CHAMPAIGN — As summer fades out and fall nears, it’s a time of transition not just for returning students but also for two small businesses.
The CU Flower House by A. Hunt Design and Pekara Bakery and Bistro, both locally-owned operations, are each planning to move to new locations on the edges of downtown in about a month.
Andrea Hunt, owner of The CU Flower House, had hoped to open her new location at the beginning of October, but a quick check of the calendar told her that might be a bad idea — given that it would coincide with homecoming at the University of Illinois.
“The Saturday before (homecoming) is our really aggressive goal,” Hunt said. “But it may have to be the second Saturday in October.”
The CU Flower House is moving from 2006 S. Neil St. to 307 S. Neil St.
While Hunt’s still about a month away from opening the new shop, the location is likely to get some attention in the meantime thanks to a new wall mural being painted on the exterior by local artists Leslie Kimble and Laurie Martin.
“It is so cool,” Hunt said. “…(Kimble) does it with a VR set. So she’s drawn all of the art and then put it in electronic form.”
The design is loosely based on The CU Flower House’s logo and will include the words “small town magic” — which has become something of a catchphrase for Hunt, who is a townie through and through.
“I’ve lived all over the country in all the big cities, in New York and Chicago and L.A., and the big cities don’t have the small town magic,” she said. “And this town has just taken care of me so much.”
Other items on the to-do list for the new store include moving over the chandeliers from the current shop, redoing the bathroom, building out counters, improving the exterior with help from a city grant, and getting the cooler installed. Hunt noted that this last item will be a major factor in the opening timeline.
Additionally, The CU Flower House is working with 40 North to find its first resident artist for the new shop. The plan is to host a different artist every six months, with the shop hosting a gallery opening and a dedicated wall for the artist, Hunt said.
The CU Flower House previously hosted resident artists in its first couple years of business.
“It’s just going to be more of what we focus on now,” Hunt said. “It was kind of just one of the 10,000 things we were doing in the old space. … With this smaller space, we’re really going to focus more on just flowers and art. A couple of our co-op renters are coming with us.”
In addition to Hunt’s desire to narrow her focus, she also wanted to downsize because the math wasn’t working out at her current location in terms of overhead costs.
She’s looking forward to being located in an area that someone else described to her as “the gateway to downtown.”
While she had considered another space closer to the heart of downtown, a lack of parking in the area was a deterrent.
Still, she’s excited to be nearby and be a part of community events such as Friday Night Live and the Parade of Lights.
As for when the current shop will close, Hunt said the business’ lease runs through the end of October, and there will be a “loose transition,” with the old shop closing once the new store holds a grand opening.
“We’re hosting some private events for people in there, in that space, because we still technically rent it,” she added. “So it’s still available to rent through October 31.”
She said that the space has been shown to “a handful” of different parties, including some she thought had “really awesome ideas.”
“Nothing has come to fruition yet,” she said.
According to a listing from Guth and Associates at crexi.com, the 2,970-square-foot space at 2006-2010 S. Neil St. will be available to rent at $27 per square foot per year.
Meanwhile, Pekara Bakery aims to open its new location around Oct. 5, pending approval from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, said co-owner Lauren Brokish.
The bakery is moving from 811 W. Springfield Ave. to 500 N. Walnut St. and will be next door to Martinelli’s, which is also owned by Brokish and her husband, Jeffrey.
“Once we know that we’re good to go at the new location, we’ll close and swoop over,” Brokish said.” … We’ll have to close and move all the equipment over and then get health department (approval). So there might be like one week where there’s no Pekara in town, which I know will devastate everybody, but we will get it open as fast as we can.”
Brokish added that the business will post more updates on social media as it gets closer to opening downtown.
She feels like Pekara “is in pretty good shape” when it comes to the move. The floors have been poured, the business is waiting on new tables and chairs, and installation of the ice-maker and sinks will begin soon.
The bakery originally opened at 116 N. Neil St. under the ownership of Seka Cuk; Brokish said she’s excited to be moving the business back downtown.
While she’s sorry to be moving away from a site that some customers can walk to from their homes, she hopes that they’ll follow Pekara to its new shop.
“Downtown is a neighborhood too,” Brokish said. “There’s a lot of folks that live down there. And we’re hopeful that our Springfield and Prospect (Avenue) folks don’t mind.”
She also noted that the new location has “ample free parking.”
As for the old shop at Prospect and Springfield avenues, Brokish says she has “an inkling” of what might take over the space but isn’t able to share anything at this time.
“It’s definitely getting a lot of interest, so I don’t think it’ll stay empty,” she said.
The building at 811 W. Springfield Ave. is listed by Green Street Realty on crexi.com at a rent of $28 per square foot per year. The total square footage is a little over 10,000 and includes about 3,365 square feet on the main level and a 3,343-square-foot basement.
