Downtown Elgin business leaves, another moves in
Spacetaste Gallery has left downtown Elgin and will be replaced by Mr. Cheaps Mattress, which is moving into the Chicago Street space in two weeks.
Spacetaste Gallery, which mostly sold artists' works on consignment, moved out of 215 E. Chicago St. in downtown Elgin to focus on online sales, as well as promotions and productions, its owner Tim Solarz said.
Mr. Cheaps Mattress, now at 213 Walnut Ave. in Elgin, plans to open its new location Aug. 15, owner Ron Weiner said.
Spacetaste's promotions and productions end, whose clients include Grand Victoria Casino, has been growing steadily since last year, Solarz said. That also meant he had less time to devote to the storefront, whose business hours weren't always regular, he said.
Spacetaste started in 2010 within Two Doors Down Antiques in Elgin, and moved into its own storefront on Douglas Avenue in 2011. It's been located on Chicago Street since May 2012.
Solarz said he sold consignment items for about 135 people over the years.
"Sales were OK, it's just a matter of the overhead and expenses of operating," he said. "I'm taking the relationships that I built and acquiring customers, and building on that."
Weiner said he's moving because the building he's occupied for six years was bought by the Shell gas station next door, which plans to knock it down to add parking. His last day at the old location will be Aug. 14.
"I do see a surge in good quality business opening up in downtown Elgin,"Weiner said, pointing to Blue Box Cafe and Viking Thrift and Artwork, both on Chicago Street.
He's also looking forward to taking advantage of the foot traffic created by the Elgin Public House and Medusa nightclub by staying open later on certain nights, he said.
Weiner - who recently expanded into a new, low-cost memory foam mattress line - credits much of his success to his strong presence on Facebook.
"Eighty percent of my business now is referral and repeat business," he said. "If it wasn't for social media, I'd be out of business."