Although records are no longer sold there, the Paper House card and gift shop may just be breaking records one of these days.
The shop has been located on the same corner for 18 years, and owners Regina Dapkus and Jurate Zelba are aware that their shop is something of an institution in downtown Wheaton.
”We`ve lasted longer than some marriages,” Zelba says, laughing as she gives a tour of her shop. ”We spend more time together than most couples do.”
Longtime friends and business partners, Dapkus and Zelba opened the Paper House as a card, book and record store on Feb. 1, 1974.
Today, the owners are just as likely to recognize faithful regulars as they are a second generation of customers and employees.
Within a few years, the Paper House dropped its inventory of records and all but the gift books. Greeting cards, stationery and party supplies became Paper House staples. The store now boasts 14 different card publishers aimed at almost any occasion, from birthdays to the loss of a pet.
When a hardware store closed next door in the late `70s, the Paper House expanded and filled the second room with giftware. Special items for children are found in ”Grandma`s Corner.” How about a silk-screened giraffe, dinosaur, goose or kitten T-shirt and matching socks for $21.50 per set?
(Adult sizes available for slightly more.)
Local gifts, such as Wheaton notecards or an exclusive-design pewter plate ($36.50) emblazoned with the old Du Page County courthouse sell well at Paper House, Zelba says.
”With Wheaton College, the county court and the nearby high-tech corridor, we have many visitors to Wheaton,” Zelba says. ”They like to take home souvenirs.”
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The Paper House, 100 N. Hale St., Wheaton, is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Call 708-653-0072.
