Katie Cummings had her hands full last Saturday afternoon as shoppers at her JAYNE Boutique in La Grange took advantage of the perfect weather and sale prices at the eclectic women’s clothing store, 20 W. Harris.
JAYNE was the presenting sponsor of La Grange’s 2025 Sidewalk Sale on Aug. 22-24, an annual event organized by the La Grange Business Association.
Cummings said this was the fourth year JAYNE has sponsored the event and she felt confident in that role.
“We feel like we know how to do a sidewalk sale and do it big,” she said. “We probably brought in close to 1,200 pairs of shoes for this sale. It’s a mix, it’s definitely clothing and footwear, and these are some of the biggest days we’ve seen in our history.”
The 2025 Sidewalk Sale had fewer participating businesses this year, with 16 as opposed to numbers in the low 20s that turned out in previous years. But there were a few new participants.
Mion Artisan Soap, 2 W. Calendar, offered free samples of skincare products with any purchase. Uppers Land, 25 W. Calendar offered deals on toys, and Parker James, 8 W. Harris, had special sales on women’s clothing.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate, 50 S. La Grange offered a free candy apple for every three purchased, La Grange Upholstery, 919 W. Hillgrove, had $10 per yard off on all stock fabric; Eye Mechanix, 52 S. La Grange, offered 50% off on selected prescription eyeglasses; Jack’s West End had up to 75% on spring and summer merchandise.
Some participants, like Olivaceto, 77 S. La Grange, an artisan olive oil retailer, were old hands at the sidewalk sale.
“The community embraces us,” said owner Jodie Rivas, whose business has been open for 11 years.
She explained she was able to keep her product fresh by rotating between harvests in the two hemispheres.
“There’s only two times a year that the harvests happen in the world,” she said. “It’s the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. … We’re always switching between the two, so we always have the freshest olive oil and the oldest balsamic. That’s how it should be.”
While most of the participating retailers were concentrated in La Grange’s downtown business district, some, like Jack’s West End, were in other areas of the village.
Jack’s West End owner Susan McMillin said that the business had been great during the sale. Jack’s has been open for three years, and has participated in the sidewalk sale each year.
“It’s been a really great experience having this store,” McMillin said. “It’s been really fun. People enjoy being in here, enjoy the ambiance. A whole lot of the people that come here are from La Grange, and Jack (McMillin, Susan’s husband and co-owner) grew up in La Grange. He’s got roots here.”
One participant, Whisper Me Home, 48 S. La Grange, was scheduled to close Monday, but for a happy reason — the owners, Heidi and Scott Morrow, recently became grandparents and are moving to Michigan.
“We’re semi-retiring and moving to Michigan,” Heidi said. “We’re just ready for a little slower pace of life.”
Dan Mulka, executive director of the La Grange Business Association, talked about the strategies used to promote the event.
“It’s a lot of reaching out to our retailers to see if they are interested in promoting specific items, promoting specific deals,” he said. “Our goal in putting this on is to bring attention to the retailers, so we want to see what they want to focus on.”
Mulka stressed the diversity of products available from La Grange’s retailers.
“It’s a variety of stores,” he said. “That’s the thing about the retail side, there’s a little bit for everybody.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
