Locally Owned

Owner of The Hills Cafe & Pizza Hopes New Diner Will Fill Niche

Shane Johnson says he thinks The Hills, at the corner of Prospect and Park in downtown Clarendon Hills, will become a go-to spot for locals and a destination for nonresidents, as well.

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 Events Committee, would be asked by residents when they could expect the diner doors to open. “Every time I came downtown I’d get stopped,” he said. Now…

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Burr Ridge Resident, 3rd Generation Coffee Grower Opens Café La Fortuna

In addition to serving 100 percent Mexican coffee, Alejandro García-Palacios hopes to help his customers appreciate the growing and roasting process, and "bring coffee culture closer to the consumer."

Alejandro García-Palacios talks about coffee like it is art. “The beauty about coffee is that there are no written rules,” said the Burr Ridge resident and owner of the 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 customers. A third-generation coffee grower, exporter and roaster, García-Palacios moved to Burr Ridge in 2006 with his wife Angela …

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Hinsdale News Agency Still a Downtown Sweetspot After 59 Years

With classic candies and a stable of regular customers, the family-owned newsstand is has managed to keep its old-fashioned model in a high-tech world.

Locally Owned

Hinsdale News Agency Still a Downtown Sweetspot After 59 Years

With classic candies and a stable of regular customers, the family-owned newsstand is has managed to keep its old-fashioned model in a high-tech world.

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 has worked shifts since she was a kid living in Hinsdale. “Back years ago we were open until 10 at night,” Boniecki said, explaining that the employees…

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Locally Owned

Hinsdale Dance Academy, Led by Former Pro Ballerina, Set for Oct. 22 Opening

Jennifer Grapes said she wants to take what she learned during her 13-year professional career and give Hinsdale a "premier dance academy."

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 at age 19 and has since performed with numerous ballet companies and at venues in Europe, Australia and North America. She retired as a professional …

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