Aquarium Professionals' Growth Is No Fish Story

By Victoria Scott

Our family confesses to feeling just a flutter of pride in the success of Aquarium Professionals.

We came on the scene in the summer of 2000 when, rather than paying several thousand bucks to re-start our dilapidated, decade-old Volvo wagon, we chose to abandon it and collect $100 from the service station where it died.

But the car that had carried each of our three children away to college held a warm place in our hearts quite inconsistent with its failure to start on cold days.

So we were touched to hear it was still in the neighborhood, bought by a guy who cleaned fish tanks - an oddity we never forgot. For years we saw it, a gray shadow of our past, haunting the side streets near Central and Hartrey.

We admit we failed to notice exactly when the Volvo disappeared.

But we recently became aware of the large sign at 2500 Gross Point Road: "Aquarium Professionals" struck a familiar note. And what really knocked us out was the row of vans - six of them, emblazoned with the company name - along the south façade of the building.

A phone call confirmed our suspicions. This was our fish-tank cleaner. Our junk car had indeed morphed into this sleek fleet. Pet fish really are a big business.

And truthfully, we had not lifted a finger.

But David Hauser had.

Mr. Hauser founded the business on April 1, 1996, in a one-bedroom apartment on Hartrey Avenue. He relied on lookouts around town for tips on used vehicles they could "run into the ground," he says (alas, our poor Volvo). Though not an April fool, he says he was plagued with problems upfront.

He actually started a gardening business. But clients from his past job as sales and service manager for an Old Town aquarium shop pestered him till he plunged back in.

Early on, he devoted days to direct mailings and cold calls (to architects and contractors - people in a position to suggest that their clients incorporate a fish tank into their homes or businesses). Nights, he taught himself Windows and created a website.

His efforts began to pay off. Aquarium Professionals expanded from that first apartment to a second and then a third. "By the end," says Mr. Hauser, "we were renting three garages and four apartments." Their growth, he continues, is not an industry trend. "It is unique - between steady and exponential," he says.

Having observed the deficiencies of another operation up close, he was convinced that he had the key to success. "Ninety-nine percent of aquarium businesses are run by hobbyists who work from home," he says. Their downfall is growth, he explains; they cannot accommodate more employees or information.

Aquarium Professionals, on the other hand, prides itself on its well-run office. Sarah Klusak joined Mr. Hauser as a personal assistant in 2000 and has risen to the positions of office manager, partner and CFO. She says she cannot imagine being anywhere else.

"We're so well- organized," she says. They boast a 900-field computer database (to track everything from individual fish to water quality and power) and seven technicians - plus an office staff of five. Newly hired technicians undergo a 90-day training program, and one of them is on call 24/7.

In addition to undergraduate and graduate work in zoology, Mr. Hauser claims another advantage - a strong background in the building trades, which is invaluable in designing and building aquariums.

On large projects like the 8-9,000-gallon reef aquarium (which will be dropped into place by crane) Aquarium Professionals designed for a Michigan residence, he works with architects and contractors from conception to completion. This half-moon-shaped tank will allow observers to "walk in" to the habitat of sharks and stingrays. Besides the 18-by-9-by-8-foot tank, the plans call for a 17-by-18-foot room to house two 1,800-gallon reservoirs and other equipment.

Any of his discussions with clients begin with what kind of fish they want to keep, says Mr. Hauser. Design proceeds accordingly. Then come the fish. Aquarium Professionals buys captive-bred fish when possible. Otherwise, they purchase only hand-caught specimens, not those collected by divers using cyanide. Corals and live rock are cultured, not ripped from their habitat, says Mr. Hauser.

The company sells mostly saltwater tanks, about half for commercial and half for residential sites. They range in price from $2,500 to millions of dollars. "We can even do kids' set-ups," says Ms. Klusak, "but [small installations] are not where we shine."

"We cater to many famous families," says Mr. Hauser. And although he is not at liberty to name most, he acknowledges installing not one, but two tanks for Michael Jordan.

After installation Aquarium Professionals often maintains ("manage" is the term they prefer) their tanks - cleaning, inspecting livestock for illness, checking water quality and leaving customers just two responsibilities. Clients are asked to feed the fish according to instructions and to call with problems.

That accomplished, they are free to enjoy. "Fish can become pets," says Mr. Hauser. "Many develop behaviors that could be considered friendly."

Ms. Klusak's favorite breed, the saltwater puffer fish, illustrates how rewarding the experience can be. "They have so much personality," she says. The office specimen recognizes the man who feeds him, she says, and sometimes spits water in his face for attention.

Despite his achievements, David Hauser has not forgotten the road he has traveled - or the vehicles that carried him along it.

Like our old Volvo. Certainly he remembers. "It was green, wasn't it?" he asks.

1245 Chicago Ave.: Now We Know ‘What's Gonna Happen Here'

By Joe Linstroth

A Velveeta cheese-carving art gallery, an ice cream shop, a bowling alley, an International Water Polo Hall of Fame, even a "colonic irrigation day spa"; these are just some of the ideas proposed for the vacant building at 1245 Chicago Ave., near the Dempster Street intersection in south Evanston. Since November 2006, the website www.whatsgonnahappenhere.com has been taking suggestions for what to do with the building, which last housed a clothing store but has been vacant for years.

The building's owner, Evanston resident Craig Golden, and his business partner, Stuart Rosenberg, have settled on a three-part music-oriented project for the approximately 9,500 square-foot space. The rear portion of the building will be transformed into a recording studio and rehearsal space for amateur and professional musicians. The League of Creative Musicians, as they plan to call it, will be a private, members-only space.

The League will be an environment for creative, musical people to share things, said Mr. Golden, like "auto clubs where guys drive their cars and golf clubs where guys drive their golf balls." Women will be welcome too, of course. According to the transcript from the April 17 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting, Mr. Golden told the board that the club will discriminate "only against bad musicians."

The front portion of the building will be home to a new restaurant. Mr. Golden said they will be partnering with Steve Schwartz of Campagnola, the Italian restaurant located a few blocks south on Chicago Avenue and a popular fixture in Evanston for 11 years. Mr. Golden said the new restaurant will be open to the public and will feature a wood-burning oven with pizzas, sandwiches and salads made from natural ingredients.

The middle section will serve a dual purpose as a banquet facility for the restaurant and a performance space for League members and collaborative projects with non-members. Mr. Rosenberg said the performance area will be called the Society for the Promotion of Art and Culture in Evanston, or the SPACE, and will serve as "a blank, creative canvas for the community," he said. Mr. Golden said he expects the entire project to be completed by September of this year.

Mr. Golden and Mr. Rosenberg, who both grew up in Evanston, envision the club and its members to be a musical resource for the community.

"The desire to play music is part of a bigger sense of wanting to share that gift with the community," said Mr. Rosenberg. He told the ZBA that "part of what we're looking to do is provide service to the community in the forms of performances to underserved audiences, mentorship to students, et cetera."

Concerns about noise pollution in the neighborhood are inherently addressed in the plan's design. For the club to be attractive to musicians, Mr. Rosenberg told the ZBA that the rehearsal and recording spaces must be acoustically isolated from each other and from the outside. "The acoustics of the room has to be pleasing," he said. "That's kind of what our product is."

The website was a clever and fun way to introduce themselves to the community, Mr. Rosenberg told the RoundTable. Mr. Golden said the inspiration for the League of Creative Musicians came not from the website, but from his and Mr. Rosenberg's experiences growing up in Evanston.

"When we were growing up ... there was a place called Amazing Grace and they had great players come through. We used to go there and listen to them in high school and in college," he said. "We want to have a place like that again.

Main Street Station Condos Unveiled

By Mary Helt Gavin

Mayor Lorraine Morton draws names of raffle winners at the sales grand opening for Main Street Station condominiums last week. Rather than a ribbon-cutting ceremony, developer Bernard Katz & Associates marked the occasion with a donation to First Night Evanston on behalf of each person who attended the event.

The new nine-story condominium complex that will replace the Main Building at the southeast corner of Main Street and Chicago Avenue attempts to pick up the flavor and the character of the neighborhood, said Mary Summerville of Prairie Shore Properties, which is marketing the development.

Cordigan and Clark of Chicago is the architect and the developer is Bernard Katz & Associates of Highland Park. The plans show a front façade with one story of retail along both Main Street and Chicago Avenue, with small green spaces above most of the shops. The second and third floors house residential parking, and on the fourth floor are the residents' community room and exercise room and a green roof and garden. The residential tower, floors four through nine with a total of 71 units, is recessed from the lower floors.

The green roof and the location of the development - just steps away from the public transportation of the Metra and CTA - are steps toward green living. In addition, the units will have energy-saving insulation and R-30 insulation on the roofs.

The windows will be double-pane glass, said David Katz, president of Bernard Katz & Associates. He said the contract for the windows has not been bid, so their e-rating is not yet certain; the appliances will be General Electric, he said, but he did not know whether they would be Energy-Star rating.

Ms. Summerville said the development has been well-received in the neighborhood, and she has received several condo sales inquiries from people who "prefer the unique shops in this area to the big-box shopping downtown."

Several floor plans are offered, ranging from about 950 square feet to 1600 square feet, offering a terrace or a balcony or both.

Prices range from about $341,900 to $553,900, and the developer is offering incentives to the first few buyers. Seven units have already been sold, said Mr. Katz, "though we've only been open two weeks."

There will be all new tenants in the building, said a spokesperson for Katz. One of them will be First Bank & Trust of Evanston.

"We've been waiting for an opportunity to come into south Evanston, and this seems like a great opportunity," said First Bank & Trust CEO Robert Yohanan.

Katz plans to begin demolition of the present building within the next two months, begin construction in late 2007 and have the units ready for occupancy in late fall of 2008.

ECF Announces Grant Awards

An opera at Oakton School in the coming year, more employment opportunities for those with physical disabilities and progress toward ensuring a good place for each person in Evanston to live will be three of the many fruits of this year's grants from Evanston Community Foundation.

At its annual presentation on May 23, ECF awarded grants totaling nearly $160,000 to 22 programs and organizations that benefit Evanston residents: Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV), Block Museum of Art, Connections for the Homeless, Evanston Community Development Corporation, Evanston Day Nursery, Evanston In-School Music Association (EISMA), Evanston Township High School Vocational Training Program, Evanston Latino Student Achievement Task Force, Literature for All of Us, Music Institute of Chicago, Network for Evanston's Future, Open Studio Project, Over the Rainbow, Ridgeville Park District, Senior Action Service, Inc., Shanti Foundation for Peace, The Harbour (an organization for runaway teens, including those from Evanston), The Musical Offering, Tuesday's Child, World Relief DuPage (an immigration services organization coming to Evanston), Youth Job Center and YWCA Evanston/North Shore.

"We thought, ‘Why not an opera?'" said Rick Ferguson of the Musical Offering. "It will be a celebration of multiculturalism and will use the newly restored WPA-era murals in the Oakton School auditorium depicting the story of the medieval knight Roland as its inspiration."

Indira Johnson, executive director and founder of Shanti Foundation for Peace, said she was "grateful for the [$10,000] grant, which will be used for capacity-building."

"We are Evanston's best-kept secret," said Brian Rosinski, director of Ridgeville Park District, as he accepted a grant of $3,250 to be used for outreach at Brummel Park.

ECF Executive Director Sara Schastok said, "The Foundation's grants this year are further increased through its network of community partnerships with individuals, family foundations, donor-advised charitable funds and Northwestern University.