When business practically collapsed following the Sept. 11 attacks, many merchants in Wilmette and Winnetka worried about the future.
It turned out things weren’t as bad as they feared.
Though sales dropped dramatically in the weeks after the attacks, business was returning to normal in both villages by mid-October. Most merchants said they’re optimistic about 2002.
“I’m very optimistic,” said Ro McLaughlin, owner of Maclund Gallery in Winnetka. “I was very nervous about what to expect, but now I think the economy is going to be pretty decent.”
Not that everything is rosy. A drop in sales even before Sept. 11 translated into lower sales tax revenues for village budgets. Winnetka, which had projected sales tax revenues of $1.4 million in fiscal 2001, is running about 4 percent behind 2000’s revenues. Wilmette is projecting a $300,000 decline in revenue for 2001.
Emphasis on retail
Wilmette’s business areas are heavily retail, with services running second. There is no manufacturing in the village, which has a population of about 20,000. Winnetka, population 12,400, has three main retail areas. Kenilworth has virtually no shopping: Its small business district offers mostly professional services.
Winnetka finance director Ed McKee said the drop in sales tax revenues is cause for mild concern. Sales tax revenues make up about 10 percent of the village’s $13.6 million budget.
“Of course, there’s always concern when you see sales tax [revenues] falling,” McKee said. “But it’s not like it’s half our revenues. We don’t rely that heavily on it.”
The village will make some budget cuts for fiscal 2002, which begins April 1, he said.
Wilmette has already taken action. Sales tax revenues account for 16 percent of the village’s tax-supported funds, and the budget for fiscal 2002, which began Jan. 1, had to reflect the decrease. Because the new budget also projected no growth in sales tax revenues, the village expects its revenue to decline by about $1.5 million over the next four years, said Bob Amoruso, finance director.
“This is more than just a one-shot deal,” Amoruso said. “That lost $300,000 is going to cost us.”
The solution has been budget cuts, a property tax increase and new fees, including refuse and ambulance fees.
“Ultimately, we’ve had to create new revenue to make up for the loss,” Amoruso said. “We were going to balance our budget one way or another.”
Positive outlook
Still, merchants in the two towns have retained a positive outlook.
“Merchants are a little more optimistic than I expected them to be,” said Julie Yusim, executive director of the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce. “Business is all over the place. It’s so hard to predict day-to-day right now.”
McLaughlin said September “might never have happened” based on sales after Sept. 11. October was OK, then business spiked in November. Receipts that month equaled what the gallery typically takes in during December, its biggest month. December was better than ever, she said.
Christmas sales were strong for the Village Toy Shop, co-owner Elizabeth Berwanger said, and she anticipates a good 2002. Berwanger and her mother bought the store, a fixture in downtown Winnetka since 1949, in 1985.
“I think people are trying really hard to return to normal, especially those with smaller children,” she said. “People want to get out and support the economy, and I don’t see that changing. I feel very optimistic about [this] year.”
Matthew Lambrecht, owner of the 110-year-old Lambrecht’s Jewelers in Wilmette, said he would remain confident as long as the stock market is up, which it generally has been since the terrorist attacks.
“It’s going to make people feel better” if the market stays up, he said. “It will make people feel like it’s OK to go out and spend money.”
Local merchants profit
Despite the economic slowdown, merchants said the ritzy North Shore area tends to be slightly insulated from recessions. Lambrecht said he saw an increase in business as people stayed closer to home after Sept. 11. When one customer’s trip to Paris was canceled, her husband told her to buy an anniversary ring instead, he said.
“People were spending money at home instead of going away,” he said.
Wilmette has a long tradition of residents buying locally, Yusim said.
“Our community is very close-knit, and there’s a lot of shopping loyalty,” she said. “People really try to shop Wilmette first when they can. Many families have been shopping at the same stores for generations.”
The same could be said for many shop owners. Mimi Evans and her sister own Lad & Lassie, a women’s and children’s clothing store that was started 50 years ago by their grandfather. Evans said she could name a dozen other local businesses with second- or third-generation proprietors.
“It makes it very comfortable for people,” said Evans, the incoming chamber president.
Wilmette is “heavy on the boutique side,” Yusim said, with lots of antique and specialty stores.
Six shopping districts
The largest of the village’s six main shopping districts is Eden’s Plaza, 3232 Lake Ave., which includes a Carson’s, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Borders Bookstore. It accounts for about 25 percent of the village’s total sales tax revenues. Another of its shopping centers, Plaza del Lago at 1515 Sheridan Rd., was built in 1928 and is the country’s second-oldest shopping center. (Kansas City is home to the oldest.) The Spanish-style center has a Crate & Barrel, Banana Republic and Crate & Barrel Furniture Store, along with a host of one-of-a-kind shops, including Italian ceramics, paint-your-own pottery and one of the area’s most popular fresh fish stores.
“It’s very upscale and unique,” said Laura Moss, manager. “We emphasize service and unusual things.”
Candace Mirza, a Wilmette resident, became a business owner there as well in November. Her gourmet kitchen store, Dinner at Eight, is the sort of specialty shop that the chamber likes to brag about. Mirza and a friend looked all over for the perfect site for their store, which offers cookware, cooking classes and other kitchen-related merchandise, before settling on downtown Wilmette.
“We rented a store [in another location], but it just didn’t feel right,” Mirza said. “We’re both Wilmette residents, and we felt hopeful the downtown area was ready for our shop. So far, the reception has been wonderful.”
Winnetka’s three business areas are the central business district, along Elm Street from Birch Street to Arbor Vitae and stretching north and south of there for a couple of blocks; Hubbard Woods, along Green Bay Road from Tower Road to Scott Avenue; and Indian Hill, on Green Bay Road from Winnetka Avenue to the Kenilworth border. Indian Hill has a mixture of service and retail outlets, including a Land Rover dealership and rug store.
Unique shops
These areas have a few big-name stores, including the Gap and Talbots, that draw patrons to the smaller stores. But Pat Horne, past president of the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce, said the village prides itself on the uniqueness of most shops.
“We’re almost all specialty shops and we’re almost all owned locally,” said Horne, owner of Multiple Choices, a gift and tabletop store in the central business district. “And that owner is probably behind the counter.”
McLaughlin, whose gallery is in Hubbard Woods, said the stores in the area work well together.
“Everybody helps each other,” she said. “If you don’t have what a customer is looking for, you send them to someone who does.”
McLaughlin moved Maclund Gallery to Winnetka four years ago. She had a store in downtown Chicago, but decided to move closer to her clients.
“I live five minutes from here, and most of my customers are here,” she said. “It’s just much nicer.”
McLaughlin said shops such as hers offer customers something they can’t find at a mall: personalized service.
“We know our customers by name,” she said. “I’ll wrap and deliver on Christmas Eve. I’ll hang a painting for a customer. It’s the way things used to be. It’s how I want to be treated.”
Parking a problem
Parking tends to be the most difficult problem facing merchants, even when towns such as Wilmette offer free parking to shoppers. Each year there’s a discussion in Winnetka about whether to build a parking deck to accommodate more shoppers. So far, though, no plans have been made.
“At the mall, people will park the equivalent of four blocks away from the store they’re visiting, and that’s OK,” Lambrecht said. “But if they’re coming to the village center and can’t park right in front, parking is considered horrible.”
Vacancy rates are negligible in Wilmette, except in the Linden Square shopping center, at Linden and 4th Avenues. The center “is hurting,” Yusim said. In Winnetka, the few vacancies usually are due to overcharging by landlords rather than undesirability, Horne said. Lambrecht attributed the positive business climate to a combination of loyal local shoppers and disenchantment with huge malls.
“People are tired of malls,” Lambrecht said. “They’re so blah, with the same things over and over. You could be anywhere, in any city.”
