Storefront goes from sugary treats to athletic feats

Talk about commercial evolution.

A building in downtown Naperville that once housed a shop filled with decadent sweets soon will be home to an athletic apparel boutique.

Endure It! Life is expected to open in early November in the 1,200-square-foot storefront at 217 S. Washington St., formerly the Chocolate Key.

"We're trying to capture people with active lifestyles who are shopping downtown," owner David Fix said. "This store is for the traditional walk-up customer."

Fix's Endure It! Sports shop at 504 W. Fifth Ave is more of a destination enterprise for triathletes and other endurance athletes. He expects to attract more casual shoppers with the store on Washington.

Unlike the Fifth Avenue shop that sells sports equipment and offers on-site training and coaching as well as apparel, the new store simply will be an apparel shop, Fix said. It will stock such shoe and clothing brands as Patagonia, Reef, Quicksilver, Roxy and Tsubo.

"Downtown Naperville was a great fit simply because it's so close to our other store it will be easier to manage," he said. "Plus, the exposure from traffic and walk-by traffic is unmatched anywhere else in the city."

Fix said he expects the new store will help with marketing the training facility at Fifth Avenue.

"We opened here in Naperville because of the demographics," he said. "This has been an explosion in a good way."

Bucking a trend that has seen national retail chains and destination eateries fill vacancies in downtown Naperville, Fix is bringing an independent retail shop to downtown at a time when most are fleeing. And he isn't renting the storefront like the few remaining independent shops downtown; he bought the building in August.

According to the DuPage County Recorder's office, the building's price tag was close to $753,000.

"Having an independent come to town is awesome because it keeps the mix of businesses where it needs to be and keeps us more of an eclectic community," said James Bergeron, chairman of the Downtown Naperville Alliance board. "It's too early to call this a trend, but I hope with all the things we're doing to maintain the mix, we can keep it going in the right direction."

Fix said the store won't open until November because he's planning to gut the entire inside of the shop. It has been vacant since about 2003.