It`s a workday ritual for thousands of northwest suburbanites: the morning commute. For some it begins even before the sun rises, as they leave the relative calm of Woodstock or Palatine, many of them heading for the city. The first Metra train of the workday morning leaves Crystal Lake, bound for Chicago, at 4:50 a.m. It pulls into Chicago`s North Western Station on West Madison Street one hour and 22 minutes later.
How early is 4:50 in the morning?
According to Chuck Westcott of Barrington, a naturalist with the Cook County Forest Preserve, many birds are still catching some shut-eye in their nests that early in the day. Morning men Bob Collins and Jonathon Brandmeier haven`t gone on the air yet.
Still, at coffee shops from Harvard to Des Plaines, shops that cater to customers along the Northwest line of the Chicago and North Western Railroad, proprietors have been busy brewing pots of coffee and lining up a sweet army of doughnuts, muffins and cinnamon rolls.
For the next four hours or so, a steady swarm of commuters keeps coming until about the time Collins and Brandmeier are done working for the day.
The first train leaves Harvard at 5:48 a.m. The express train that leaves Arlington International Racecourse at 7:11 a.m. is a popular one. The 7:47 from Barrington is always crowded, and the 9 a.m. out of Crystal Lake picks up the stragglers.
According to Metra, 9.8 million people rode Chicago and North Western`s Northwest line in 1991. Every commuter is on his or her own private journey, which has been part of the suburban ritual as long as, well, as long as there have been suburbs.
But most commuters, no matter what their age, occupation or destination, often have three things in common early in the morning: They are hungry, they are thirsty and they need something to read.
And thanks to a dedicated and early-to-rise group of businessmen and businesswomen, northwest suburban commuters also have a friendly a.m. oasis located near their train station that they can call their own. It`s a place where the coffee is fresh-brewed, the doughnuts and muffins are fresh, and the newspapers are hot off the press.
In some towns, like Harvard and Cary, the local bakery is the place for morning commuters to congregate. Arlington Heights, Fox River Grove and Mt. Prospect have gourmet coffee shops. Woodstock and Barrington have old-fashioned soda fountains. Palatine has a doughnut shop, and Crystal Lake has a newsstand, while Des Plaines has a soda fountain and a newsstand.
While each business has its own story to tell, they all have a common theme: When you order a cup of coffee and a jelly doughnut, you also get a smile.
And as commuters point out, you will also get a bit of small-town friendliness and a bit of calm amid the a.m. hustle and bustle.
”There`s a group of fellows I know that are at the Towne Shoppe every morning,” said Chicago attorney Brian McManus of Barrington Hills. ”They always have a joke, or we`ll talk about the big sporting event from the night before.
”I hate rushing to catch a train, so I leave home in the morning with plenty of time to spare so I can have coffee at the Towne Shoppe,” said McManus, who has been visiting the Barrington shop since 1978. ”I`m relaxed when I get on the on the train, unlike some people who had to run across the tracks with the train bearing down on them. That`s no way to start a workday.”
Dave Vite of Woodstock would probably agree. Vite, the president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, has been commuting to Chicago for 15 years. He started going to D & J`s News Depot in Woodstock because it`s only 30 yards from the train depot. But he kept going back for another reason.
”I`ve met a lot of nice people ever since I started going to the Woodstock News Depot,” said Vite. ”We talk about sports, politics or about what`s going on in the community, or someone will tell a joke.
”I spend 10 or 15 minutes there every morning. It`s a great way to start the day. Jane and Derald are very nice people and they make everyone feel welcome. Plus, they make great coffee.”
A great cup of coffee coupled with a friendly face and good conversation, in fact, has been part of the a.m. ritual for many northwest suburban commuters for years.
For instance, the Swiss Maid Bakery in Harvard, which is the start or the end of the Northwest line, depending on whether you`re coming from or going, has been fueling commuters for four generations. The 49-year-old bakery at 104 E. Brainard, located two blocks from the train depot, is now owned by brothers Kurt, Paul and Eric Stricker.
”We open up at 4 a.m., and we get all sorts of regular commuters coming through our doors every morning,” Paul said.
”We get train conductors, too. It`s an awfully long commute for people going all the way from Harvard into Chicago,” he added, ”and we get them started on the day with a hot cup of coffee and a fresh doughnut.”
As the Metra train travels through the rolling farmland of McHenry County, it seems more like central Wisconsin than suburban Chicago. The next stop is Woodstock, the county seat and the home of the famed Opera House. It`s still a long way from downtown, about an hour and 20 minutes. Commuters in Woodstock make it a daily habit to stop at D & J`s News Depot at 236 Main Street, across from the train station on Church Street. The old-fashioned soda fountain has a tin ceiling, old tile floor and a friendly looking counter.
”We have all the newspapers, and the largest selection of magazines in McHenry County,” said Jane Wolff, who owns the News Depot with her husband, Derald. ”We offer hot coffee and tea, juice and fresh sweet rolls from the Riverside Bakery in McHenry. And our coffee is the best in town, and I`m not lying. Our customers will attest to that.
”We know what a lot of our customers want as soon as they hit the door in the morning, which they appreciate,” she said. ”Some people sit at the counter if they have a few minutes, while others get it to go.
”Our commuters get our day going on a dead run,” she added. ”It`s a daily tradition. We`d ruin a lot of mornings if we ever overslept.”
As the Metra heads downtown, the next stop is Crystal Lake. A few hundred busy commuters stop in at the Downtown News Agency at 82 Railroad St. every morning. It`s not real fancy, with its peeling paint on the door and the broken awning.
There are no croissants or gourmet coffee, but the key here is economy, which has been the deal for 27 years, according to assistant manager Tom Humphrey of Crystal Lake.
Take your pick: A fresh-brewed 14-ounce cup of coffee, a doughnut or an orange juice each cost 50 cents. Plus, they never run out of newspapers.
In both Cary and Crystal Lake, commuters can also use the coffee services operated inside the train depots by Sandy Williams of Cary and her daughter Wendy Richards. They`ve been in business three years and they open at 4:30 a.m. and head back home four hours later. But not until they`ve sold a combined 300 cups of coffee per day.
”The majority of commuters come in five minutes or less before their train arrives,” Williams said. ”When we know there`s a train coming, we line up a row of filled-up cups. When the train bell`s ringing, our regulars will grab a cup and jump on the train. Then they`ll pay us the next day. Our regulars are very honest.”
Up next is Cary, where commuters faithfully find their way to Peter`s Bakery at 117 W. Main St., across the street from the barber shop and the train station. Peter`s has been family owned for 31 years.
”Our early morning store traffic is very busy,” said Pam Yurgaitis, who owns Peter`s with her husband, Phillip. ”Every morning it`s the same people coming to see us on their way to work. The girls behind the counter know what many of our customers want, and it`s in the bag when they hit the door. People are impressed by that.
”We offer products that are baked from scratch every morning and our service is friendly. Our commuters know our clerks by name, and vice versa. And they know that what they`re buying is going to be good. It really is a pleasant place to start your day in the morning.”
Three minutes later the Metra train pulls into Fox River Grove, where commuters try the Euro-American Ambrosia Patisserie at 312 Northwest Highway. The gourmet coffee shop and bakery opened two years ago.
”We have a wholesale outlet in Cary, and we`ve been selling baked goods to restaurants, caterers and country clubs in the area for three years,” said Deborah Lesley-Rivera, co-owner with her husband, Richard Rivera. ”We watched how the Cary-Fox River Grove area has grown, so we decided to open a retail outlet.”
In addition to their own ambrosia blend of coffee and several other varieties, store specialties include caramel pecan rolls, ham and cheese croissants, raisin bran muffins and apple cinnamon and cherry turnovers. As for the cinnamon raisin rolls with honey, ”We make nine dozen every morning, and they`re gone by 9 a.m.,” Lesley-Rivera said.
Commuters start hitting the Patisserie doors around 5:30 a.m.
”They come from all over the area, Fox River Grove, Barrington Hills, Algonquin and North Barrington,” Lesley-Rivera said. ”We establish a day-to- day relationship with our commuters. People appreciate the familiarity, especially since the whole idea of a daily commute can be kind of impersonal. We try to help out anyway we can.
”We love the Fox River Grove area. We knew the area was ready for something like this. Some people were concerned when we opened that we were too upscale, that we wouldn`t make it unless we sold doughnuts and kolachkys. But that`s nonsense. Knock on wood, it`s gone better than anticipated, thanks in large part to our commuters.”
The next stop on the railroad is Barrington, where Patti & Jacki`s Towne Shoppe at 119 Cook St. has been servicing commuters for decades. Patti Hein of Hoffman Estates has owned the soda fountain for nine years, and Jacki Cauthen of Johnsburg became her partner in January. Before that the Towne Shoppe, which is housed in a building dating back to 1860, was owned by Audrey and Wilbur Veath of Barrington.
”We have all the newspapers, coffee, doughnuts, bagels and conversation, Lots of conversation,” Hein said. ”We have 37 regular commuters who come in every day, and dozens more who come in two or three or four times a week. Soda fountains were hangouts when we were kids, and they`re hangouts today for many adults. They feel good when they come in here.
”Commuters know that when they come in to the Towne Shoppe they`ll get a smile and some friendly conversation, and that`s why they keep coming back. They know that we care about them, that we know how many grandkids they have. ”The Towne Shoppe could be anywhere in the world. But because it`s in this village, we have to know our customers. A commuter who`s rushing around in the morning can always buy a newspaper at a 7-Eleven. We offer more than that.”
Palatine commuters swear by the Donut Depot at 235 W. Colfax, located in the aptly named Commuters Plaza adjacent to the train station. The Donut Depot, which opened in January, is owned by Larry Hoos, 28, of Palatine, and his 16-year-old brother, Bobby, a sophomore at Palatine High School.
Larry was managing a health club and his kid brother was working in a bakery when they decided to go into the doughnut business together.
”We have 40 varieties of doughnuts, bagels, muffins and cinnamon rolls, and we bake them fresh right here every morning,” Larry said. ”We both start work at 3 a.m. My brother does the baking, and I do the finishing. Bobby, who I`d bet is one of the few business owners at Palatine High, works till 4:30 in the morning or so, then he catches a quick nap before he heads off to school. I hold down the fort until all the doughnuts are gone, or until 1 p.m., whichever comes first.”
Larry said that if they have any doughnuts or muffins left at the end of the day they donate them to local churches or small businesses. ”We`re just trying to let people know we`re here,” he said.
Arlington International is the next stop followed by downtown Arlington Heights and That Coffee Place at 28 E. Northwest Highway, which started brewing gourmet coffee, espresso, cappuccino and chocolate-flavored mocha in October 1991. Store manager Carol Ohrn of Rolling Meadows said there was a need for a gourmet coffee shop in Arlington Heights.
”Cappuccino and espresso places are very popular on the West Coast, and things have gone very well for us here in Arlington Heights since we`ve opened,” she said. ”We`ve got a great location, right across from the train station, and believe me, we`re very busy in the morning from 6 o`clock until about 8:30 or so.
”It`s rush, rush, rush, and we have many regular, everyday customers. We know what many of our commuters want as soon as they hit the door, and we start pouring their size and flavor right away.
”Sometimes, when the train gates are being lowered and the bells are ringing, the only words said are `good morning.` For hundreds of commuters, we`re an important part of their morning, five days a week.”
Ohrn said that the mornings can be harried for many commuters, and the staff at That Coffee Place tries to provide a calming influence.
”We know the train schedules, and we know when there`s going to be an influx of customers. That way we can be prepared,” she said. ”Sometimes people will hear the gates ringing, they`ll get nervous, and we`ll tell them not to worry, that it`s the 7:54 westbound to Harvard. They`re waiting for the 8:01 to Chicago. We try to provide more than just a cup of coffee.”
Fred Adams of Mt. Prospect knows coffee. He was operating an office coffee service last year, and many of his customers were asking for various gourmet coffees. He thought there might be an untapped market, so in June he opened the Boston Coffee & Tea Co. at 4 E. Northwest Highway, across the street from the Mt. Prospect train station.
”Business has been picking up a little bit more each day since we`ve opened,” said Adams, sporting a baseball cap with his store`s initials on it. ”Commuters need that morning pick-me-up, so to speak, and what better way to do it than with a hot cup of fresh gourmet coffee? I can always tell a commuter, because they are usually in a hurry. They don`t browse, and they need quick service. And that`s exactly what we give `em.”
By the time the Metra train stops at the Cumberland station and hits Des Plaines, downtown Chicago is only 35 or so minutes away.
Des Plaines commuters can choose between The Sugar Bowl, an old-time soda fountain at 1494 Miner St. that was established in 1921, and P.K.`s News `N Views at 664 Pearson St.
No matter where they`re coming from or heading to, by its nature the daily commute can be a lonely journey. Even though commuters are surrounded by comrades, they are heading into the daily battle all by themselves. But thanks to businesses that cater to morning commuters, at least they can get a good start on the day, which might help soften the blow of whatever happens the rest of the way.
As Lesley-Rivera said, like commuters, businesses that cater to commuters are on a mission of their own.
”We`ll do whatever we can to give people a good start on their day,”
she said. ”And I`m not talking about just our commuters. We`ll see train riders from Cary, Woodstock, Crystal Lake or Harvard on a weekday, and they`ll be waving to us through the window from across the street. Then they`ll come in and see us on a Saturday and say, `That was me waving at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday.` I think that`s neat.”
