Enterprises along Lake Street have banded together to help make people aware that small business is alive and well in River Forest.
With its kickoff this past weekend, the group, called The Shops of Lake Street, River Forest, is positioning itself to become the village’s first business district.
The collective effort, situated along one of the village’s main thoroughfares, consists of a mix of service and retail — from shoe repair and an insurance business to a fitness center, hair salon/spa, cigar store and restaurant. All are family-owned and operated.
To the east are large chain stores, such as Jewel-Osco and Town Center I and II. But what The Shops is planning to do will augment them nicely, said Village President Catherine Adduci, the effort’s biggest fan.
“What’s unique about this area is that these are boutique shops. The fact that the stores are looking to brand themselves this way and trying to put a focus more on small business is great. I’m glad they took the initiative to do this. We have the best of both worlds in River Forest,” she said.
This is downtown River Forest, the center of the community, and the businesses need to get the word out about what’s here, said Donna Fantetti-Slepicka, proprietor of River Forest Chocolates and a spark toward getting this area designation off the ground.
“We need to increase foot traffic, get people into our shops; that will encourage more businesses to come here,” she said.
Fantetti-Slepicka noted that when she opened her shop almost three years ago, she quickly realized a lot of people were walking by, but not a lot were coming in.
After getting her own business off the ground, she spoke with her fellow proprietors and found they had similar concerns. In November, she and her fellow businesses owners, along with Adduci, started to strategize on what they could do. By the week of the event, 14 businesses, including the two banks, signed on.
Valentine’s Day is next on the list. Fantetti-Slepicka also envisions getting all the businesses to be part of this effort.
But they’re starting small, and if they do well, more businesses will come, she added.
The Shops is taking an important first step by forming a business district, said Cathy Yen, executive director of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce, whose organization has a supporting role in the enterprise.
“They are creating a sense of collaboration and cohesion, that will make it attractive for other businesses to come,” Yen said. “It’ll take work and time, but everything starts with a single step.”
