DC Magazine - Winter 2024

FIND A TREASURE AT

CRACKER JAX

EXCELLEAF- DEKALB’S FIRST DISPENSARY DELICIOUSLY IRRESISTIBLE D.P. DOUGH HOME INSTEAD DEKALB’S SENIOR CARE

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HERE’S TO THE DRIVEN. Business solutions to match your ambition.

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INSIDE

CRACKER JAX Downtown business offering magical delights and vintage finds

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HOME INSTEAD Offering senior care in DeKalb County

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D.P. DOUGH Delicious array of calzones in DeKalb

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EXCELLEAF DeKalb’s first dispensary opens to public

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Photography:

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Cracker Jax D.P. Dough Excelleaf

Home Instead

Shaw Media Staff Project Manager: Lisa Angel Writers: Kelley White Layout & Design: Kristin McKenrick Articles and advertisements are property of Shaw Media.

No portion of DC Magazine may be produced without written consent of the publisher.

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Find a treasure at Cracker Jax Downtown business offering magical delights and vintage finds By: Kelley White

L

auren Woods, owner and operator of Cracker Jax in DeKalb, has worked hard to bring a beautiful and carefully curated storefront to the beloved Dekalb business community for years.

“I lived here initially,” says Woods. “Then I went to California and lived there for seven years before my dad became ill. I knew it was in my best interest to come back and help him and, sadly, he eventually passed away. I came back here again, and then I got a job at the Midweek newspaper, in advertising and such. I knew that clothes and style ultimately interested me because I first found vintage in California – clothing and things – and I really love it.”

Lauren’s sister suggested running a classified ad in the newspaper for vintage clothing. “I didn’t know what I was going to be doing with it at that point,” she says. “But I did want to buy 1950s and older clothing. And I would run an ad every week in the newspaper.

Then I started getting calls and people wanted to know about it or wanted to sell me items. Then I started consigning in the store that was right down the street from where I am now. The clothing really sold well.”

For a time, Woods continued to expand her business and gain more momentum.

“When a place became available over here [on Third] a friend of mine helped me to rent it and then we’ve expanded at different times since then,” she says.

“Our store is now three storefronts. We had a contractor that went through two different walls to expand the space into

the three storefronts.” Woods officially opened Cracker Jax in 1984 and has thrived ever since.

Now, Woods continues to sell a lot of vintage items and jewelry and updates her inventory according to trends and her own intuition, one of her many talents as a business owner. “People bring in clothing to consign with us,” she says. “A lot of our stuff is brand new; we order a lot of merchandise and books and candles and incense and readings and just a variety of things.”

Cracker Jax is a treasure trove where you’re sure to find something unique and exclusive around every corner. “It’s eclectic, romantic, vintage and exotic,” says Woods. “You can find things here that you can’t or won’t see anywhere else. We’re looking for all those kinds of things that are different and magical.”

Challenges as a Business Owner Woods is constantly on the lookout for quality employees to help maintain the legacy of the store. “People move on, and this is a job that you have to like,” she says. “It’s not just a job you go to and put in your time. It’s a job that you have to like and enjoy and really care about.”

On the other hand, customers have been an absolute joy to the business owner and interacting with them is a special part of everyday life. “It’s been an unexpected boon, as a business owner and through day-to-day running of Cracker Jax, the loyalty and the nice, wonderful customers we have,” says Woods. “They are willing to shop with

me and trust me as a merchant to be good and fair.”

DeKalb Business Community

Woods is proud to be a part of the DeKalb business community and has a great relationship with other store owners. “We’ve got a great merchant group downtown; people are really supportive of each other, and the other merchants are supportive of each other,” she says. “And I believe we all care about each other and work together with goals and many promotions.

Everybody participates, and everyone is willing to do what it takes to be open later, run specials, or even make downtown beautiful.”

Cracker Jax is especially involved with the Chamber of Commerce, maintaining a positive and productive relationship with the organization.

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“We’ve been chamber members for years,” says Woods. “They’re helpful and supportive. I was on the board of directors for four years.”

In the Community

Woods’ customers have become generational, which is something Woods absolutely adores with her guests.

“We’ve got grandparents, parents, kids, their kids and grandkids,” she says. “It just warms my heart. People will say ‘I’ve been shopping with you for years.’

A lady bought a dress the other day, and she goes, ‘yeah, I bought my prom dress back here in the early 90s.’”

One of her customers told her about a ring they bought 30 years ago, and they still wear it. “Then she bought another ring,” says Woods. “We’ve sold items like wedding bands and other heartwarmingly romantic things.”

In the future, Woods wants to continue to strengthen the foundation of her shop and help her customers find hidden gems that bring them joy. “I hope to have the best merchandise, the best things that they like, and a really good rewards program,” she says.

“This is my art. Some people paint.

Some people sculpt. Some people knit. This is my art. This is what keeps me alive because this is what I was looking for my whole life to fulfill myself.

Sometimes you can get a little bored, but you can spark yourself by doing your art or doing something you were meant to do.”

Throughout the year, be on the lookout for special events and promotions at Cracker Jax and make sure to stop in.

118 N. 3rd Steet, DeKalb 815-758-8178 | crackerjaxdekalb.com

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Home Instead Offers comprehensive senior care in DeKalb By: Kelley White

C

o-owner of Home Instead, Rob Mondi, has a personal connection to senior care and understands the fundamental necessity for quality help and assistance to families. DeKalb’s branch of Home Instead started out as a desire to help make senior care comprehensive in the area.

“It’s kind of a typical story, but it’s always unique to people who haven’t gone through it,” says Mondi. “What had happened was my son Al and I, who owns the business here with me, had a restaurant in St. Charles. We had closed it down and we were looking for something else to kind of do, then my mom got sick.”

Mondi’s mom didn’t have a very smooth surgery or time in recovery and witnessing that firsthand inspired Mondi and his son to act. “She was in the hospital for a prolonged period of time,” he says. “We had gone down there to visit her to help her and started taking care of her. And when they got to the point of her being released, they told my father she could not go home unless we hired a care company to care for her. That was our first introduction to really what in-home care was and this industry that existed.”

When his mother was released from the hospital and arrived home, his family met the caregivers and began to see all the difficulties and complications that can come with senior care, especially after a sickness.

“Eventually, there was a Home Instead in DeKalb that was up for sale since the owners were retiring,” he says. “And we thought, wow, this is a good thing and the care bug really kind of bit us; we really started to enjoy it. We started looking into it, and in the end, we purchased this business. It will be five years this August that we’ve owned it.”

Sometimes families can feel guilty for seeking help or giving their burden to professionals. “I understand where people are coming from but when people finally get over that and they stop feeling like they’re being a bad wife for getting help, or they’re being a bad husband for getting help, it’s good for them to realize help is needed,” says Mondi. “You really start to see things heal and get a lot better because now the [client] is getting the respite care they need. The family can separate from constantly doing things and get back to being a husband and a wife, and it’s just really a powerful thing when it’s done and done.”

Services

For seniors and end-of-life care, there are a lot of different options for families to choose from at Home Instead. “To oversimplify, there are three different forms of care out there,” says Mondi. “There is home health care – those are licensed professionals that are doing true health-related care. They’re checking blood pressure, they’re doing physical rehab, they’re doing occupational therapy, they’re changing bandages for wounds, they’re doing medical-type stuff. So that’s what they call home health. Then you have the other end of the spectrum, which is hospice care.”

Mondi notes hospice is a concept with plenty of negative connotations, despite the fact it is a gentle and far from negative service. “Hospice, when people hear that word, is such a bad word,” says Mondi. “In their minds, it means, you have three days left to live. But that’s not what it means. Hospice is another form of care that really, when your quality of life is just so far gone, and you’re bedridden, or you’re beyond coherence when your quality of life is that far gone, you can bring in hospice home care.”

Home Instead is non-medical and a part of an industry that exists somewhere between hospice and healthcare. “We’re there to help and assist, and when home healthcare isn’t there, or when hospice care isn’t there, we start earlier,” Mondi says. “We start with just basic companionship for people who are lonely, who need a ride to the doctor and need to get out to the grocery stores but really shouldn’t be driving. They need help around the house, or other related matters in the home. We will progress with them through hospice care. Our caregivers are trained in hospice, they’re trained in dementia, they’re trained in all these different things, but we’re the non-medical side.”

The Process

With such a delicate subject, Home Instead’s process is dedicated to making the whole experience as gentle as possible for their clients. “Usually, we get clients through a couple of different avenues,” says Mondi. “We will do surgery recovery;

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we’ll get a call from the hospital or the doctor’s office, or the client who gets recommended by the hospital or doctor’s office because they’re going to have cataract surgery or a hip replacement or some other form of surgery.”

Home Instead can help get their client to and from the doctor or even help them for an extended period until they have their surgery. For post-op, Home Instead can help their clients set up respite care.

“Those are the spouses, the children that have been caring for their loved ones,” he says. “And if it’s just gotten to be much too hard, versus physically or emotionally, or just anything, that’s when we can come in and help the children, or whoever may be involved get their life back. It affords them the opportunity to be a child again to their parents and not necessarily their caregiver all the time.”

“The third way we get clients and people call in is just when they realize that they’re lonely, and they’re bored,” says Mondi. “They need some help around the house; they just don’t want to have to do it all alone. And so, they call us and those are the ones that probably start the soonest and stay the longest because the help really makes a difference in the longevity and quality of their life versus somebody who’s trying to do it all on their own.”

Why Care is so Important and Necessary

The services and care at Home Instead are incredibly important for all their clients. “The first reason why this care is instrumental and why somebody should consider it or do it is the physical side of things,” says Mondi.

“The number of elderly that are home alone, that are reaching to grab a box over their head, that are going down a flight of stairs to do laundry, that are getting in and out of a slippery tub, you name it, you can think of a situation where that can occur and the number of injuries and accidents that can happen around doing these activities. Once you’ve broken your leg, once you’ve broken your hip, once you’ve created the injury, it’s very hard to stay home alone.”

The little chores and tasks that it takes to run a home become such pivotal issues for the elderly and Home Instead can help.

“By hiring people as we age, and as we have these little projects and things that we’re trying to do that we’re maybe not quite steady enough and strong enough to do anymore, it’s really an end goal,” says Mondi. “It is about helping you achieve what you’re trying to achieve, which is to stay at home, in your home for as long as you possibly can. There’s the physical side of things and the preventative side of injuries, then there’s the mental side of things.”

COVID-19 took a major toll on the number of people in the elderly population. This prevented them from being helped by their family members and neighbors. “It is so important just to DEKALB COUNTY MAGAZINE | February 2024 | 9

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have somebody come in once a week, twice a week, to talk to and to cook a meal together or fold the laundry together,” says Mondi.

“We’re not there to take away anybody’s independence, we’re just there to help.

If you want to still do your own laundry, and you want to cook all your own meals, that’s fine. But to have somebody help to run up and down the flight of stairs with the laundry, so you don’t have to do that, or to have somebody peel the potatoes while you make the broth for the soup and give them the harder job while talking and hanging out. It’s just invaluable.”

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Deliciously irresist By: Kelley White

F

rank Fatehali, owner of D.P. Dough in DeKalb, is business savvy and understands how location can affect the success of his restaurant. His newest D.P. Dough franchise opened last year near Northern Illinois University.

“I have two locations,” he says. “One in DeKalb of course and one in Chicago.

Basically, I manage the stores, the finances, the scheduling, and the paperwork on that. I do have a general manager at both locations. My wife was also very actively involved in this business.

And she actually manages the Lincoln Park location in Chicago.”

They opened D.P. Dough in DeKalb in September of 2023 and have enjoyed monumental success since. “I was looking for a new concept,” says Fatehali.

“Generally, when you’re trying to get into a business, especially the food service business which is very competitive, you want to get some sort of niche, some sort of edge that will differentiate your location from the rest of the big companies. When I was looking around, I actually came across this idea from one of the advertisement literature that was posted, the nearest location was in Bloomington-Normal at the ISU location, in a nice state university location.”

Normal location. “When I was looking around where to open, I came across the university here which is a pretty big campus,” says Fatehali. “So, obviously, that’s why it was a good fit.

“Then I was also debating where else to open. I have the Lincoln Park Chicago location, which is very close to DePaul University. That’s where I decided to open, and I have more options available to open by Loyola University. So, I have a couple more spots that I can possibly open in the near future. These locations provide differentiation and room for growth in the business. Since it is a smaller company, there is less red tape, so a lot of those factors played into my decision-making process.”

In DeKalb, D.P. Dough has found a pretty perfect place to call home. “The location is unique in the way it is pretty close to downtown, as well as pretty close to the campus,” says Fatehali. “Plus, it’s a standalone building, so there is a lot of seating available for the customers. It is on the old site where the Tom and Jerry was, which was a very, very well-known place for the students as well as for the residents of DeKalb. They can relate well to where in particular this location has opened up.”

D.P. Dough is a company that specializes in calzones with a pretty extensive array of choices on the menu. “We have more than 25 different varieties of calzones,” says Fatehali. “It’s not just one or two toppings, or just sausage and cheese, or sausage, or pepperoni and cheese, there is anything you can think of in the calzone, and we can make it.”

In a true twist on the classic snack food, D.P. Dough also serves their delicious calzones stuffed full of creamy mac n’ cheese, if that’s your fancy.

D.P. Dough also serves up a truly epic menu item appropriately named the Construction ‘Zone. “You get to pick about four toppings and that’s all included in the price,” says Fatehali. “You can pay for more than four, which is just a small upcharge. But you can make your own calzone the way you want it. You want black olives in there?

Sure. You want pulled pork in there? Of

That particular location piqued Fatehali’s interest and he was immediately drawn to the area. “I was sort of intrigued because it’s a little bit off the normal path as we specialize in calzones, which is similar to pizza but non-pizza,” he says. “I visited the Bloomington-Normal location, and that’s when I realized that it does extremely well and that their whole concept is to be present near or in college towns.”

Thus, Fatehali looked around locally to find a location fitting the successful descriptors he found to be true at the Bloomington12 | February 2024 | DEKALB COUNTY MAGAZINE

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sistible D.P. Dough course. You can have vegan cheese, and we can get anything that you can possibly think of.”

The DeKalb business community has been a highlight of Fatehali’s foray into the area as a business owner. “The residents are extremely welcoming. The first few weeks I didn’t have time to catch a breath. And even when the college kids are gone, I have a decent amount of business from the residents in DeKalb. They are so welcoming and friendly. They have a very real sense of pride, and they are so helpful to their hometown. You can just tell they love it here so much.”

For Fatehali, running his own franchise has been exciting and unique in each location where he has opened a store. “One thing that is extremely unique about this place is the timing of the store’s hours,” he says. “We are open from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. in the morning, seven days a week.”

D.P. Dough is only the second restaurant in the area open at that particular stretch of time aside from one of the biggest fast-food chains in America.

“We are open and if you’re hungry at three in the morning, you can come over here, and you can have your calzone, we’ll make it fresh for you,” says Fatehali. “We provide that convenience, if you didn’t have your dinner or you’re just awake and your stomach is growling at three in the morning, you can come in to eat.”

Even if you love running your own business, it can be quite challenging, but Frank has a firm grip on the franchise. “It’s challenging as well as satisfying,” he says. “And any businesses like that, you want to feel fulfilled and good about the service you are providing to your customers.

You want to feel like you are providing something that your customers really look forward to. It is so rewarding while being equally as challenging, but I love to make the customers happy.”

215 W. Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb | 815-766-3199 | dpdough.com DEKALB COUNTY MAGAZINE | February 2024 | 13

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Excelleaf-

DeKalb’s First Dispensary Open to Public By: Kelley White

O

n December 1, 2023, Excelleaf officially opened its doors after ten years spent securing a Cannabis Business License with a soft opening the day after Thanksgiving. “It’s really interesting how we kind of got to cannabis,” says co-owner Nakia McAdoo.

As the group of women with a wealth of healthcare experience and education between them, they rightfully thought it would make sense to open a dispensary because they did not see alot of people with their experience and background in the industry. “Because of our multiple years

in Advanced Practice nursing and our experience dealing with healthcare and hospital compliance, it only made sense for us to jump into the cannabis industry. A business with so many similarities to the industry that we have worked in for many years. Our experience in dispensing medications, educating patients about their health and wellness, and providing a support system to patients, was the plus that we planned to bring to the Cannabis industry” says co-owner Maria Davis. “Our background as nurses and nurse anesthetist helped prepare us for this move into the cannabis industry.”

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Maria, along with co-owner Crystal Anderson, started the application process in 2014, scoring high but failing to secure a license. “We scored well on that application,” says Anderson. “Although we did not win a license, when the announcement regarding new applications was released in 2019, we were ready to apply in hopes of securing a license this round. This time around we acquired our veteran partner Brian Garner and fellow Nurse Anesthetist Nakia McAdoo.”

“During the initial application process in 2014, I talked extensively about this with Maria, because we actually worked at the hospital together,” says McAdoo. “I saw her go through a lot of this process and I started studying on my own to learn more about the history of cannabis and to get a better understanding of how cannabis works in the body.”

Nakia began studying what cannabis does in the body, applying it to the knowledge they already carried from their careers and schooling. “I started to educate myself more, and in taking care of my patients, listening to reasons why they were using it, and they were all very open and honest which helped me to peel away the layers of the stigma that was attached to cannabis,” she says. “It just became more and more fascinating to me because this is not something we were ever taught in school – how cannabis works in the body and the medicinal benefits.”

Nakia was equally fascinated with the history behind cannabis in the United States, how it was outlawed and other major facts in its journey of legality. “After Maria and Crystal didn’t initially win on that first round of licenses, we teamed up and decided that we wanted to start a business together, though we didn’t quite know what that business was going to be,” she says. “We were all in agreement that our business needed to be wellness-focused, moving away from acute care and more towards wellness, health, and beneficial medicine. Right as we were figuring out what that was going to be, the state announced that they were going to release a second set of applications that social equity applicants could apply for. This was our time!”

The group pivoted right back to the dream of opening their own cannabis dispensary and took the chance to complete a successful application as an open and mindful merchant based in education and knowledge. “Just the nature of the business that we’re in with delivering anesthesia, it’s

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important that we understand how and why cannabis is used, how it interacts in the body, and how it even works with some of the other medications that we give,” says McAdoo. “And so, we were much more knowledgeable the second time around when it was time to apply.

The industry had just been growing in leaps and bounds at that point. So, we saw it as a fantastic opportunity to get on board and try again. And that is what we did.”

Since its opening, Excelleaf has been a resounding success. “[The opening] was amazing,” says Davis. “It was shocking.

Even though we officially opened a month ago, we are continuing to get new customers daily that are not aware that a dispensary exists in DeKalb. We are doing everything, taking every avenue possible to get the word out. This past holiday, we had a good turnout of outof-town customers that were visiting family members, some local customers told us they had no idea that there was a dispensary in DeKalb until someone mentioned it to them.

Why Excelleaf

The dispensary is named for a simple concept and common belief among the partners. “We were tossing around several ideas for names and didn’t want any of the typical cliche names that were out there – we wanted something creative,” says McAdoo. “We had a list of several names on paper and Maria said let’s put a spin on ‘excellent leaf,’ as in, this is an excellent leaf with so many benefits. Let’s call it Excelleaf! We all agreed it was perfect.”

Relationship as Partners in the Business

Each partner brings something necessary and unique to their business, including their veteran partner, Brian. “We kind of broke it down into three parts, each of us being assigned our role,” says McAdoo.

“Maria is the dreamer. Nakia, the thinker, and Crystal is the fighter. Together that kind of just makes the perfect triad. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but we trust each other. Trust is a huge factor.

I think the fact that we are three women working together makes a significant difference as well. Our veteran partner Brian has been a part of this journey along with us, but he will tell you that he gives us the reins to figure this out.

And where one is weaker, the other two

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are stronger. And so that helped as we were putting our plan together and just thinking through this entire process.”

Cannabis’ legality and the ability to open recreational cannabis shops is new to Illinois. “There’s not a lot of literature or educational plans or certifications; there are no roadmaps to how to get to this point, and so you have to take a little bit from each person that you learn from and put it all together,” says McAdoo. “Our nursing background is also a key factor and why we work so well together, we are problem solvers. We know how to take demanding situations and make them better. We are great multitaskers and that is what we do every single day in the hospital. So, I believe that makes a significant difference.”

Despite how complicated and tedious this process has been, it is all worth it in the end to see their business continue to grow. “It’s both challenging and rewarding,” says McAdoo.

“At this point, we are a new business and there is a lot of attention that must be paid to running the business. We have all been in our profession, each of us, respectively, for over 20 years. We all still actively work in hospitals taking care of patients. That is something that we have always done and will continue to do on some level. We are transitioning into the cannabis space and being business owners, and we can take a lot of what we have learned in the hospitals and bring it over into this new space.”

On any given day, each partner is working in either their healthcare career or dispensary, showing how dedicated they are and how strongly they believe in their business and products.

Products and Advantages

Excelleaf carries a variety of cannabis products. “For the novice that’s never tried cannabis before to the very experienced that come in and know exactly what they’re looking for, they could probably tell me about the product,” says McAdoo. “There is a little bit of something for everyone, and variety is what consumers are looking for when they come to dispensaries. Our inventory manager and management staff have been great. They are knowledgeable, very experienced and help us to hand select which products we are going to offer in the store.”

Excelleaf features big named brands and smaller business growers in their inventory. “Some products are familiar brands

that you would find at most cannabis dispensary, because we have to work with cultivators and who are available to us in the Illinois market,” says McAdoo. “But we also try to feature the smaller craft growers that have come on board, which is great because they bring their stories, their cannabis knowledge, and they offer a lot of variety. So, it is fun to have the wellknown household brands as well as some of the smaller craft growers that are really dedicated to the culture of cannabis.”

The group emphasizes the benefits of cannabis, evidence they have personally gathered from their patients who tote the medicinal properties of the plant. “There are so many benefits to patients or for someone who just wants to be happy,” says Anderson. “And that is what cannabis does. You can say this is both a medicinal plant and recreational. There are many benefits to using it, and it has different outcomes for different individuals. We can promise there is something in the store that will help you, whatever your needs are.”

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Excelleaf’s Team

All their sales associates are truly knowledgeable about their products. “Even for the person that’s coming in, that has a lot of knowledge about cannabis, I always say talk to them – maybe you want to try something new and maybe they find a product that’s a little bit different from what they’ve tried before because there are always different products coming out that are new and exciting,” says McAdoo. “We have edibles, drinks, tonics, tinctures, and topical products. And of course we have smokeable products. Many people are surprised by the variety when they come to the store.”

Upcoming Events for the New Store

Amid the success in their first few months, the partners are planning a lot of fun, new things over the next year. “We plan on going big for the cannabis holiday, we’ll be celebrating the cannabis national holiday on 4/20,” says Davis. “We will start educational classes with plans of having speakers/lecturers come by to educate the consumers. We will have classes, seminars, fun things to do like how-to with cannabis classes.

There are so many good things we have planned for Excelleaf.

We are going to institute everything we can to become a part of the community and have a positive impact in DeKalb. We are in this business to help consumers feel good and genuinely believe you can “Elevate your Life with Excelleaf!”

305 E. Locust St, DeKalb | 815-421-3501 | excelleaf.com

ADVERTISER INDEX DeKalb Park District ������������������������������������������ 10 DeKalb Public Library ���������������������������������������� 11 XCEL Orthopedics ���������������������������������������������� 7 FNBO ������������������������������������������������������������������ 2 Home Instead ���������������������������������������������������� 11 NIU College of Visual and Performing Arts ������ 20 Pizza Villa ����������������������������������������������������������� 16 Sycamore Park District �������������������������������������� 19 Yaeger’s Farm Market ��������������������������������������� 16

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Northern Illinois University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. Produced by authority of the state of Illinois. niu.edu

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