The latest updates on Giesche store proposal in Glen Ellyn

With the news of a proposal for a new restaurant/café/event space taking over the former Giesche Shoe store, the neighboring restaurant owners aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of increased competition.

The competition they are mainly concerned about is competing for parking spaces in the area, although it would be naïve to think that competition for their businesses may also be part of the equation. The new café would seem to directly compete with Blackberry Market, however, according to the owner of Maize + Mash and one of the men behind the proposal that is not the case.

“We would never in a million years try to replicate what Blackberry does, or Fire + Wine, or anything like that,” Roberge said. “We are not looking to do something that nobody wants here, that’s for sure… We are all for parking solutions. Someone just tell us what we can do, and we will do it, as long as it fits what we can do.”

Fire + Wine owner Michael Vai is one of the concerned restaurant owners and in a story by MySuburbanLife.com he said, “My customers can’t park right now. That’s a big challenge. I have people waiting literally 15 to 20 minutes for their guests, who are trying to park. So the parking is a grave situation. And I don’t know what we are going to do when we get all these other restaurants coming in.”

A ‘grave situation’ may be overblowing things a little bit as I really cannot sympathize with this line of thinking, or with those who are dropping people off at the restaurant and only then going to look for parking. If that is the case then they either didn’t allow enough time to get to their reservation on time, or the people they drop off will just be putting their names in and will have to wait either way. I don’t see this as a problem at all. There is generally always parking available in the lot north of the train station, and the large lot shared with St. Pets usually will have available parking spots. In addition to the already available parking, the new proposal intends to address any parking crunch with a valet service.

Vai also didn’t beat around the bush saying bluntly, “somewhere along the line, there is a dilution of business.” This is a valid concern given the ongoing influx of new restaurants, which include Nobel House and Sushi Ukai moving into the former Soukup’s building, as well as McMae’s on Main opening up in the former Wooden Barrel building. From a consumer perspective however, choice is a wonderful thing. Normally on a busy night it’s difficult to walk in and get a seat at Maize + Mash, A Toda Madre or Fire + Wine, and while that may still be the case, at least now there will be many other options to chose from as a backup plan. If those backup plans turn into the top options then even better, as the lines at the currently more popular establishments will start to dwindle.

The argument for something other than another restaurant in the Giesche store is a valid one, so that is not to be dismissed. However, popular restaurants tend to bring in more out of town traffic than smaller stores, and I don’t see a large retail store moving in there any time soon. More retail options and more options in general will come if the restaurants and cafe’s are there to ensure constant consumer traffic.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lists/2017/11/12/35df5727b2b64de29a3abb53f8f35801/

Giesche Shoes closed its doors in 2014 after more than 60 years in business. Maize + Mash owner Nick Roberge is proposing the concept for the former Giesche store. His business partner in the venture is Joel Frieders of Aurora-based property development company Elemy.

Glen Ellyn resident John Svalenka, who is the senior planner for the village of Carpentersville, said in his professional opinion, there is “plenty” of parking in downtown Glen Ellyn.

“It’s just kind of a perception thing where people can find it,” Svalenka said. “I parked in the Metra parking lot, and it was half-empty at 7 p.m. on a Thursday, one of the busiest restaurant nights.”

Bob Davidson, whose wife, Anna Davidson, owns Blackberry Market at 401 N. Main St., shared some of Vai’s worries about the proposal.

“When we lost Soukup’s, the main thing we lost was an in-and-out space,” he told commissioners. “You were in and out within 15 minutes. Now you’re adding spaces that you are in for one to two hours.”

With the news of a proposal for a new restaurant/café/event space taking over the former Giesche Shoe store, the neighboring restaurant owners aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of increased competition.

The competition they are mainly concerned about is competing for parking spaces in the area, although it would be naïve to think that competition for their businesses may also be part of the equation. The new café would seem to directly compete with Blackberry Market, however, according to the owner of Maize + Mash and one of the men behind the proposal that is not the case.

“We would never in a million years try to replicate what Blackberry does, or Fire + Wine, or anything like that,” Roberge said. “We are not looking to do something that nobody wants here, that’s for sure… We are all for parking solutions. Someone just tell us what we can do, and we will do it, as long as it fits what we can do.”

Fire + Wine owner Michael Vai is one of the concerned restaurant owners and in a story by MySuburbanLife.com he said, “My customers can’t park right now. That’s a big challenge. I have people waiting literally 15 to 20 minutes for their guests, who are trying to park. So the parking is a grave situation. And I don’t know what we are going to do when we get all these other restaurants coming in.”

A ‘grave situation’ may be overblowing things a little bit as I really cannot sympathize with this line of thinking, or with those who are dropping people off at the restaurant and only then going to look for parking. If that is the case then they either didn’t allow enough time to get to their reservation on time, or the people they drop off will just be putting their names in and will have to wait either way. I don’t see this as a problem at all. There is generally always parking available in the lot north of the train station, and the large lot shared with St. Pets usually will have available parking spots. In addition to the already available parking, the new proposal intends to address any parking crunch with a valet service.

Vai also didn’t beat around the bush saying bluntly, “somewhere along the line, there is a dilution of business.” This is a valid concern given the ongoing influx of new restaurants, which include Nobel House and Sushi Ukai moving into the former Soukup’s building, as well as McMae’s on Main opening up in the former Wooden Barrel building. From a consumer perspective however, choice is a wonderful thing. Normally on a busy night it’s difficult to walk in and get a seat at Maize + Mash, A Toda Madre or Fire + Wine, and while that may still be the case, at least now there will be many other options to chose from as a backup plan. If those backup plans turn into the top options then even better, as the lines at the currently more popular establishments will start to dwindle.

The argument for something other than another restaurant in the Giesche store is a valid one, so that is not to be dismissed. However, popular restaurants tend to bring in more out of town traffic than smaller stores, and I don’t see a large retail store moving in there any time soon. More retail options and more options in general will come if the restaurants and cafe’s are there to ensure constant consumer traffic.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lists/2017/11/12/35df5727b2b64de29a3abb53f8f35801/

Giesche Shoes closed its doors in 2014 after more than 60 years in business. Maize + Mash owner Nick Roberge is proposing the concept for the former Giesche store. His business partner in the venture is Joel Frieders of Aurora-based property development company Elemy.

Glen Ellyn resident John Svalenka, who is the senior planner for the village of Carpentersville, said in his professional opinion, there is “plenty” of parking in downtown Glen Ellyn.

“It’s just kind of a perception thing where people can find it,” Svalenka said. “I parked in the Metra parking lot, and it was half-empty at 7 p.m. on a Thursday, one of the busiest restaurant nights.”

Bob Davidson, whose wife, Anna Davidson, owns Blackberry Market at 401 N. Main St., shared some of Vai’s worries about the proposal.

“When we lost Soukup’s, the main thing we lost was an in-and-out space,” he told commissioners. “You were in and out within 15 minutes. Now you’re adding spaces that you are in for one to two hours.”

With the news of a proposal for a new restaurant/café/event space taking over the former Giesche Shoe store, the neighboring restaurant owners aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of increased competition.

The competition they are mainly concerned about is competing for parking spaces in the area, although it would be naïve to think that competition for their businesses may also be part of the equation. The new café would seem to directly compete with Blackberry Market, however, according to the owner of Maize + Mash and one of the men behind the proposal that is not the case.

“We would never in a million years try to replicate what Blackberry does, or Fire + Wine, or anything like that,” Roberge said. “We are not looking to do something that nobody wants here, that’s for sure… We are all for parking solutions. Someone just tell us what we can do, and we will do it, as long as it fits what we can do.”

Fire + Wine owner Michael Vai is one of the concerned restaurant owners and in a story by MySuburbanLife.com he said, “My customers can’t park right now. That’s a big challenge. I have people waiting literally 15 to 20 minutes for their guests, who are trying to park. So the parking is a grave situation. And I don’t know what we are going to do when we get all these other restaurants coming in.”

A ‘grave situation’ may be overblowing things a little bit as I really cannot sympathize with this line of thinking, or with those who are dropping people off at the restaurant and only then going to look for parking. If that is the case then they either didn’t allow enough time to get to their reservation on time, or the people they drop off will just be putting their names in and will have to wait either way. I don’t see this as a problem at all. There is generally always parking available in the lot north of the train station, and the large lot shared with St. Pets usually will have available parking spots. In addition to the already available parking, the new proposal intends to address any parking crunch with a valet service.

Vai also didn’t beat around the bush saying bluntly, “somewhere along the line, there is a dilution of business.” This is a valid concern given the ongoing influx of new restaurants, which include Nobel House and Sushi Ukai moving into the former Soukup’s building, as well as McMae’s on Main opening up in the former Wooden Barrel building. From a consumer perspective however, choice is a wonderful thing. Normally on a busy night it’s difficult to walk in and get a seat at Maize + Mash, A Toda Madre or Fire + Wine, and while that may still be the case, at least now there will be many other options to chose from as a backup plan. If those backup plans turn into the top options then even better, as the lines at the currently more popular establishments will start to dwindle.

The argument for something other than another restaurant in the Giesche store is a valid one, so that is not to be dismissed. However, popular restaurants tend to bring in more out of town traffic than smaller stores, and I don’t see a large retail store moving in there any time soon. More retail options and more options in general will come if the restaurants and cafe’s are there to ensure constant consumer traffic.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lists/2017/11/12/35df5727b2b64de29a3abb53f8f35801/

Giesche Shoes closed its doors in 2014 after more than 60 years in business. Maize + Mash owner Nick Roberge is proposing the concept for the former Giesche store. His business partner in the venture is Joel Frieders of Aurora-based property development company Elemy.

Glen Ellyn resident John Svalenka, who is the senior planner for the village of Carpentersville, said in his professional opinion, there is “plenty” of parking in downtown Glen Ellyn.

“It’s just kind of a perception thing where people can find it,” Svalenka said. “I parked in the Metra parking lot, and it was half-empty at 7 p.m. on a Thursday, one of the busiest restaurant nights.”

Bob Davidson, whose wife, Anna Davidson, owns Blackberry Market at 401 N. Main St., shared some of Vai’s worries about the proposal.

“When we lost Soukup’s, the main thing we lost was an in-and-out space,” he told commissioners. “You were in and out within 15 minutes. Now you’re adding spaces that you are in for one to two hours.”

With the news of a proposal for a new restaurant/café/event space taking over the former Giesche Shoe store, the neighboring restaurant owners aren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of increased competition.

The competition they are mainly concerned about is competing for parking spaces in the area, although it would be naïve to think that competition for their businesses may also be part of the equation. The new café would seem to directly compete with Blackberry Market, however, according to the owner of Maize + Mash and one of the men behind the proposal that is not the case.

“We would never in a million years try to replicate what Blackberry does, or Fire + Wine, or anything like that,” Roberge said. “We are not looking to do something that nobody wants here, that’s for sure… We are all for parking solutions. Someone just tell us what we can do, and we will do it, as long as it fits what we can do.”

Fire + Wine owner Michael Vai is one of the concerned restaurant owners and in a story by MySuburbanLife.com he said, “My customers can’t park right now. That’s a big challenge. I have people waiting literally 15 to 20 minutes for their guests, who are trying to park. So the parking is a grave situation. And I don’t know what we are going to do when we get all these other restaurants coming in.”

A ‘grave situation’ may be overblowing things a little bit as I really cannot sympathize with this line of thinking, or with those who are dropping people off at the restaurant and only then going to look for parking. If that is the case then they either didn’t allow enough time to get to their reservation on time, or the people they drop off will just be putting their names in and will have to wait either way. I don’t see this as a problem at all. There is generally always parking available in the lot north of the train station, and the large lot shared with St. Pets usually will have available parking spots. In addition to the already available parking, the new proposal intends to address any parking crunch with a valet service.

Vai also didn’t beat around the bush saying bluntly, “somewhere along the line, there is a dilution of business.” This is a valid concern given the ongoing influx of new restaurants, which include Nobel House and Sushi Ukai moving into the former Soukup’s building, as well as McMae’s on Main opening up in the former Wooden Barrel building. From a consumer perspective however, choice is a wonderful thing. Normally on a busy night it’s difficult to walk in and get a seat at Maize + Mash, A Toda Madre or Fire + Wine, and while that may still be the case, at least now there will be many other options to chose from as a backup plan. If those backup plans turn into the top options then even better, as the lines at the currently more popular establishments will start to dwindle.

The argument for something other than another restaurant in the Giesche store is a valid one, so that is not to be dismissed. However, popular restaurants tend to bring in more out of town traffic than smaller stores, and I don’t see a large retail store moving in there any time soon. More retail options and more options in general will come if the restaurants and cafe’s are there to ensure constant consumer traffic.

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lists/2017/11/12/35df5727b2b64de29a3abb53f8f35801/

Giesche Shoes closed its doors in 2014 after more than 60 years in business. Maize + Mash owner Nick Roberge is proposing the concept for the former Giesche store. His business partner in the venture is Joel Frieders of Aurora-based property development company Elemy.

Glen Ellyn resident John Svalenka, who is the senior planner for the village of Carpentersville, said in his professional opinion, there is “plenty” of parking in downtown Glen Ellyn.

“It’s just kind of a perception thing where people can find it,” Svalenka said. “I parked in the Metra parking lot, and it was half-empty at 7 p.m. on a Thursday, one of the busiest restaurant nights.”

Bob Davidson, whose wife, Anna Davidson, owns Blackberry Market at 401 N. Main St., shared some of Vai’s worries about the proposal.

“When we lost Soukup’s, the main thing we lost was an in-and-out space,” he told commissioners. “You were in and out within 15 minutes. Now you’re adding spaces that you are in for one to two hours.”