On some afternoons, sleepy downtown West Chicago must look a little like it did in 1849, the year the town was founded. Few people stroll the sidewalks or enter the shops. Water flows gently in the fountain on Main Street in the heart of the business district.
Some changes, however, are evident on this two-block strip. Since roads, sidewalks, lights and water service were rehabbed two years ago under a $1.1 million plan, a number of Hispanic-owned businesses have opened in the area.
There now are 11 Hispanic business owners who have found a downtown market niche. Their stores include a bridal boutique, crafts shop, law office, barber shop, beauty salon, doctor’s office and restaurants.
This critical mass of Hispanic commerce was not a developer’s dream. It appears to be, rather, the natural outcome of a growing Hispanic population, conducive economic conditions and old-fashioned individual initiative–and it has produced positive results for owners, shoppers and West Chicago, helping breathe new life into the downtown.
“Hispanics are more willing to open businesses,” said Mike Baker, the city’s superintendent of building inspection. “Maybe there’s an entrepreneurial spirit that Anglos have lost. Immigrants look at things differently. They see opportunities that maybe people who have lived here a long time may take for granted.”
Catering to the Hispanic community makes good sense in West Chicago. According to the 1990 U.S. census, the town’s population of nearly 15,000 includes more than 4,000 Hispanics, but city officials believe the numbers are much higher today. With the number of Hispanics rising, Hispanic business owners have a built-in customer base.
And the Hispanic customers are not just from West Chicago. Hispanics have been moving to west suburban communities such as Aurora, and some are driving to West Chicago to shop.
Recently, Rodolfo Serna and two friends drove from their home in Aurora to West Chicago. Serna, who has lived in Aurora for 10 years, buys his electronic equipment at a store in the downtown area. He also patronizes San Jose Western Wear, owned by Mexico-born Isaac and Sylvia Chavez, and the Mexican restaurant Taqueria Mexico Chiquito.
Those positive spinoffs also are important to Emma Rios. She arrived in West Chicago 38 years ago from Mexico with her husband, Onesimo Rios, who is a Texas native.
While he worked at a local chemical factory, she stayed home designing and sewing dresses for women and children. She never considered starting her own business until city officials knocked on her door asking if she was running an unlicensed business.
Emma Rios was not fined, but the incident, which occurred 16 years ago, prompted her to take $2,000 she had saved and open a clothing store in West Chicago. Over the years, she has been in several locations and modified her merchandise. In the last five years, she has settled at 204 Main St., home of Casa Rios Bridal Boutique.
Emmas Rios is the matriarch among West Chicago’s Hispanic business owners, offering advice and inspiration to those who seek her out.
“I always give encouragement,” she said. “One struggles because any small business survives from day to day, but I’m proud of my business community.”
It is not a planned Hispanic business district, Rios said.
Main Street’s affordable rent helps. The cost to own or rent a store in West Chicago is cheaper than in neighboring towns, such as Naperville or St. Charles.
The Hispanic investment is creating a market and that helps keep today’s downtown alive, said Mayor Steve Lakics.
In the next five years, he plans to oversee the building of homes for empty-nesters close to the downtown area. Metra parking will also be expanded, bringing more commuter traffic to downtown, he said.
But even with the renovations, the merchants may have a tough road ahead.
“The only way it’s going to work is as a service area,” said Tom Marziani, owner of two occupied buildings on Main Street. “There isn’t enough parking; there isn’t enough variety. It doesn’t work in Wheaton. Wheaton is tearing down storefronts and putting up townhouses.”
Sylvia Chavez, who owns an upholstery store along with the western wear store, wants to see a Starbucks coffee shop or a well-known chain open. It would bring more customers and improve the area’s reputation, she said.
“The high percentage of Hispanics is probably affecting the opening of a well-established business,” said Chavez, “which is sad.”
Not so, said Barbara Kattermann, West Chicago’s director of economic development. The downtown needs more nearby housing, she said.
Hispanics “are a population base that is important to our community,” Kattermann said.
Rios is optimistic.
“I like West Chicago,” Rios said. “West Chicago is a small city . . . with a lot of good people. We like the community, the businesses, the area. If not, we wouldn’t be here.”
