Chamber Supports Preserving Office Space

In the wake of the decision of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church to relocate to Glenview, the Chamber of Commerce  board passed a resolution last week encouraging the City keep the 130,000-square-foot parcel zoned as office space on the edge of downtown.

The board said it recognized that an increasing number of knowledge and information-based businesses now see Evanston as a competitive location for commercial activity. The Pension Board's move opens up the potential for significant Class B office space on 2.3 acres near transit lines, and with on-site parking.

"Land-use issues are very important to every one of us who has a stake in Evanston's future.  While there may be worthy alternatives, maintaining this site's current status (zoned for office space) is in Evanston's long-term interest," said Chamber president Don Huff.

"At a time when one of the chief issues concerning the future economy of Evanston is the shortage of office space, particularly of the Class B variety, there are few other sites in Evanston as prized as the one at Ridge Avenue and Davis Street that can be identified as potential for local economic growth," said Chamber executive director Jonathan Perman. 

"The challenge, however, from a land-use perspective, is the continued strong multi-family residential market has placed some Class B office space at risk in Evanston," said Chamber governmental affairs council chairman Larry Widmayer, a commercial broker with Koenig & Strey GMAC Co.

Investors are evaluating the site, bound by Ridge Avenue, Asbury Avenue, Church Street and Grove Street, for potential new development, said Chamber officials.

"One of the chief roles of the Evanston Chamber is to consider land issues related to the long-term vital economic interests of the community," said Chamber treasurer Randy Usen, senior vice president, First Bank & Trust.  "This land and office space are a rare opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses," he added.

The Chamber says it urges the City to retain the O-1 zoning on the land.

First Bank & Trust Eliminates ATM Surcharges For Its Customers

First Bank & Trust is the first area bank to eliminate ATM surcharges for its customers, said CEO Robert Yohanan.

"All of us as ATM cardholders find it both costly and annoying to be surcharged $1.50 to $3.00 by the large banks when we avail ourselves of their ATM machines.  First Bank & Trust has decided to eliminate this surcharge for our customers and we will reimburse customers for up to eight surcharges (per statement cycle) imposed by other banks," Mr. Yohanan said.

Jay Lytle, managing director of First Bank & Trust, added, "ATMs were developed to provide customers with low-cost alternatives to using in-bank tellers.  The large banks are simply milking the public at large with their outrageous surcharge fees.  Some large banks even charge their own customers for using another bank's ATM. 

We are pleased to be the first to level the playing field for our customers and to make banking with First Bank & Trust anywhere both easy and surcharge-free."

...Gone With the November Wind

By Victoria Scott

Here today, gone tomorrow - or the day after that.

As fleeting as the candlelit grin of a jack-o-lantern, Halloween USA, a specialty store in the Dempster-Dodge Plaza, will disappear Nov. 1, just over a month after its Sept. 28 opening.

By then the store will have worked its magic, helping countless children - and more than a few adults - indulge a fantasy or assume a new identity for one memorable day or night.

A week and a half before Halloween, a number of parents and children are in the store to get their costumes while the getting is still good.

Nick Rex, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Haven Middle School, is a bespectacled Clark Kent in search of his inner Superman. Tugging at an outfit that turns out to be too small, he has a very teenage - and convoluted -- take on the enduring superhero: His Superman, he explains, is a character in the music video "Crank That" by Internet music sensation Soulja Boy.

A couple of dressing rooms away are Evanston sisters who attend Sacred Heart School in Chicago. The 11-year-old says she came to the store knowing what she wanted for this year's costume. She seems pleased with the effect of her Greek goddess attire, a diaphanous white gown she is accessorizing with large bubblegum bubbles.

Her 9-year-old sister is still restless and undecided. She and her babysitter have found several potentially acceptable costumes. The flowing pants of the disco outfit are too big, though she likes the top. She is leaning more toward being a hippie and strikes a pose when her big sister plops a wig on her head.

If these do not suit her, she will have plenty of other choices. Row upon row of costumes, masks, accessories and props beckon. No wonder one Chicago mother says she has her two preschoolers in tow with the intent to "window-shop first and then make our final purchase."

Lourdes Tucker, the store manager, has worked Halloween stores for five years. The store in the same location last year was a division of Black Widow. This year, she says, it is part of Party City and Amscan.

On a weekday afternoon before the final holiday rush Ms. Tucker has time for a guided tour of Halloween highlights, 2007.

She names Hannah Montana as the year's biggest seller. The Disney television character, a teenage girl with a secret life as a rock star, appeals to girls from 4 to 15, says Ms. Tucker. Customers "look for Disney - or whatever is most promoted," says 18-year-old Chris Ameneiro, a store clerk from Northbrook.

Spiderman and other superheroes still sell well, says Ms. Tucker. So do sexy costumes for girls and women and weapons for boys, she says. The display of plastic weapons spotlights foul play through the ages: from swords to cowboy guns to bloody chainsaws to double-agent pistols to assault rifles to space blasters and then, according to the sign, "horror weapons in general."

Thanks in part to Johnny Depp and the power of the movie sequel, pirate paraphernalia occupies two aisles. Pirate boot-tops, beard and moustache combos, wigs, temporary tattoos, scarves, swords, eye patches and hooks are available. Costumes come in toddler to adult sizes, from Disney-trademarked "Pirates of the Caribbean" merchandise to variations like Muscle Pirate and Pirate Matie. For the girl yearning to be a Hip Punk Pirate, there is even a costume complete with choker, belt, pants and bandana.

Gag costumes for adults range from Bacon and Eggs to the Chick Magnet (an around-the-neck magnet with baby chicks glued to the end) to the Blind Referee, the inflatable Sumo Wrestler and the male Tooth Fairy.

One rack is alight with angel, fairy, "gothic," "hellspawn" and butterfly wings. There is a dazzling array of hats - combat, hard hat, police officer, firefighter, Roman soldier, clown, pirate and the quintessential Halloween witch.

Huge props hang from the store's ceiling -- lighted ghosts and skulls and more. "When we turn off the lights [to leave], some of these things go off," says Mr. Ameneiro, describing strange noises and flashing lights.

Whatever merchandise is left after the holiday will be marked down to half price tomorrow, says Ms. Tucker. Come spring and summer, she will run a garden center next door; other personnel will move on, too.

With Halloween over, the store itself will be empty. For the remainder of the year, says Mr. Amaneiro, "it's haunted." 

Tenth Anniversary For Chef's Station

On Oct. 7, Chef's Station restaurant in downtown Evanston hosted a celebration in honor of the 70th birthday of its owner, Peter Mills, as well as the 10th anniversary of the establishment. 

Chef Jose Romero created in honor of the occasion an eight-course feast with carefully selected wines, completed by a four-tiered cake.  Fifty-six guests traveled in from across the United States and from as far away as England. 

The staff of Chef's Station would also like to congratulate Chef Romero on the selection of his pan-seared walleye pike by Chicago Magazine as one of the 124 best dishes in the Chicago area.