Campton Hills' quaint Corner Store closing

Every morning around 5:45 a.m., the regulars start to arrive for their daily dose of coffee, news and gossip.

Wayne Van Acker usually does the pouring as a handful of friends gather around the worn kitchen table at Campton Hills' unofficial meeting post, the Corner Store.

Here, the narrow aisles are packed with homemade jams, chocolate and candy. You can pick up the day's newspaper or grab a fresh pastry from the glass case by the register. The post office is next door.

"The atmosphere's great" for starting the day, says Van Acker, 68, a lifetime resident of the area. "We solve all the world's problems in an hour and a half."

One problem Van Acker's group has yet to solve, however, is the question of what to do come Oct. 1, when the village's quaint Corner Store closes its doors for good.

Co-owner Kathy Munyon on Wednesday cited a lack of regular customer traffic - only exacerbated by the nation's economic downturn - as reason why the decades-old institution must end.

Though well-known locally, she said, the business apparently can't compete with the convenience of larger general stores that are widely available across the region today.

"You have to make a real effort to come to a place like this," Munyon said. "It's not that people don't like it - they do. They just have to make a point to come here."

Munyon, a 13-year resident of the area, bought the establishment about seven years ago with her friend, neighbor and business partner Patty Mika. Before that, the two-story brick building at Route 64 and Old La Fox Road housed Collins General Store, which had similar offerings, for at least 22 years.

Munyon said she can't refute comparisons to actor Andy Griffith's fictional television town of Mayberry.

The Corner Store's rural charm is perhaps best embodied by the fact that Van Acker, who technically doesn't work there, was offered a key several years ago so he could arrive early and brew coffee before most folks get out of bed. "There's not any place like this one," Van Acker says.

According to Campton Township property records, the building standing today was built in 1915, though there was activity at the site as early as 1885. For many years, the building was home to Hummel & Co., a supplier of lumber, hardware and farming goods. It also has been used as a post office, Munyon said.

Munyon said the store has been on the market for some time, but she wasn't sure whether there are plans for a new business in its place.

Fred Hummel, whose family ran the lumber business and still owns the building today, declined to comment.

Regardless, the Corner Store plans to donate all food and related equipment still remaining Oct. 1 to the Lazarus House homeless shelter in St. Charles. Fixtures, antiques and knickknacks from the store are for sale.

As for the owners, Munyon said they're sorry to see the store close but were happy to be a part of it.

"I always thought it would be fun," she said. "When I was growing up, everybody had a little corner store in their neighborhood."

Not anymore.