Addison Street directly across the street from where the huge new Addison Street Development is planned.  (If you don't remember what that massive structure is planned to look like, go read this old post again .)   The last tenant (based on the signage) appears to be a photography studio that offered framing services.  The age of the sign indicates that they were there quite some time ago!  Here's what it looks like from the sidewalk. There appears to be an apartment or two up stairs of this retail space on the street level.  You can see a good front-facing photo of the building here on Google Streetview . The sign in th