A walk down Cermak Rd

[Bonster]

If you think about it, most of the towns along the Burlington stops are their downtown.

If you think about it, most of the towns along the Burlington stops have their downtowns built on high traffic areas. 


La Grange's is based around La Grange road; the side street businesses feed off that traffic.  The equivalent in Berwyn would be Oak Park Ave.   What do cars generally do on Oak Park Ave?  Head north or south.  If all the business was on OPA they'd see it.  You can hardly see Olive or Twist from Oak Park Ave when crossing the tracks.  Hence our claim to this great "downtown" area is Cherry Lounge, Two Sons, George's, and a big ugly hospital.


The few towns whose businesses are built along side the tracks generally have greater traffic, easier navigation.  Windsor sucks, and nobody cares about Stanley.  You can't turn onto Windsor from Harlem and the train stations make for crappy navigation entering from either end.  Once past Tonini's it's all residential so there's zero inclination for anyone on Harlem to drive in making it primarily Berwyn residents only.

[nativeson]

Don't forget the luxurious, lavishly appointed Berwyn Hotel!

[Diona]

Living right off Cermak Rd, I know there isn't many stores I would go to.  Matter of a fact, we don't patronize very many of the stores/restaurants in the area.

Let me think here...Ace (every once in a while) & a couple mexican restaurants.  We go outside of Berwyn to grocery shop & do other such shopping too.  Maybe that will change when Meijer gets going, who knows?

It seems to me alot of the stores/shops are about the same up & down Cermak Rd, we need some variety to bring people in to that area to shop.

[pkd50]

What are the good Mexican restaurants that you like?   

[berwyn senator]

Berwynson your right on,Ray walks all over town both north and south,asking for money and beers.I will not give him a dime,but have bought him a sandwich now and then.There's another brother who is in pretty bad shape from drinking,two others have done fairly well for themselves.Every time I pass the house where they all lived I have a good laugh,remembering all the shit that went on. This was our place of entertainment during our early teens,the father was a alcoholic and was on disability.During one hot summer he brought home several cases of fresh eggs from a friends farm, put them in the hot garage leaving them for weeks.We discovered them and used them to fiend off a group of teens who were looking to beat up Ray,we lured the group into the garage and let them have it with the rotten eggs.The old man came out yelling as we all ran down the alley laughing stinking like hell,the only problem was our cloths and going home.

[truman40]

If you think about it, most of the towns along the Burlington stops are their downtown.

If you think about it, most of the towns along the Burlington stops have their downtowns built on high traffic areas. 
La Grange's is based around La Grange road; the side street businesses feed off that traffic.  The equivalent in Berwyn would be Oak Park Ave.   What do cars generally do on Oak Park Ave?  Head north or south.  If all the business was on OPA they'd see it.  You can hardly see Olive or Twist from Oak Park Ave when crossing the tracks.  Hence our claim to this great "downtown" area is Cherry Lounge, Two Sons, George's, and a big ugly hospital.
The few towns whose businesses are built along side the tracks generally have greater traffic, easier navigation.  Windsor sucks, and nobody cares about Stanley.  You can't turn onto Windsor from Harlem and the train stations make for crappy navigation entering from either end.  Once past Tonini's it's all residential so there's zero inclination for anyone on Harlem to drive in making it primarily Berwyn residents only.

First off I really don't think it's fair to compare The Depot to other areas. Each district has distinct characteristics that are draws and repellants. 
That being said Bons has some very good points and we as business owners are well aware of these issues. We have been asking for signage for a while now but the problem is it's never as easy as it seems, there are rules, regulation or monetary considerations that seem to get in the way. An we have other issues like land that seems to be public but is owned by MacNeal or the BNSF that we just cannot touch without an act of God. And then there are a whole group of people that live off of some type of public assistance that seems to have made The Depot their home and unfortunately these people spend none of their idle time improving where they live. But the BIGGEST problem we have is our own perception of The Depot as a wasteland. Pat mentioned other areas along the tracks as being that communities "downtown" area. The truth is if you compare these areas to The Depot it looks like we have no pride in our district. With all the festivals and parties and other events we host the area still looks depressed. I'm gonna be honest here and unfortunately piss off a few people but this is my own opinion. We have little to no landscaping, we have crumbling sidewalks, we have parking space divider lines that are faded, we have businesses that are open Monday-Friday 9 to 5 and then close up so there is a perception of The Depot as a ghost town. We have a lack of viable storefront spaces and what we do have does not allow for new business to come in on a turn-key basis. The spaces are either old and not up to codes or new and you have to build out, either can cost 1000s of dollars. 
But what we do have in abundance is hope. We have one of the most loyal customer bases I have ever seen. We have a few new businesses with more to follow soon. We have some City Officials that get it and are willing to help, we have Tony Griffin at the BDC that understands business and knows each distinct business district like the back of his hand. We have unique businesses that cater to its customers. We have a small town feelin that other areas just don't have. We have the BDDBA which quite frankly is one of these most amazing groups of people I have ever met. The ideas that come out of our meetings just blow me away!
What we do need to succeed is more foot traffic. So this holiday season I ask that you come to The Depot but not empty handed. Bring someone who has never been to our area. Pick up one of our BDDBA maps and hit one or two business, heck hit them ALL!
And join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Depot-District-Merchants/249475043466

[Diona]

What are the good Mexican restaurants that you like?

Honestly, we really don't like alot of the different mexican restaurants that we have gone to up & down Cermak.  Some of them have had a couple things that were good, put them all together would make 1 hell of a restaurant, but none that I would recommend, sorry.

[berwyn senator]

I would love to see the Depot district succeed which is well within walking distance for many,yes safety is a concern especially to citizens our age.But at one time there the types of businesses that drew a consumer the would walk there in the evening,Rakes,Windsor Hobby,Colonial Camera,Hick's Hardware Freedom Federal and Copper Fields to name a few,yes times have changed.All the adverse publicity in the papers doesn't help the cause, people are afraid but other towns have succeeded we must find a way.

[justme]

I drove to Oak Park last night for an event. While driving down Lake Street, I thought about why couldn't Cermak Road be like Lake Street in Oak Park.

  I saw lots of people just walking around,especially in the area around  Oak Park Avenue.

  Is it because of the Lake Street theatre?  Is it because of the shops and stores and restaurants that are there?  Is that what makes it different from Cermak?

It's the theater, the restaurants and it's just an overall nice area and you don't see any gang bangers,etc walking around. In the summer a lot of the places have tables outside so you can sit and just drink your lemoade, coffee or even eat an entire meal. They keep it very clean and there's a small town safe feel to it, if that makes sense. Then if you venture outside of the Lake Street area, you can walk and look atthe Frank Llyod Wright homes,etc. There's  just more of a draw there and i wish I could put my finger on it and say that is why it's different from Cermak but I can't.

[berwyn senator]

The ambiance on Cermak Rd. is there in a much different way.Cars cruise by with loud music I dig the foul language,groups of teen talking street shit walk by,two shady individuals stop you trying to sell gold, or a scam especially when they see the grey hair.Papers misc. garbage all over,never park in the el strip if your returning after dark.Last, try and cross Cermak Rd. a life threatening task.

[Bonster]

Cermak is also four lanes, nowhere near as "cozy" as Lake Street in that regard.  An entirely different experience IMO.  Not bad, just different.

[dukesdad]

LaGrange Road running through LaGrange sure ain't cozy. Seems to work fine there.

[pkd50]

LaGrange is kind of cozy.  If you're coming from the north, you better keep it at 25mph.  Believe me, it's a speed trap.  I know.

[Bonster]

LaGrange Road running through LaGrange sure ain't cozy. Seems to work fine there.

justme's comparison was the difference in ambiance of  Lake Street and Cermak.

[pkd50]

I just came back from downtown Western Springs.   They don't have a heavy traffic street like Harlem or Oak Park, but they have a nice shopping area along the tracks.   It's raining out, but people were walking from store to store.  I was in Casey's, the Fruit Store, and True Value.  There were shoppers in each one of them.  I was strong and passed up the bakery, but it was really crowded.  The only place that looked dead was Oberweis, just not an ice cream morning.

[Bonster]

I just came back from downtown Western Springs.   They don't have a heavy traffic street like Harlem or Oak Park, but they have a nice shopping area along the tracks.   It's raining out, but people were walking from store to store. 

Wolf Road isn't a major street?

Regardless,
their business district along the tracks has VERY easy access.  The train station doesn't create an obstacle course, you can park both by the tracks in in front of the businesses, it only extends two blocks from Wolf sight lines unblocked (we have five blocks of businesses spread out on both sides of the tracks).  Most importantly - demographics; they've always been self-sustaining. 

We need to attract out-of-towners - like La Grange Road does - to sustain.   Considering the Depot business district is four blocks in from Harlem, on an angle blocked from Harlem, no left turn Windsor... it's tough.    Not tough for us... we live/have lived here.   But to attract others?  Fer cryin' out loud, we need Vegas-style signs on Harlem by Connie's screaming "FOR GOOD TIMES, TURN HERE!"

OoT should be allowed a three-story neon martini glass on its roof!

[pkd50]

Wolf Rd is just two lane thru residential areas around the tracks.  You're right about the rest though.  Walking down Cermak and riding down Roosevelt I wondered how out of towners feel about moving here.  The billboards in the city might created curiosity, but those streets and the DD aren't going to sell Berwyn just yet.  While CP and that whole corner have improved greatly in appearance, the quality of shops and restaurants aren't going to appeal to the people that the marketing campaign is being aimed toward.

[Bonster]

Walking down Cermak and riding down Roosevelt I wondered how out of towners feel about moving here.  The billboards in the city might created curiosity, but those streets and the DD aren't going to sell Berwyn just yet.  While CP and that whole corner have improved greatly in appearance, the quality of shops and restaurants aren't going to appeal to the people that the marketing campaign is being aimed toward.

Agreed. 

I think with both CP (+ the two blocks underway across the street) and Roosevelt the idea is to make the area more attractive for higher quality business.  BWW, Chipotle and other things coming along, with Meijer & the new Office Depot in the plaza they're off to a good start.  As the population improves (not getting into school arguments here, just making the business case) they'll attract, like any other good community, more upscale outlets.

Same with Roosevelt.  With the new lighting, sidewalks, bump outs, cross walks, etc., it looks 10x better than the industrial wasteland it was.  New businesses are coming in pockets, so other than the OPA <-> East stretch it's still more of a driving experience than walking (just my lazy opinion!).  On a nice summer night, though, between Gina's, Buona, Friendly Tap, Autre Monde, Dan's, Dinico's/Sushi Junki plaza and Fitzgerald's it looks really nice with lots of people out. 

[OakParkSpartan]

I just came back from downtown Western Springs.   They don't have a heavy traffic street like Harlem or Oak Park, but they have a nice shopping area along the tracks.   It's raining out, but people were walking from store to store.  I was in Casey's, the Fruit Store, and True Value.  There were shoppers in each one of them.  I was strong and passed up the bakery, but it was really crowded.  The only place that looked dead was Oberweis, just not an ice cream morning.

Did you notice the horrible looking signage and storefronts?  What about various people hanging around the entrances to apartment buildings.  Or the crowds of people gathered outside of the bars at 10am?

Didn't think so.

Berwyn's problems are partly geography, but a larger component is what is allowed to exist by city government.

[pkd50]

Didn't notice anybody like that, but the one critisim I could give is that there wasn't one tavern.   What if you wanted to get off the train and have a cocktail?    I guess you have to go the the award winning Vie.   I'm of the opinion that every neighborhood should have a joint with some character, and that's one thing Berwyn has in every part of town.   So take that all you Burlington towns!