SVM_Business Journal_031820

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PUBLICATION • SPRING 2020 • VOL. 23, NO. 9

Sauk Valley

Business Journal drive in

& dive

Page 8

into dishes at a Milledgeville cafe and ice cream parlor

Also inside ...

Skating rink’s new owne r keeps things rolling alo ng Keeping a thrift store op en is a labor of Love Sterling shoe store is ex panding its footprint A Dixon clothing store is making some alterat ions

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 440 Sterling, IL 61081

Sauk Valley Business Journal

Page 2

INSIDE

Welcome ...

to the spring 2019 issue of

Sauk Valley

Business Journal A

ALL SKATE!

The new owner of a Sauk Valley skating rink keeps a 70-plus year tradition rolling right along Pages 3-5

A LABOR OF LOVE

When a resale shop announced plans to close, a Walnut woman a took matters – and the store – into her own hands Pages 6-7

DESTINATION DINING

Looking for a good place to eat? Don’t look for a fork in the road; look for a diner just off Route 40 in Milledgeville Pages 8-9

PUBLICATION

THE NEWEST SENSATION

A local shoe store is expanding its footprint and opening a second location

Publisher: Don T. Bricker General Manager/Advertising Director: Jennifer Heintzelman Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Sauk Valley Business Journal may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this publication.

Spring 2020

Page 10

MAKING SOME ALTERATIONS

A Dixon clothing store is going up a few sizes to add space for women’s clothing and its printing operations Page 11

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Sauk Valley Business Journal

All

e t a k s k’s new in r r e ll o r l a c o L lus year p 0 7 a s p e e k owner along t h ig r g in ll o r tradition

BY JEFF HELFRICH Shaw Media jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com

MOUNT MORRIS – Rebecca Jones is on a roll.

She bought the Pine Creek Canyon wedding venue and Pine Creek Cabins last April, and before the year’s end she closed the deal on a third business: White Pines Roller Skating Center.

ROLLER RINK continued on 44

Page 3

Sauk Valley Business Journal

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Spring 2020

3CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Jones bought the local landmark in Jones bought the local landmark in December, and so far, it’s been business as usual for the roller rink that’s been around since 1948.

“It worked really well with my current portfolio,” Jones said. “This business is mostly in the winter, unlike my other ones. There aren’t many winter weddings. It also borders my properties. It made sense from a business standpoint.”

The roller rink at 6929 West Pines Road is just west of the canyon wedding venue, and across the road from the White Pines State Park.

Jones started talking to former owners Dave and Maggie Johnson back in September about buying the business.

Dave had owned the rink since 1984 and recently relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. The reported amount of the transaction was $240,000.

Jones said she’ll continue to operate the rink much as it has been since it opened, though she does want to draw more private events, such as adult skates and nights with live bands. The rink also hosts special events, such as Christian Skate Night, a St. Patrick’s Late Skate, and an Easter Egg Hunt on April 11.

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media

Rebecca Jones, the new owner of the White Pines Roller Skating Center, laces a pair ROLLER RINK continued on 54 of skates at the roller rink.

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Page 5

3CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Jones also is sprucing things up, including power washing and cleaning up the front of the building.

That’s not the only thing she’s sprucing up. She unveiled a new logo (at left) for the business in February.

The roller rink’s manager under the Johnsons, Amber Becker, agreed to stay on to run the rink’s day-to-day operations. But Jones made a point to have the sale completed by the end of the year so she could help with preparDetails ing for the rink’s overnight White Pines Roller Rink event on New Year’s Eve. 929 W. Pines Road, “It was a really busy day, Mount Morris the busiest of my year,” Jones 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, 1 to said. “It was awesome and I 5 p.m. & 7 to 11 p.m. Saturwas impressed by the staff. My day, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday family was there to help, too.”

Visit skatingfun.com or call As for her other businesses, 815-946-9988 for more Jones has had a good first information or to book an year; she said bookings at event. Find White Pines both businesses are up and Skating Center on Faceweddings are scheduled book for more information. through the entire year.

For now, she doesn’t have any plans to buy any other properties.

“That’s my New Year’s resolution,” Jones said. “Never say never, but I want to focus on building and improving what I have.” n

Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media

Skaters make their way around the marble floor at White Pines Roller Skating Center.

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Sauk Valley Business Journal

Page 6

A labor of

Spring 2020 Pass the Love Director Lori Zeman reopened Walnut’s resale shop in February.

Goldie Rapp/Shaw Media

Love

When a resale shop announced plans to close, a Walnut woman a took matters – and the store – into her own hands

I

BY GOLDIE RAPP Shaw Media grapp@bcrnews.com

n December, Pass it Along owner and operator Kirsten Johnson announced she was closing the doors to Walnut’s downtown resale shop.

The news was met with disappointment in the Bureau County village of 1,500 where Pass it Along was more than just a resale store – it was a source of support for local organizations that had given more than $150,000 to local organizations over the years.

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Spring 2020 3CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 When Lori Zeman of Walnut heard the news, she knew she couldn’t just let Johnson’s plans come to pass. Her daughter, Grace, volunteered at the store and Zeman couldn’t fathom the thought of seeing the community lose one of its most essential businesses.

So she took matters into her own hands. She decided to sit down with Johnson to see what it would take to keep the shop going.

“Even though I’d never run a business per se, I felt I had the makings of what was needed,” said Zeman, who has a background in marketing/advertising, management and customer service.

Before she knew it, she was applying for her own 501(c)(3) status and planning to reopen the store at the beginning of February with a new board of directors and a new name, Pass the Love.

“It’s been such a neat experience. … It’s crazy how it just clicked,” she said. “You can’t possibly get bored here. There’s something always to be done. I know what this place has done for the town. … It’s really neat. I look forward to what we can give back.”

Since the store reopened, the business has remained the same for the most part, but with expanded hours. It is now open on Thursdays.

The thrift store sells donated goods – clothing, jewelry, books, DVDs and CDs, furniture household goods, and more –and donates the

profits back to the community. Zeman plans to focus on giving back to the youth groups throughout the Bureau Valley School District.

“The youth is how we’re going to stay vital. … Funding these programs will not only enrich their lives but hopefully encourage them to take responsibility and pride in their community,” she said.

Zeman also plans to give four $1,500 scholarships to Bureau Valley High School students this year.

One thing that impressed Zeman the most was the volunteers’ willingness to stay on the schedule under her direction. The resale shop has anywhere from 15 to 20 volunteers who pick up shifts to help keep the store running.

“The volunteers all bring something unique to the table, and I couldn’t do it without them.

We welcome anybody else. Whether it’s a couple hours or whatever, there’s always a variety of jobs to do around the store,” she said.

Students looking for community service hours can sign up to do them at Pass the Love.

Kayleigh Kaiser, Pass the Love board treasurer, commended Zeman on her willingness to take ownership of the store that’s impacted so many in the Walnut community and surrounding area.

“She took the plunge, gave up her secure job and went feet first into the unknown. This just goes to speak to her character and how much she wants to help others,” Kaiser said. n

Page 7

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Gently used clothing, decor, small kitchen appliances, tools, furniture, toys, and other items are accepted.

Donations can be dropped off in the shed behind the store, located at 118 S. Main St., Walnut. Message the Pass the Love Facebook page or email Lori Zeman at lzpassthelove20@gmail.com for more information.

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Sauk Valley Business Journal

Spring 2020

dining Looking for a good place to eat? Don’t look for a fork in the road; look for a diner just off Route 40 in Milledgeville

BY PHILLIP HARTMAN For Sauk Valley Business Journal

People are coming from all over to grab a dish at the Route 40 Café and Ice Cream Parlor.

Owners Mike Dalipi, 45, and his wife, Judy, opened the restaurant at 14 S. Washington St., Milledgeville, in April 2019.

“We looked at it (the building) and thought it’d make a nice little restaurant for the community. We get a lot of locals who support us, but we also get a lot from Sterling, Rock Falls, and Dixon,” Dalipi said.

Ken Duncan owns the building and is renting it to the Dalipis. It formerly housed Nana’s Pizza until a fire closed it last year.

The Dalipis have been in the restaurant busi-

ness in the Sauk Valley for 15 years. Previously, they owned Kopper Kitchen at Northland Mall in Sterling from 2015 until it closed in July, and Mike and his brother, Dan, owned The Corner Spot Bar & Grill in Dixon for nearly 10 years.

Mike’s not the only member of the family in the restaurant business; his cousin, Mili, co-owns Basil Tree Ristorante in downtown Dixon.

Route 40 Café has about 14 employees, with a decor and atmosphere reflecting its rural location. Displays of farm animals can be seen throughout – a cow, chickens, and other critters. Photos of tractors decorate another wall, and old window frames help give the restaurant a taste of country living.

ROUTE 40 continued on 94

Spring 2020

Sauk Valley Business Journal

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3CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 The setting helps give the impression of a country kitchen, with a menu that offers plenty of variety.

“Our breakfast is big. We do homemade pasta bread rolls, personal pizzas that are very big.”

Dalipi said.

Other breakfast offerings include omelets such as meat lovers, Denver, vegetarian, cheese lovers, and others. Toast or pancakes, hash browns, American fries, cheddar tater tots and fruit are among the side dish options.

The skillets are just as varied, with many of the same styles as the omelets and a corned beef hash skillet as well. Eggs Benedict come in a Hawaiian version with Judy pineapple, a cordon bleu variety Dalipi with Swiss cheese, and the Route 40 version, with a sausage patty, poached eggs, and country gravy.

For those who prefer their morning menu more on the basic side can get two or three eggs with bacon, sausage, ham, toast and other side dishes; a meat, egg and cheese sandwich; or a meat-lovers croissant.

For lunch or dinner, Route 40 has a variety of wraps, including chicken bacon, tuna salad, steak and chipotle. Looking for something to melt in your mount? The restaurant serves up patty, cheesy beef, chicken bacon, and other melts.

If you’re in the mood for a sandwich, Route 40’s

Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com

Customers feel right at home in the rustic, rural setting at Route 40 Café and Ice Cream Parlor in Milledgeville. got you covered, from Monte Cristos to ham and cheese clubs, paninis and croissants, open face sandwiches, and classic burgers, with or without cheese.

Steak, pasta, catfish and other options round out the lunch and dinner offerings.

A number of different desserts are available to top off the meal: strawberry and turtle shortcakes, Belgian or Alaskan waffles, and even a Nutella shortcake featuring Australia’s favorite hazelnut spread. n

Route 40 Café is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Page 10

Spring 2020

BUSINESS EXPANSION | STERLING

n w st

The

A local shoe store is expanding its footprint, opening a second location

BY CODY CUTTER ccutter@saukvalley.com 815-632-2532 | @CodyCutter35

STERLING – Shoes come in pairs, and Shoe Sensation’s presence in Sterling is soon to be the same.

The shoe store chain will open a second location in Pine Tree Plaza, at 4311 E. Lincolnway, Suite G – just a few doors down from Dollar Tree – in space most recently occupied by Wesley’s Kiddie City.

March 27 is the projected soft opening date, with a grand opening, drawings and giveaways on April 3.

Shoe Sensation has had a store in Northland Mall, 2900 E. Lincolnway, for nearly a decade.

The new store is similar to its mall location at nearly 6,000-square-feet. Inventory specifics are still being finalized, manager Greg Beets said.

A staff of 10 was hired for the new store during a job fair a couple of weeks ago; they, along with Beets, are undergoing training at the mall.

“It should work out real good,” said Beets, a former Payless ShoeSource general manager.

Corporate public relations coordinator Taylor McAdams did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment for this story.

Sterling has seen its footwear stores close in past years: Northland Mall was once home to Leslie’s, Endicott Johnson, and Kinney Shoes, and more recently, Finish Line closed in December 2018; Payless, which was next door to the new Shoe Sensation location, moved out in April 2017.

The loss of mall anchors Bergner’s and JC Penney in recent years further reduced the number of footwear outlets.

Shoe Sensation Inc., founded in 1984, is based in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The company has 206 stores and more than 1,000 employees across 18 states throughout the South and Midwest.

It also has a store in Dixon at Presidential Parkway Plaza, 1620 Miller Road.

Pine Tree Plaza was bought by Sterling businessman Kristopher Kyarsgaard in September 2017. He also is the owner of SKR Rentals, which owns the storage facility across the road, at 4505 E. Lincolnway.

Aaron’s moved in July into space formerly occupied by Fashion Bug. n

Paired up

Shoe Sensation will open a second Sterling location on March 27 at Pine Tree Plaza, 4311 E. Lincolnway, Suite G, in addition to its current store at Northland Mall, 2900 E. Lincolnway.

The mall location is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Find it on Facebook or go to shoesensation.com for more information.

Sauk Valley Business Journal

Spring 2020

Page 11

BUSINESS EXPANSION | DIXON

MAKING SOME

Kaleel’s Clothing and Printing owner Mark Kaleel is adding nearly 2,300 square-feet of space to the longtime men’s clothing store in Dixon.

e is going A Dixon clothing stor nding to up a few sizes, expa ’s clothing add space for women ns and printing operatio

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@sauk

valley.com

BY CODY CUTTER ccutter@saukvalley.com 815-632-2532 | @CodyCutter35

When the Kaleel family started their business more than a century ago, all they needed was a horse and buggy.

Today, they need more room and “more ladies stuff,” and they’re getting both.

Longtime men’s clothing store Kaleel’s Clothing and Printing is expanding, and it’s adding more women’s clothing to its inventory and more space for it printing business.

The store had carried some women’s clothing, but owner Mark Kaleel said he had heard from a number of customers that they’d like to see more in the store.

Now they will. Kaleel’s bought property next door to its current shop at 704 N. Galena and is building a twostory addition.

Kaleel, 57, bought the parcel at 111 E. McKenney St. in May, and the nearly 2,300-square-feet expansion should be done by the end of spring, he said.

“We needed more inventory and we needed more storage,” Kaleel said.

“Printing needs more storage, and we needed more floor space for retail.”

See the selection

Kaleel’s Clothing and Printing is open at 704 N. Galena Ave. in Dixon from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Go to kaleels.com, find them on Facebook, or call 815-284-5033 for more information.

When the new addition opens its doors, Kaleel’s will have an expanded selection of women’s Carhartt products and more women’s dress clothes.

“It’s typically a men’s store, but I want to put in more ladies stuff in,” Kaleel said. “I want to try and cater to both.”

The printing aspect – Kaleel’s screen prints and embroiders clothing – has grown in recent years, but the heart of the store remains with men’s clothing and accessories. Carhartt work clothes

are their main clothing line, but they also carry Wrangler casuals and Van Heusen dress shirts, and they offer tuxedo rentals.

Kaleel’s does free alterations on items purchased there. They’ll do them on other clothing for a charge.

The Kaleel family has been in the men’s clothing business for 115 years, and has been in Dixon since 2014. Mark’s grandfather, Nemer, emigrated from Lebanon and began his traveling dry goods business, Kaleel’s Country Peddler, in Spring Valley at age 17. He opened a brickand-mortar location in Earlville in 1939, renamed Kaleel’s Mens Clothing, and it later expanded to Amboy and Mendota.

Mark’s parents, George, 87, and Mona, 89, ran the Amboy store until retiring 3 years ago, and they continue to help out with the business. Mark handles clothing sales, and his wife, Renee, and their daughter, Kiara, are in charge of the printing division, which started when the present wing was built in 2016.

“My grandpa started the business in 1905 with a horse and buggy, and I just want to keep it going,” he said. n

Page 12

Sauk Valley Business Journal

Spring 2020

Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the professional summer theatre of northwestern Illinois, has the shows you will love: hot new shows just leaving Broadway, great American plays, everyone’s “old favorite” musicals, and the best in country, pop, and rock ‘n roll with our new expanded “Concert Series”. Join us for “Christmas in July” with our World Premier of What a Wonderful World.

Timber Lake Playhouse hires the best young theatrical talent from all over the United States, and we regularly bring back talented alumni who have gone on to stellar careers on Broadway, TV and Film. Noted past performers are Tony Winning Actress Jayne Houdyshell, Michael Gross (Family Ties), Jennifer Garner and Saundra Santiago (Miami Vice, Guiding Light, The Sopranos, and Broadway's Evita and more).

Santiago last appeared at TLP in 2016 as Rose in Gypsy.

Located just south of Mount Carroll, Illinois about 10 miles from the Mississippi River, TLP is a short drive from Fulton, Sterling and Rockford, Illinois. The current theatre building opened in 1975 with 371 seats. The building is fully air conditioned, and the fifteen-acre wooded campus is perfect for any other activity you and your guests desire. From picnicking on the deck overlooking beautiful Timber Lake to attending a pre-show activity in our newly acquired rustic barn, TLP is a great destination for a day of fun.

Check out our website at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org for more information about our shows and other activities.