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Galena Canning Company opening store in downtown Long Grove

Known for drawing crowds of potential customers by offering salsas, relishes and sauces to sample at Long Grove festivals, a popular food business plans to open a retail shop in the village.

Galena Canning Company will occupy space vacated by Trio Boutique in the Mill Pond development on Robert Parker Coffin Road. Chef Ivo Puidak, who co-owns Galena Canning with his wife, Shelly, said Thursday the store should open by Thanksgiving.

"Long Grove is very reminiscent of Galena," Puidak told the Daily Herald. "It has small-town charm."

Village President Angie Underwood said Galena Canning Company's planned opening is another positive sign in the effort to revitalize the downtown historic district. Long Grove village board trustees agreed this week to the businesses' request to affix a sign on the Mill Pond building facing Robert Parker Coffin Road.

"Everybody has been asking, 'What new stores are opening? What's coming?'" Underwood said.

Puidak, who has two Galena Canning stores across from each other on Galena's Main Street strip, said his Long Grove operation will be a return of sorts. His products had filled most of the shelves at Farmside Country Store and Winery in downtown Long Grove until it closed in 2011.

Galena Canning has been a staple at Long Grove's festivals. Visitors often can be seen jamming the company's space to sample products, such as raspberry salsa, corn relish, apple-hickory barbecue sauce and honey-mustard dip.

"Without a question, we are one of the biggest draws at any of the outdoor events," Puidak said.

Roughly 40 percent to 50 percent of downtown Long Grove's storefronts are vacant, according to the village. Galena Canning will open in a structure owned by the Forsythe family, which now possesses 17 buildings or about one-third of downtown.

Tycoon Gerald Forsythe is the family patriarch. He's CEO and chairman of Indeck Energy Services Inc. in Buffalo Grove, with an automobile racing team among his other interests.

Puidak said he can envision the downtown becoming a place known for food, arts and entertainment.

"I think with the new owners and the new management with a lot of the properties, they're trying to make it more of a destination point," he said.

Puidak attended Harper College in Palatine and learned under culinary arts instructor Lou Buchenot. He credited Buchenot for encouraging him to further his education at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

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Galena Canning Company is expected to open by Thanksgiving in Long Grove's Mill Pond development on Robert Parker Coffin Road. Daily Herald File Photo
Galena Canning Company has had a presence at Long Grove festivals and is known for offering samples to potential customers. Daily Herald File Photo
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