Why having a grocery store on Batavia’s east side is so important
Even though the Yelp reviews page online had the words “Permanently Closed” on a listing for Berkeley Finer Foods the past two weeks, the store wasn’t actually closed yet.
And that big sigh of relief you may have heard on Batavia’s east side this week is that, even though it won’t be Berkeley any longer at 28 S. Van Buren, the tradition of having a downtown grocery store in the city will continue.
Word had spread through town earlier about potential new owners, and Daily Herald reporter Susan Sarkauskas confirmed it this week in reporting a Cinco de Mayo Market will take over that location.
This is part of an operation that has popular bakeries in Aurora — and those goods as well as popular products Berkeley offered will be available.
Berkeley, serving the east side of Batavia for 16 years, was scheduled to close its doors on July 30, as the transition for the new store begins.
The good news in all of this is easy to appreciate. Batavia’s east side has always needed a grocery option, and Berkeley fit that bill.
In an earlier story, Sarkauskas noted that, prior to Berkeley, Walt’s Super Market operated at that Van Buren location until 1996 and Amstadt’s took over in 1997. Berkeley came along in 2009.
It all means Batavians on that side of town won’t have to drive through a congested downtown Batavia or along Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road to buy groceries.
The best scenario has always been that a small grocer on their side of town could potentially meet their overall needs, and most certainly was more convenient if just a few items were needed.
It’s been more than 35 years since David Lencioni of the Blue Goose Supermarket in downtown St. Charles contemplated a second store on the east side of the Tri-Cities.
He knew the east side of Batavia wasn’t the only area that could use another grocery option. He was eyeballing a parcel at Fabyan Parkway and Kirk Road that now has a Country House restaurant and a Comfort Inn & Suites hotel, hoping to lure shoppers on the east side of St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia, and maybe even pull some from West Chicago.
That idea never became reality, but new grocery stores not located in downtown areas were just beginning to sprout.
Like many small towns along the Fox River, downtown grocery stores have a solid place in Batavia history. A National Tea Co. grocer and a Kroger Grocery & Baking store were on East Wilson Street during the 1930s and ‘40s.
South Batavia Avenue had West Side Fruit Market, Central Food Shop and Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. stores from the 1930s through the ‘60s.
As for a grocery store on Van Buren, the latest businesses certainly were not the first. Batavia had a store at 515 N. Van Buren called Beardsley Grocery & Market from 1924 to 1964.
Today, Batavia can boast of numerous grocery options, but all are on the west side of the Fox River — Trader Joe’s, Target, Walmart, Aldi and Jewel.
There was no grand design by Batavia city planners over the years to create as many grocery store options as possible. It just happened through the course of west-side development of the Tri-Cities.
“I think it was more of a situation in which these businesses chose Batavia and some eventually added grocery to their stores (Target and Walmart),” Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said.
Schielke, who lives on the east side of Batavia, is a fan of the Berkeley store, especially the delicatessen counter. He was pleased to hear that a new store was coming to the Berkeley site — and that the delicatessen was to stay in place.
That’s good news for all grocery shoppers on Batavia’s east side.
Some scenic painting
It's not too uncommon at this time of year to see artists with their canvas propped in front of them near any number of scenic settings along the Fox River.
During the week of Aug. 18 to 24, especially, those painters are likely part of St. Charles Arts Council’s Plein Air Event.
The weeklong event will feature more than 60 painters finding different scenes to paint along the Fox River in St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia.
In what I would describe as a “practice session” about a month ago, I spotted several painters near the Japanese Garden in the Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva.
I asked if they were part of the Plein Air Event, and one said she planned to participate in that. But she also noted you can generally find her painting or drawing beautiful scenes across the Tri-Cities.
The juried event, with $250 in prize money, will culminate with the Grand Reveal Party and Art Sale on Saturday evening, Aug. 23 at the Baker Community Center in St. Charles.
Each artist will be allowed to submit three paintings to hang in the exhibit at that event. Advanced tickets are available through a donation on the arts council website at stcharlesartscouncil.org.
Is a Pope Coin possible?
This information, or speculation as it may be, is a natural for me to pass along.
I’ve been a Catholic my whole life, and spent about 11 years writing about financial services, mobile money movement and payment networks. So, I know a fair amount about the Catholic church and payments topics.
The two may interact through modern technology in the near future.
The world now knows that Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope. As such, some in the payments industry are speculating that he may try to move the Vatican toward the use of digital coins for the church’s charitable causes across the globe.
What does that mean?
Those behind this speculation feel the Vatican has enough valuable assets that it could sell, thus backing the creation of its own digital money. Some are calling them Pope Coins, and their mission is to aid dejected immigrants and other impoverished communities.
It does make sense in that the new pope, more so than his predecessors, might be inclined to embrace new technology that makes charitable support easier.
It should be noted these digital coins would be along the lines of what is known as a stablecoin, or one backed by standard currency and used for everyday commerce. They would not be like cryptocurrency to invest in and hope the value grows.
Recipients of Pope Coins would potentially have basic digital phones to transfer money or convert coins to U.S. dollars. These people don’t have bank accounts, so the phones would hold their money.
Digital coins can be restricted to specific uses, thus fraudulent use would be thwarted.
We see this scenario already with billionaire Bill Gates providing free health care to impoverished in Africa, while also establishing a system for some communities to eventually lure more health care providers.
How is this possible? He provides digital money restricted to use for health services and that money is loaded on the phones of those in need. Because the money is already in the phones, health care providers know they will get paid — and those types of services would flow into the community.
Where should I park?
When retiring from full-time work four years ago, the thought of having weeknights available to go out for dinner or see live music in a bar had plenty of appeal. It wouldn’t be as busy as the weekends.
It might be true during the winter months, but that premise doesn’t fly during the summer.
A case in point occurred on a recent Thursday night when we set out with friends to go to Alter Brewing in St. Charles for dinner and live music.
I parked in the lot behind the Municipal Center. It was the closest spot I could find. It’s not terribly far from Alter, but it’s not too close either. And this was around 5:30 p.m.
I learned a few things from this particular adventure. First, it helped me more fully understand why senior citizens often go out to eat around 4 p.m. I always thought it was because of senior discounts or the fact that they (I should say “we”) tend to go to bed earlier. Actually, it might be to find a good parking spot.
Second, the downtown dining and entertainment scene in St. Charles is humming along nicely. With an array of quality restaurants and sports bars, the Arcada and Moonlight theaters, and outdoor dining locations highlighting the First Street Plaza on the west side of the Fox River and First Avenue on the east side, people are flocking in.
Third, the dilemma of lack of parking seems like it may never go away. The city has built parking garages and designated other areas for parking, yet many would say spaces remain at a premium on busy nights.
Switch gears to Geneva or Batavia and the same scenario likely takes place on busy nights, though neither has an entertainment venue like the Arcada drawing people nightly.
• dheun@sbcglobal.net