Koffee Kup getting a Thanksgiving facelift -- courtesy of customers
Cindy Johnson said it's been hard to watch her friends' business reel under the pressure of the current recession.
Locals have been gathering at the The Koffee Kup restaurant in downtown Lake Zurich for decades. It's been the perfect spot to chew-the-fat over a strong cup of joe and a hot omelette.
But like most shops, the diner is seeing less of those folks coming in for bacon and eggs.
"Between the bad economy and the recent work on the Route 22 bypass, it's been slow," Johnson said.
Johnson has been friends with Koffee Kup owners Sheila and Bob Chudik for years. The families live in the same Crystal Lake neighborhood.
Not content to watch the place decline further, Johnson decided to see if she could help drum up business.
She's rallied friends and family to come out on Thanksgiving Day to work and give the interior a much-needed facelift. About 20 folks will spend Thursday painting, spackling, hanging new curtains and doing whatever it takes to spruce up the place.
"It's been over 10 years since any remodeling has been done and the need for updating was obvious," Johnson said.
Folks, including Johnson's husband Bruce, have worked at the diner in the evenings for the past week, Cindy Johnson said. They've pulled down warped pieces of paneling and primed surfaces for painting. But the bulk of the labor will happen on the holiday.
The Johnson's daughter Amber, an interior design student at Harper College in Palatine, has crafted a computer assisted plan for the upgrades.
"The computer-generated image really helped Sheila and Bob see the big picture," Cindy Johnson said.
It won't be all work, all day, however. The gang will enjoy a big Thanksgiving dinner together when the work is done in the evening.
Owner Sheila Chudik said she's touched by the generosity.
"They are really turning a negative into a positive," Chudik said. "We feel so blessed by this. Things are starting to look better already."
Johnson said she's not sure if the effort will attract a slew of new customers, but she's hopeful.
"This is their livelihood. Bob has grown up with this business," Johnson said. "It has to work for them."