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Sun, sidewalk sale draws shoppers to downtown La Grange on Saturday

Saturday downtown La Grange saw scores of shoppers strolling the downtown area enjoying a warm sunny day and kicking off the town’s annual Spring Shopping Stroll.

The La Grange Business Association organizes the event as a way to entice customers to locally-owned downtown businesses and this year, with 24 businesses participating, there was something for everyone, from Ace Hardware, an arts studio to clothing, jewelry, and household goods and snacks and drinks when the going got tired, with most stores offering deep sales and giveaways.

“La Grange was bustling,” reported Cathy Domanico, CEO and executive director of the LGBA. “The whole downtown was busting. Even on the West End, we got great feedback from stores on the West End.”

However, for many shoppers, the whole day was the experience itself, as neighbors mingled, sipped drinks, and enjoyed the afternoon.

“It’s a beautiful day and I came out to hang with my bestie,” said Lori Ann Duffy, who was shopping with a girlfriend from Riverside. Duffy added that they did both enjoy the sales though.

“People were taking advantage of the outdoors,” said Domanico. “Everyone had a really nice time out with friends and family enjoying the springtime weather.”

“I’m loving it,” Duffy said. “We went and got a coffee and now we’re off to Jayne’s.”

Duffy and her friend were no strangers to downtown La Grange shopping, hitting up longtime favorites, but for new businesses, the day offered a way to show off and meet first-time visitors for what could be a longtime relationship.

One new business owner, Lauren Engels, was something of both. Engels has operated Ceramic Art Café since last fall, when she and her father, Matt, bought the longtime craft space. The café allows customers to pick out an unfinished pottery piece — anything from a plate to a ceramic animal — and paint a design on it. Then the studio finishes it and fires it, returning a dishwasher-safe, microwavable keepsake to the artist.

Engels is from the area and had visited the café and painted there herself growing up, so when the former owner’s family was selling the space after she died last year, Engels got interested. Saturday, she said, was bringing in a healthy supply of curious artists as she waited out front, greeting pedestrians, eager to introduce herself to would-be customers who might be familiar with the café but not the new owners.

Engels said her store’s main stock and trade was as an events space, hosting kids’ birthday parties, bridal showers, field trips, and other groups. Saturday offered a low-key way to show off the size of the space and talk up the various group package deals.

“It’s been good,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of foot traffic and I think a day like this helps small businesses.”

By that metric, the day was a big hit for shoppers and the LGBA.

“Our mission is to help small businesses, so the goal of the Shop and Stroll is to bring consumers into the downtown area for shopping and experience the various offerings we have,” said Domanico.”

But Saturday’s turnout wasn’t all just the result of good planning or attractive sales or even the opportunity to socialize with friends. Heidi and Scott Morrow, the owners of Whisper Me Home, a boutique home décor space, said the weather played a key part.

“Everything’s gone really well,” said Scott. “It’s busier than we remember it. Of course, it’s the perfect day for it.”

Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.