After Hours

The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce and the village of South Barrington gathered with mall management for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Feb. 14 to celebrate the grand opening of MS Moda Couture, located at 100 W. Higgins Road, Suite E-1 in The Arboretum of South Barrington. MS Moda Courture ribbon-cutting ceremony attendees included: Dennis Kelly (FGMK Insurance Agency, Inc.); Cory Born, Stacy Kallas and Monica Josephson (The Arboretum of South Barrington); Doug McAllister (Douglas Automotive); Katie Van Diggelen (Achieve Footwear); Daria Komeza, Tracy Martin, Olivia Felfe, Klaudia Skiba and Ivana Dykas (MS Moda); Robert Palmer (Village of South Barrington); Linda Gump (College Nannies + Sitters + Tutors); Martha Goodman Stack (Wells Fargo Advisors); and Suzanne Corr (Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce).

The Lake Zurich Area Chamber commemorated members with an annual appreciation and awards night that honored exemplary members and businesses in the five villages that make up the chamber: Lake Zurich, Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods, Deer Park and Long Grove. On Jan. 22 over 100 members gathered to witness the annual awards. The winners include: Pulsation Yoga in Lake Zurich (Business of the Year); Lake Zurich Family Martial Arts (New Business of the Year); Joanie's Closet in Lake Zurich (Community Impact of the Year); Marty Jalove of Master Happiness in Lake Zurich (Innovator of the Year); Kathleen Liggins of Edward Jones in Lake Zurich (Volunteer of the Year); Joe Janicki of Brightway Insurance in Lake Zurich (Rookie of the Year).

The city of Aurora closed Black History Month by opening six new Black-owned businesses. As part of the "Aurora in Black" monthly series of events, more than 150 people gathered at the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora for the "Minding My Black-Owned Business" ribbon-cutting celebration for new six businesses: Family Means Forever; Laptops Sales and Repair; New Drip Boutique; Nine6teen Boutique; Signature Cuts; Thingamajiggz.

On Feb. 26, Wayback Burgers opened its doors to its new Darien location. At the grand opening celebration, guests were entered into a raffle to win two sets of AirPods and an Xbox Series S. Additionally, 15% of the proceeds were donated to PACTT, Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow, an organization connecting people with autism to the community - a cause that is near and dear to the franchise owners', John and Julie Stack, hearts.

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce was proud to celebrate a ribbon cutting for Zade's Lounge, 22 East Chicago Avenue, Naperville. The ceremony was facilitated with esteemed ambassadors and community members, as well as civic leaders such as Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico and NACC Board Chairman Christina Caton Kitchel, who welcomed Zade's Lounge and Scott Harris Hospitality to the chamber.