Local Businesses Bend Schneider’s Ear

New North Shore representative takes listening tour of nine companies on his first trip back to the 10th District after becoming a member of Congress.

From the time Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) started running for the House of Representatives in May, 2011, he touted his background as a management consultant as a reason he would be an effective member of Congress. In his first extensive interview with Patch a month later, he promised to listen to the needs of companies in the 10th Congressional District and advocate for them in Washington. Earlier: Update: Schneider Think of People’s Struggles on Special Day Less than a week after taking his oath of office Jan. 3, he made good on that promise with a tour of nine companies in the area Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. “I listened to business owners, managers and employees to hear their perspectives,” Schneider said. “They are optimistic…

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Swanson Blossom Shop Speaks to Generations

Family business is in its second generation and so are the customers.

Swansons Blossom Shop owners Abe and Helen Schneider expected a nice retirement in 1983 when they sold Swanson the Florist on Western Avenue in Chicago after operating the then 87-year old North Side institution for 25 years. After five years, Abe Schneider, then 68, heard Deerfield’s long time Blossom Shop was for sale. Retirement was over. Earlier: Best Florist Award Goes to Swanson’s “He said ‘don’t worry, it’s a small little shop, no weddings, no nights, no Sundays,’” Helen Schneider said describing how her husband broke the news to her that their retirement was over. What the Schneiders expected to become a pastime turned into anything but as their customers from the city discovered they were back in business. “At least once a week …

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What Would You Do With $1 Million? Northbrook Man Finds Out.

Bill Kirkpatrick was the lucky winner of $1 million in Discover Card's annual sweepstakes for cardholders.

When a Discover Card representative called Bill Kirkpatrick a month ago to tell him he’d won something in the company’s sweepstakes, he knew it could be one of two prizes: $25,000 or $1 million. He just wasn’t sure which one. But when Discover arranged for a limo to take Kirkpatrick, his wife and his son to the Metra station in Northbrook on Monday morning for a trip on the 8:33 train to Union Station, they began to get their hopes up. And when they stepped off the train to the blinding flash of cameras and a cheering crowd, they knew.  They had won $1 million.   An 11-year Northbrook resident and manager at Walgreens’ downtown office, Kirkpatrick was the grand prize winner in Discover Card’s yearly “Everyday Giveaway Sweepstakes.” Every …

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Dollar Tree To Fill Former Blockbuster Space

One of the vacancies in Meadow Plaza will be filled with a discount store.

The lights are set to go back on at the former Blockbuster Video in Northbrook, where a Dollar Tree store is in the works.  Property owner Jay Heitman told Patch that he signed a contract with Dollar Tree last week, and that demolition has already begun inside. Operating thousands of stores around the country, Dollar Tree is a Virginia-based chain that sells a variety of merchandise for $1 or less.  Northbrook’s new discount store will occupy an 8,000-square-foot site on the northwestern side of Meadow Plaza that was vacated by Blockbuster Video about two years ago. Heitman also owns the former Walgreens site next door, which still remains empty. Walgreens has paid its lease through 2024.  In the past, community members have criticized …

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Your Verdict: Raze Meadow Plaza, Start From Scratch

Patch readers overwhelmingly support major redevelopment of downtown shopping center.

Earlier this week, Patch asked for your opinion on what the village should do with Meadow Plaza, the shopping center at Cherry Lane and Meadow Road that is among several areas of downtown Northbrook being studied for redevelopment.  Given the choice of simply sprucing up the shopping center, leaving it to developers and property owners to manage, or razing it and building new residential buildings above parking garages, our readers overwhelmingly favored the complete rehaul.  The village is studying Meadow Plaza, among other areas, with the help of a $100,000 Regional Transportation Authority grant to create a comprehensive, transit-oriented plan for the downtown. Last week, a consultant hired by the village presented more than a dozen …

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Jennifer Fisher

7:47 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

@Kati - Thanks for your comment. You're right, the village did contribute money toward the cost of hiring Teska.   more ›

What Do You Want Meadow Plaza To Look Like?

Cast your vote for one of the options consultants have presented to revitalize Northbrook's downtown.

Ask any Northbrook resident, and they probably have an opinion on Meadow Plaza, the horseshoe-shaped shopping center at Meadow Road and Cherry Lane. Maybe the former Walgreens and Blockbuster stores, now vacant, should be razed. Maybe the vacant properties should be broken up to house smaller businesses, perhaps even an arts center. Maybe it's as simple as adding some trees. Or maybe nothing should be done at all. As part of a weeklong intensive planning process to design a new downtown for Northbrook, consultant Teska Associates presented several different plans for Meadow Plaza. Those plans vary from a simple "rejuvenation," consisting of a spruced up parking lots and storefronts, to a total rehaul involving a new parking garage combined…

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Visions For Downtown Include Redesigned Meadow Plaza, Parking Garage At Metra

Consultant presents several different proposals for downtown Northbrook after weeklong planning process.

Spruced up storefronts on Meadow Road, a pond behind the library and a parking garage at the Metra Station are among the visions for a redeveloped downtown Northbrook that were presented at a public meeting Thursday. Sketched in colored marking on tracing paper, the designs were the result of a weeklong intensive planning process spearheaded by the consulting firm Teska Associates and funded by a $100,000 community planning grant from the Regional Transit Authority.  “This is sort of our dream, hopefully, our community dream of what the downtown will look like,” said Village President Sandra Frum. The process began with a public meeting at Village Hall Monday, Oct. 17, followed by more meetings and brainstorming with residents, business …

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The App Hunter

Patch's Favorite Northbrook Apps

Reviews of mobile apps that cater to the suburban crowd.

It’s a cliché and a punchline now, but that doesn’t make it any less true: “There’s an app for that.”  And iPhone apps no longer cater to just urbanites. Whether it's food, services, maps or guides, mobile apps are increasingly catering to the suburbs. With that in mind, here are some of my recent favorite iPhone apps for Northbrook. 1. Walgreens (free) Even though I’m largely a CVS shopper (it’s closer to my house and I prefer its customer service)—Walgreens has the best iPhone app. Why? Not only can you renew your prescriptions (something that at least three competing CVS apps allow) but you can upload photos from your phone and have them developed in Walgreens in an hour. Awesome. Also in the app: weekly ads, a shopping list function, …

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Artist Turns New Downtown Space Into Showcase

Custom painting and repurposed home furnishing store relocates to Cherry Lane shopping plaza.

Things are heating up in Northbrook’s downtown, an area often lamented as in need of development. A Caribou Coffee shop is close to opening its doors at Meadow and Shermer roads, while across the street a Yogen-Früz franchise is already serving up its treats. In an area of the Cherry Lane shopping plaza that was seemingly becoming a ghost strip, boutique Turn the Tables opened its doors July 5.  Not only do Melly Schwartz and her husband Mitch breathe new life into old furniture, they have brought a breath of fresh air to Cherry Lane with their antiques, collectibles and hand-painted furniture. After the move from their former shop and studio in a house on Shermer Road, the couple are enjoying their new digs and are glad to have more space…

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Chicagoland Gets to Test Drive Walgreens Web Pickup

Stores in Northbrook, Northfield and Glenview are some of the first to utilize the new service.

North Shore Walgreens customers can now shop without ever having to enter a store thanks to the Web Pickup service the company launched Monday. With a click of a button, shoppers can order products online that'll be bagged for pick up in an hour at Walgreens stores in Northbrook as well as Glencoe, Northfield and Glenview. "Our customers value choice, control and convenience; web pickup offers all of these." Walgreen's Media Relations Manager Jim Cohn told Patch. The Chicagoland area is the first to experience a full rollout—roughly 480 stores are expected to have the service by August—following a 27-store trial in San Jose, Calif. Meanwhile the program falls in line with Walgreen's bigger web development goals, according to Cohn. "Our …

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