New Elgin businesses keep it in the family

Talk about six degrees of separation.

Three businesses that recently opened in downtown Elgin -- Lily Falls Gift Boutique, Ravenheart Coffee and Salon Couture -- are all connected to each other, either by family ties or through business relationships.

First, Lily Falls, a ladies gift shop on Douglas Avenue, is reminiscent of Simple, a similar downtown store that closed its doors in 2005.

There, you'll find coffee cups, doggie dishes, jewelry, sassy cards, luggage tags and cheeky key chains. One, for example, reads, "So many men, so few can afford me."

For those who want to express your holiday cheer, the store also is selling ornaments and statues shaped like snowmen and Santa Claus.

Algonquin resident Vicki Ziebert, the store's co-owner, says the neighborhood's vintage charm is what attracted her in the first place. She added new fixtures, paint and wood floors.

"I didn't want to be in a strip mall," Ziebert said. "The history down here is great."

Jerri McCue is the shop's other co-owner, and Ziebert credits her with wooing her to Elgin.

McCue, also of Algonquin, is the owner of Ravenheart Coffee nearby on Chicago Street, situated inside the former Elgin Federal Savings & Loan bank.

She and her husband, John, hired Elgin architect Eric Pepa to redesign the space for their needs.

"We wanted to go with someone in Elgin who understands Elgin, especially downtown Elgin, and Eric is very active in the Elgin community," she said.

The neighborhood is an ideal place to do business, McCue said, because of the new housing that's coming.

Ravenheart is a café that prides itself on selling 100 percent shade-grown java, meaning forests or ecosystems weren't destroyed to grow it in the sun, she said.

And instead of chemicals, Swiss water was used to press the caffeine out of decaffeinated cups of joe. This process makes for stronger, richer tasting coffee, they say.

Jerri and John also are behind the Ravenheart Coffee house in Algonquin Commons.

"We make all the same drinks that the big boys make and they taste better because our coffee's better," she said. "It's coffee with a cause."

Finally, Nell Hughes, McCue's 23-year-old niece, runs Salon Couture, which offers waxing services, massages, manicures, pedicures and facials.

The salon, which also opened in November within the same bank building, purchases all its hair, manicure, pedicure and facial products from Aveda, a company that prides itself on supporting the environment.

Hughes formerly worked at Spa Blue in West Dundee, the town she calls home. Spa Couture is her first business.

"It's very exciting and different. I'm learning a lot. It's kind of like a crash course."

And it doesn't hurt that her Aunt Jerri is in the same building to offer advice on how to run a business.

"She's a great mentor," Hughes said.

• Lily Falls is at 10 Douglas Ave.; Salon Couture and Ravenheart Coffee are at 176 E. Chicago St. All three businesses will hold a joint open house Dec. 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. starting at Lily Falls.