Downtown Naperville is saying goodbye to two businesses this week: Everdine’s Grilled Cheese Co. and the Nike store.
Everdine’s owners announced Tuesday on social media that they will be shutting their Naperville store at 24 W. Jefferson Ave. on Friday. They did not give a reason for the casual restaurant’s closing.
“We are so grateful for all our wonderful customers who stuck by and supported us through this last decade. It has been such a pleasure getting to know so many of you throughout the years,” the social media post said.
Everdine’s opened in November 2016 and quickly gained popularity, with the business selling somewhere between 300 to 400 sandwiches a day, according to a previous Naperville Sun article.
Co-owners Kelly and Brian Herkert got the idea to open a grilled cheese shop following their adventures backpacking in Australia. The newlyweds, who met while working in a restaurant, needed a quick, cheap meal during their trip and grilled cheese sandwiches were the answer.
Their restaurant offered more than a dozen grilled cheese combinations, including a mac-and-cheese stuffed sandwich, a Hawaiian-themed version with pineapple and ham and even a sloppy Joe grilled cheese. If none of those options were appealing, guests could build their own sandwich.
The company’s second location in Batavia will remain open, the business wrote on social media.
Everdine’s Grilled Cheese co-owner Kelly Herkert did not respond to requests for comment.
Naperville is also saying goodbye to the Nike store at 217 S. Main St.
The 4,600-square-foot store permanently closed this week, Downtown Naperville Alliance Executive Director Katie Wood confirmed. According to a message left on the store phone line, the business closed July 13.
When the store opened in November 2021, it was advertised as the brand’s first Live retail operation in Illinois, tailored to the demographics of the area. The Naperville location focused on selling gear and apparel for women but other products as well, according to a previous Naperville Sun article.
Nike has been struggling to keep up with competing brands in recent years and recovery for the company has been slow, according to news reports. Reuters reported that although the company “modestly” beat its fourth quarter revenue estimates, stocks for Nike have fallen about 35% so far this year.
Amid the company’s struggles, Nike has closed some retail locations and laid off 1,400 workers in April, with most of those employees being technology workers in their operations division. Nike announced in March that it had closed every Nike Studios location, which were boutique fitness gyms launched in partnership with FitLab in 2023.
A spokesperson for Nike did not return a request for comment about the closure.
The Naperville store’s departure comes in the wake of several athletic apparel businesses opening downtown in recent months. California-based athleisure company Vuori opened at the former Eddie Bauer spot in June. FP Movement, an athletic apparel spin-off to the bohemian chic retailer Free People, opened a store in April.
“Be reminded that we had one of the biggest retail store opening years ever in 2025 with several new businesses already opening this year, including Free People, Lilly Pulitzer, FP Movement, Vuori and Regenerate,” Wood said when asked about the Nike closure. “Businesses close all the time as part of an evolving downtown.”
cstein@chicagotribune.com
