Glen Ellyn's AliKat offers unique gifts for all occasions

Originally published Oct. 20, 2006

The owner of AliKat in Glen Ellyn believes the new shop fills a niche in the community by offering an array of fun, unusual gifts for friends, family and even pets.

The store at 499 W. Pennsylvania Ave. features a selection of items shoppers won't find at the traditional retailer.

"We have gifts for friends, for yourself, for older kids, for your husband, as well as great hostess gifts," owner Sandy Moore said.

T-shirts, purses and jewelry are popular at the shop. Moore said that she features a line of belts from a Texas designer where you can switch the belt buckles. One buckle says "Hip Mom," while a similar pendant says "hip mom" on one side and "Motherhood is not for sissy's," on the other side.

The Ugly Doll, a popular stuffed animal-style toy, is another popular pick at the store. The larger dolls go for $20 while the small ones sell for $10.

The store is named after Moore's two daughters, Ally, 13 and Katie, 11. It's designed in a fun way. "It looks like an alley with a fire escape," Moore said.

Parts of an old fire escape were used to decorate the back area called Teen Alley. Moore said she found part of the fire escape from an old dormitory they were demolishing at Wheaton College.

Glen Ellyn artist Christine Marks helped Moore design the store. "I had some ideas, but she helped me bring it all together," Moore said.

Prior to launching the small business, Moore worked for General RE in Chicago for about 20 years. She stayed at home for the past several years to raise her daughters and decided it was time to start her own venture.

"We wanted to do something local. We did a lot of research and found there's a need for this," Moore said. Her husband, Keith, works for Aon.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and in November will open on Sundays. For more information, call (630) 469-5760.