With her new boutique, Gina De La Mora hopes to bring more than repurposed furniture to customers, she hopes to create a community gathering space.   Walk into La Grange's newest boutique, Painted Rubbish, and you'll know immediately that it's not the average consignment shop. That's because De La Mora, wants the store to be a place where the community can meet, enjoy coffee or take a class; not just browse the collection of furniture on display.  The owner of another business in Westmont, De La Mora said she's been conducting estate sales for a while now and visits them all the time. With …

Brian Hickey pointed to an old black-and-white photograph of downtown Chicago above his desk in Clarendon Hills. “You take a look at that skyline, it doesn’t look like it looks now,” Hickey said, referring to buildings in the picture that no longer stand. “They were replaced by something.” Though controversial in towns like Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills, redevelopment is natural and the product of a “constantly evolving” market, the longtime Hinsdale resident and founder of Teardowns.com says. Hickey’s bluntly named business aims to serve that market by connecting sellers who own property with…

Derek Berg said that to successfully teach music, you need to have passion and purpose.  Chat with the owner of Clarendon Hills Music Academy about his theories on music coaching, and you'll see he has those two P's. I sat down with Berg, a 38-year-old Hinsdale native who now lives in Plainfield, to talk about his school, his style as a music teacher, and his newest venture, Music Coach Magazine, a free online magazine he's launching this month. "We cover everything from music business coaches to music instrument coaches," Berg wrote in an email describing the magazine. "In the first addition…

It took a little longer than Shane Johnson expected, but the Clarendon Hills resident’s local cafe is finally open for business. The Hills Cafe & Pizza had its first day of business at the corner of Prospect and Park avenues Dec. 22, after building problems delayed the opening that was originally set for December 2011. “Every time we would try to open up a wall, we’d find a problem. Every time we opened a ceiling, we’d find a problem,” said Johnson, who was also sidelined for several months last year due to a health scare. Throughout 2012, Johnson, who serves on the Clarendon Hills Special …

Sugar, water and corn syrup are all one really needs to make hard candy, but there’s a lot more that goes into it at Vintage Confections. “It’s an old-fashioned process that we have updated to current times,” said co-owner Heather Kelly, who with sister Cheryl Carr opened in November the custom-made lollipop business’ first commercial space at 102 S. Prospect Ave. in Clarendon Hills. “We put a lot of spin on it.” That “spin,” which shows up in Vintage Confections’ translucent lollipops that at their core feature pictures of planets, cartoon characters, even the Hinsdale Central Red Devils …

Alejandro García-Palacios talks about coffee like it is art. “The beauty about coffee is that there are no written rules,” said the owner of the brand new Café La Fortuna at 46 Village Pl. in Hinsdale. “Everybody has their own tastes; everybody has their own techniques of growing, their own techniques of processing … their own roasting techniques, their own blends.” And while most of us think little beyond the caffeine jolt of our morning Joe, it’s clear talking to García-Palacios that he hopes to spread his knowledge and appreciation for the coffee bean to all of his new downtown Hinsdale …

When a business is around for 59 years, it means it has regulars. “Every day like clockwork,” Hinsdale News Agency manager Penny Miller describes visits from the store’s frequent customers, who visit 24 E. Hinsdale Ave. to pick up a newspaper, a pack of cigarettes, or maybe just a candy bar. The downtown Hinsdale newsstand has been serving the community since owner Danette Boniecki’s grandfather, Daniel Spinazola Sr., opened the store in October 1953. Daniel Spinazola Jr., Boniecki’s father and 60-year Hinsdale resident, ran the stand for many years before passing it on to his daughter, who …

Eight months after deciding she would open a dance school in Hinsdale, Jennifer Grapes is 10 days away from putting on her first classes.   “I’m excited to see my vision come to life,” Grapes said Thursday morning, sitting behind the reception desk of the new Hinsdale Dance Academy & Boutique at 414 Chestnut Street. Classes at Hinsdale Dance Academy (HDA) are set to begin Oct. 22 and will include all different genres, from hip-hop, to tap, to of course ballet. Grapes, the school’s director and co-owner, is a ballerina who began her professional career dancing with the Albany Berkshire Ballet …

After bringing Italian and Japanese food to downtown Hinsdale in recent years, Peter Burdi is at it again. Burdi’s exterior site plan for Cine Modern Taqueria, set to open Nov. 1 in the Hinsdale Theater building at 29 E. 1st St., got the approval of the Village of Hinsdale Plan Commission Wednesday night at Memorial Hall, and the real-estate-investor-turned-restaurateur from Burr Ridge is excited about his latest concept. “It’ll be Latin-slash-modern taqueria,” Burdi told commissioners Wednesday. “That’s kind of the trend that’s been happening in terms of Mexican food.” Similar to Chicago …

Who would have thought that a $9 million tech-consulting company that contracts with federal government agencies in Washington D.C. and is among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. can start in a kitchen on north Vine Street? "Basically we worked out of our house for the first year—in our den and at our kitchen table," Hinsdale native and CollabraLink Technologies President Rahul Pandhi said, who in 2008 joined the company started five years before by his father, CEO Yash Pandhi. "Eventually, we moved down to the basement." Humble beginnings for CollabraLink, a company that is still …

Linly Designs co-owner Janet Linly calls her style as an interior designer, “timeless old-world European.” “I like things that don’t go out of style, yet they’re fresh and timeless,” she said. “Trendy things get old too fast.” Like her favorite items, Linly’s business hasn’t gone out of style.  Linly Designs, located at 445 W. Ogden Ave. in Clarendon Hills, is celebrating its 10th year in business this summer with a July 19-21 sale featuring discounts on everything from furniture, to artwork, to bedding, to floral arrangements.  See this Patch announcement on the sale posted by Linly Designs …

When Tigers & Tulips' owner Tiffany Shriver bought the building that currently houses her store five years ago, she intended to use the decade of experience she'd gained working in shoes at a boutique and a Nordstrom in Connecticut, among other locations, to open her own shoe store. Initially, she focused on selling women's high heels, with some children's shoes and gifts in the back of the store.  Now, "we've become the largest independent shoe store in the western suburbs," Shriver said.  Shriver has maintained a successful business in this tough economy by continuing to adapt. She has kept…

For Ray and Kathy Zuniga, the path to opening The Village Cellar was a long one. The Zunigas have been involved in a number of businesses over the course of their marriage, including various retail stores and White Hen franchises, but their passion for wine finally caught up to them.  Although Kathy has been a wine lover her entire life, she converted Ray only 12 years ago, during their 20th anniversary trip to Napa Valley. It was then that the couple began the journey that would culminate about 10 years later with the opening of The Village Cellar in the space formerly occupied by A Taste of…

Mary Anne Spidalette and her daughter, Ann Sobczak, ran into a dilemma several years ago when Sobczak was trying to plan her daughter's birthday party: they couldn't find a birthday party venue that catered to young girls. So Spidalette and Sobczak took matters into their own hands and opened up Butterfly Garden in Clarendon Hills, a party shop that specialized in birthdays for elementary school-aged girls. At the time, "[my daughter] told me that she thought we could do this really well," Spidalette said. The shop was indeed a success at two different locations in Clarendon Hills for six …

Peter Burdi wasn't always in the restaurant business.  From 2001 to 2006, Burdi was a real estate investor who specialized in flipping commercial properties. One of the properties he bought was Schweidler & Mewherter, a stationery store located at 8 E. 1st Street in downtown Hinsdale. "I was looking for a good commercial space and thought it was a beautiful building," he said. "It's a [Hinsdale architect R. Harold] Zook building; I immediately thought it would make a great restaurant one day." After six months, Burdi decided the business wasn't sustainable and sought out some local …

Sweet Ali's Gluten Free Bakery in Hinsdale may be a thriving business now, but it owes its start to a young boy. Five years ago, Ali Graeme's son was diagnosed with food allergies. Eventually, Graeme learned that her son had celiac disease, which meant that he was allergic to gluten. Once Graeme's son had been diagnosed, she realized that the health problems she herself had been struggling with could also be attributed to the allergy. "I had celiac [disease] and was misdiagnosed for all those years," Graeme said.  Because gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, and some oats, many foods are …

Beverly Moran has always liked shopping in consignment stores. "I've gone to resale shops since I was 16," Moran said. However, it wasn't until a year-and-a-half ago that Moran decided to open up Swap Shop Resale Boutique, an upscale consignment shop in Glen Ellyn. Now, Moran is preparing to open a second store in Hinsdale, called Frill, which is expected to open at 49 S. Washington St. on March 15. As soon as Moran opened her Glen Ellyn location, she decided that her second store should be located in Hinsdale. "There's nothing [like Frill] out this way," Moran said. "Hinsdale needs this…

Carmine Cerasi has always had an eye for design. Though he has a background in high-end clothing design, Cerasi's focus is on the home at Trumeau, his interior design and decor company that recently opened its new showroom in Hinsdale. "I fell in love with interiors," he said. Cerasi works at Trumeau with fellow designer Greta van Westrienen; the two have collaborated for 14 years. Trumeau was based in Naperville for 11 years, but recently Cerasi and van Westrienen decided to move to Hinsdale to be closer to Chicago and a downtown train station. Cerasi called the move "user-friendly" and …

Julie Laux may be the owner of a successful home building company now, but it wasn't her first career. Laux, whose J. Jordan Homes recently opened an office in Hinsdale, is a CPA who attended the Kellogg School of Management. She has worked for Ernst & Young, was the CFO of Farley's Candy Company, and also worked in private investing. In 1997, Laux moved from Chicago to Hinsdale and built her first house with the help of Nathan Curcio as her job superintendant. She bought her family's current home on County Line Road about seven years ago, and again worked with Curcio on the project. "After I…

Buké Batoya has been in Clarendon Hills for 15 years, but like the industry in which she practices, there has been many changes to Batoya's salon over the years. As Batoya celebrates 15 years owning Bukés Salon and Spa, she can look back to when the business was little more than a few chairs and some loyal clients, and also on how quickly things changed. “Since I walked in we haven't had a slow day,” Batoya said during an interview at her salon. “We've increased business 20 to 30 percent every years that we've been open.” The salon has also grown in size, now occupying the entire building at …