‘That underground feel’: Bewitching Brews sells teas, herbs from lower level spot in Geneva

For some time, we had no idea that the lower level of the Crystal Life Technology store at 121 S. Third St. in Geneva had a retail tenant.

Combined with the fact that dealing with some health issues kept us out of our normal routine of walking through the downtowns of St. Charles, Geneva or Batavia fairly regularly, discovering Bewitching Brews in downtown Geneva was a reminder that things can change quickly in a downtown landscape.

Thus, it was understandable that we missed the fact that Jennifer Farley, a former manager at Graham’s 318 on Third Street, had opened her 1,600-square-foot shop to sell organic teas, herbs, supplements and other interesting “bewitching items.”

Bewitching Brews has been around a year and a half now in that lower level, in the alley next to the Geneva History Museum, but Farley is making it more noticeable with flower pots arranged near some signs alerting passersby. Previously, she had only a sign on the side of the alley that, apparently, never caught my eye.

“I used to manage a health food store, Fruitful Yield in South Elgin, so now I sell all organic teas and herbs,” said Farley, whose shop has a couple of tables and chairs for those trying the teas. “I have a love for functional mushrooms, too, and the benefits of them, so I have those here as well.”

Farley, who lives in St. Charles, said she’s operated Bewitching Brews for about five years, but mostly at the Kane County Fairgrounds markets, and a year as part of the Batavia Boardwalk Shops program.

She said it was “hard to decide what to do” after her time with the Boardwalk Shops was complete, as she felt it was the time to open her own shop. She then found what she considers the perfect spot in Geneva.

“Having worked at Graham’s, I knew I wanted to be on Third Street in Geneva,” Farley noted. “And I found this lower-level space that had been empty for about six years.”

It didn’t take her long to sense the location would be a good fit for the aura she wanted to portray with her products.

“It has that underground feel that I was looking for,” she said.

She’s been in business long enough to quickly answer the question of which tea product has become the most popular with her customers.

“It’s the Dream Weaver tea,” Farley said. “So many people have problems sleeping, and Dream Weaver has ingredients that are calming. It is so popular, I have people from other states, like New York, ordering it online regularly.”

Those browsing the wares at Bewitching Brews will find various organic teas and herbs, as well as plant tinctures for migraine headaches or stomach woes. Also, various accessories, art, candles and perfume.

Everything in the store is “all organic,” Farley said, even the clothing, which is 100% cotton.

Call it The Whip

When Danny Marek drove by The Elms restaurant in Batavia on his way back from Marmion Academy in Aurora nearly 20 years ago, he pondered why the parking lot wouldn’t be more crowded.

The 2007 graduate of Marmion was aware of the legacy the Morrison family created with The Elms, but just felt the corner location at 912 Main St. and Whipple Avenue could attract the kind of attention it had in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Now, he’ll get his chance to revive the former restaurant location, closed in 2021, when he and a partner open The Whip, a burger and ice cream joint, with a target time frame for next spring.

“I really respect what the Morrisons did here all of those years, leaving a great legacy as a local family eatery,” Marek said, taking a moment from clearing things out of the former site this week. “That’s what we want to have here as well.”

Marek, a Batavia resident, has been a cook since he was 17, and graduated from culinary school in 2012.

The Whip, which gets its name from being located at the Whipple Avenue corner, will carry classic American fare. Plans are in place to bring back the walk-up window for ice cream treats that made The Elms popular.

Batavia’s plan commission recently reviewed site recommendations for The Whip, including an outdoor patio, an expanded parking lot, and turning the parking lot lights away from nearby homes.

Other expected improvements include a paint job and reboarding of the building. Interior expansion does not add more dining spaces, but addresses the addition of a modern kitchen, second-floor office, and conversion to ADA-compliant restrooms.

When Ray Morrison passed away at the age of 84 in early 2020, it was a tough blow for the lovers of The Elms.

Morrison was the workhorse who made that popular restaurant tick, so his wife Geri and son Curt kept it going as long as they could in the aftermath of his death.

Coronavirus made it tougher on the family to keep the restaurant going and, a year later, the Morrisons decided to close shop. Geri Morrison passed away in 2024 at age 87.

Other ‘new’ finds

Because I hadn’t walked through downtown Geneva in some time, various other businesses seemed kind of “new” to me, much like the aforementioned Bewitching Brews.

It basically means that, even if they had been around for some time, I haven’t had a chance to mention them in this column.

For example, it was good to see Marissa Kirch, a barista at the All Chocolate Kitchen at 33 S. Third St., took over ownership of the site when Chef Alain Roby and his wife Esther retired from the pastry world a year ago.

Kirch changed the name to Coffee, Cones & Cabernet, but intended to keep everything else the same, including the inviting atmosphere the site has enjoyed since day one.

To the delight of many, the Geneva Wine Cellar & Tasting Room reopened in the Berry House, 227 S. Third St.

Some nostalgia came into play as new owners Angela and Jordan Moore, along with their parents, have said they visited the wine cellar often in the past and have enthusiastically embraced the concept that “wine naturally brought people together around the table.”

Tucked in the corner of Dodson Place at 407 S. Third St., Storybook Café Matcha and Coffee seems to be doing well in a location that previously housed Café Barr and Geneva Winery.

Owners Nighum Abbas and Sara Vora have a chance to give this location more staying power with its concept of matcha tea from Japan and coffee beans from fair-trade farms. In addition, this café offers fresh-baked pastries daily.

Music and markets

Batavia MainStreet has to feel pretty good about the new location of the city’s farmers market on Wednesday nights.

The downtown organization has been reminding residents that the weekly evening market is now located in front of city hall, in an area known as the South Riverwalk Plaza.

It puts the farmers market experience in a nice spot along the Fox River and close to the city’s band shell, where the park district’s River Rhapsody concert series unfolds on the same nights.

MainStreet says 20 local vendors are selling wares each week, from fresh produce, to meats, cheese, baked goods, specialty foods, flowers, beverages and other items. In short, it’s what you’d expect when shopping at a farmers market.

The remaining Wednesday night markets take place from 5 to 8 p.m. June 24, July 1, 15, 22 and 29, and Aug. 5.

Watching for our health

We always hear about our collective health when a new virus pops up or an old one makes a significant return.

In between, we can expect the Kane County Health Department to do things to assure our safety that don’t always generate a shout out.

In glancing at the department’s 2025 annual report, we can see the department is doing those things.

The report notes the health department staff conducted 5,588 “notable disease investigations” to help protect residents, while administering 4,603 food service inspections during the year.

They also conducted educational sessions for 3,648 people about lead poisoning protection in the home, as well as issuing nearly 400 referrals to expectant parents and their families for home visits by nurses.

The list goes on with numbers of those helped with vaccines, mental-health information and resources, efforts to prevent opioid overdoses and the issuing of gun locks and safes for safe firearm storage.

Did you know?

A site on North Island Avenue in Batavia was once home to the city’s circus grounds and athletic fields, but that all changed when various circumstances led to the Appleton Manufacturing Company from Wisconsin building a plant there in 1901.

The company manufactured farm tools, which lured the Van Nortwick family to buy it in 1883 and move the operation in 1894 to a site north of Batavia.

The company began producing windmills after purchasing the Goodhue Wind Engine Company of St. Charles, according to Batavia archives. That factory complex was destroyed by fire in November 1900, forcing the company to rebuild in 1901 at the North Island Avenue site.

Appleton Manufacturing closed in 1949. Appleton Holding Company (1946-1965), eventually leased its North Island Avenue property to several manufacturers like Pharma-Craft Corporation, Crosley Corporation, Celine Inc., DK Manufacturing Company, Dunbar Kapple Inc., and DK Aerospace Company.

Batavia Enterprises Inc. acquired the property, selling it to the city of Batavia in August of 1973.

Ultimately, part of the building became the city’s government center, and the other part succumbed to the wrecking ball during the summer of 1991.

dheun@sbcglobal.net