The Book Shop now open Saturdays in Batavia

If the number of people going in and out of The Book Shop in Batavia on a recent Saturday is any indication, James Stickling and his wife Lizzy Evensen are onto something good.

Plus, in what other job can you proudly wear a “Green Eggs and Ham” T-shirt while talking with shop patrons about books? That's what Stickling was sporting, and it was surely something he wouldn't have worn just a few months ago at his previous job at Major Prime Plastics in Palatine.

Instead, Stickling and Evensen convinced each other that opening a bookshop to share their passion about reading and buying used books might be a good way to spend much of their days.

So far, the location at 15 N. River St. in Batavia that the couple has leased for two years is proving to be a good reason to leave a job in Palatine.

But it's certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme.

“Our sole mission is not just to make money, that is not what we are here to do,” said Stickling, who also drives for the Lyft ride service. “Every bit of money that comes into the shop, goes back to the books and the shop in order to provide an experience for customers.

“It's a place where people can go to talk about and buy books, instead of just ordering off Amazon,” he added.

Plenty of area residents are sold on the concept.

“I'm a super fan,” said Ferris Sotak, who just graduated from Batavia High School and was browsing books with her friend. “We are coming in here quite a bit.”

Stickling and Evensen didn't just create this shop on a lark. Their “experiment” last October during a Second Fridays event on River Street gave them all of the research they needed.

“We set up a few tables of books and posted on Facebook that we would be out there for a few hours,” Stickling said. “A wave of people came about 10 minutes before we opened, and there were so many people who were loving what we were doing.”

Evensen said The Book Shop wants to get others in the community involved in the process.

“Educators get a 10-percent discount on anything they buy, and we want to work with all of the schools to do whatever we can to supply books or help them find books,” she said.

For now, The Book Shop is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday. It's a small, narrow space. But when winter turns to spring, a patio and deck areas near the building will become available.

“We'll have tables and chairs available in the summer and sell coffee and tea outside,” Evensen added.

It was a “risky move” in terms of dropping everything else and starting a bookshop in Batavia, Evensen said. “But everything we have done moving forward has told us this is something Batavia wanted.”

Plenty more tacos:

Anyone who loves the thought of more places offering tacos and other Mexican food will be glad to know that Taco Madre is expanding into Geneva and St. Charles.

The restaurant, operated by Israel Garcia, has locations in Montgomery, Naperville, the South Loop and Niles.

In Geneva, Taco Madre should be open soon in the location formerly housing El Molcajete at 113 W. State St.

El Molcajete operated on State Street for eight years, but owners will focus on their Third Street spot now.

In St. Charles, Taco Madre will operate at 902 S. Randall Road, across from the Lowes hardware store.

The Montgomery spot has been in operation for three years, Niles and North Aurora about a year now, and Naperville's opened last month.

How to fill it:

Up to now, I haven't seen anything that would indicate Walmart plans to convert the Sam's Club in Batavia into an e-commerce fulfillment warehouse. Apparently, that is the plan for about a dozen of the Sam's sites closed nationwide.

Thinking that might not happen here, it begs the question as to what other type of business Walmart would be willing to sell the building to. Batavia city officials might be able to help lure another business into that soon-to-be-empty Sam's Club warehouse building along Randall Road, but it certainly won't be easy.

Larger sites are probably no tougher to fill than the numerous small retail spots open throughout the area, but there are certainly more complex logistics involved.

The announcement of Sam's Club closing caught a lot of local residents by surprise, especially those who worked there or simply just re-upped their membership for this year.

So, we don't need another huge grocery store there, right?

We don't need another huge furniture store there, right?

Or do we?

Why does the word IKEA pop into my mind about now?

A fitness rebranding:

Just in case you didn't notice, the Geneva Park District is now calling the Stephen D. Persinger Recreation Center and Sunset Community Center under their new name of BestLife Fitness.

But the Persinger and Sunset names aren't going to be ripped off the current buildings. This is more about name recognition for the actual fitness operations inside of the buildings.

“Members knew you could get a membership at either building, or a gold membership for both buildings, but not everyone in the community knew,” said Hannah Sterricker, customer service manager at Sunset. “Basically, what we did was create BestLife Fitness as a way to unite the two buildings.”

Under that concept, members should think of it as BestLife Fitness, the fitness facilities of the Geneva Park District, and it operates out of both Persinger and Sunset buildings.

“It's a case of trying to ease everyone into knowing we will be BestLife Fitness,” Sterricker said. “People are asking if it is still part of the park district, and it is.

“It's just a matter of rebranding and shortening the name a little and trying to get people to start calling it BestLife Fitness,” she added.

In pushing the concept, the park district has been offering a free month, dropping the enrollment fee and giving a free, 30-minute personal training session for those who sign up this month.

There's nearly two weeks left in the month, so those interested in BestLife would want to act now.

A new view:

How do you like the view from this part of the Neighbors neighborhood? Hopefully, you find it to your liking.

“Talk of the Town” will be pitching its tent in this section on Fridays rather than Wednesdays to better accommodate production schedules.

So, now you have to put up with me on Fridays and Sundays.

dheun@sbcglobal.net