Yahoo News Toy shop to make a Naperville comeback; locals launch new music academy; Miskatonic brewpub/restaurant now open
For years, Naperville residents Colleen Johnston and her husband were avid customers of Learning Express, a specialty toy franchise with a local store at 95th Street and Route 59.
When the shop closed in 2021, it was sorely missed, the couple said. They decided to bring it back.
Early next year, Johnston and husband Kevin Keegstra plan to launch a new Learning Express at 2936 Showplace Drive at Naperville Crossings in south Naperville. A March opening is anticipated.
“I know how much all of my neighbors and the residents around Naperville have been wishing for this store to come back,” Johnston said. “I feel really lucky that we can make that happen.”
Founded in Massachusetts 36 years ago, Learning Express today is a national franchise with more than 85 independently owned locations in 27 states. There are five in Illinois, including shops in Glen Ellyn and Clarendon Hills.
For almost two decades, Naperville had its own Learning Express at 2863 W. 95th St. Johnston, who moved to Naperville 16 years ago, recalled going to the store with her three kids.
“It was phenomenal,” she said. “There was just such a wide selection of specialty toys and educational things.”
Even when the store shuttered, Johnston’s affection for Learning Express was hard to shake.
“When it was closing, I would joke (with my family) and say, ‘What if I bought it? Or what if I bought a toy store?’” she said.
Last year, she got serious. Johnston reached out to Learning Express and started the process to open her own franchise. With a background in school psychology and educational consulting, Johnson said she felt like opening a Learning Express “was just the right choice.”
From Legos to mini basketball hoops to Mad Libs, the stock of toys covers just about every interest and activity a family could be shopping for, she said. Johnston is currently choosing the merchandise, with her kids — now 11, 15 and 17 — serving as advisers.
“I have always adored kids and seeing the learning processes that they go through. … So to be able to watch families come in here year after year and be a resource to them and be a part of the encouraging community around them is such a wild thing for me,” Johnston said.
Updates on the new Naperville Learning Express will be posted to the store’s social media.
Edge Music Academy comes to town
A locally-run music lesson business has opened a new location in Naperville after first finding success a few towns over.
Edge Music Academy opened at 32 Foxcroft Road earlier this month. The operation is run by Naperville residents Jason and Beth Thompson.
Two years ago, the couple launched their inaugural academy in Homer Glen to fill a need they saw in the small village community. As interest grew, however, the Thompsons found themselves wanting to bring the business to their hometown.
A Naperville native and North Central College alum (2015), Beth Thompson said bringing the academy to the place where she grew up is “really special.”
“To be able to bring something that we believe so deeply in, to the community that I grew up in … is surreal,” she said.
Beth covers the marketing and community outreach side of running Edge, while Jason, a longtime guitarist and music teacher, is the artistic director.
Between both Naperville and Homer Glen, Edge serves about 120 students, the Thompsons said. In-studio sessions include lessons in everything from guitar to piano to ukulele. Edge also offers virtual and in-home lessons.
More information, go to edgemusicacademy.com. Edge is offering a holiday special of $50 off the first month of lessons to new students who register before Jan. 15.
Tables open at Miskatonic Brewing
After announcing expansion plans almost a year ago, Darien-based Miskatonic Brewing Company’s new spot in downtown Naperville is up and running.
On Washington Street, just north of the Barnes & Noble store, the Naperville location opened Saturday.
Miskatonic has been brewing, selling and serving beer in Darien for the past eight years. Since starting the brewing company, co-founders Josh Mowry and John Wyzkiewicz have long wanted the business to have a restaurant component, Mowry told the Sun earlier this year. But they waited until they felt comfortable to expand.
This year, the timing was right. With the brewery and taproom in Darien going strong, Mowry said in January that he felt ready to open a restaurant offshoot of Miskatonic in a more vibrant area.
Naperville’s Miskatonic is a full service craft kitchen. Operating hours are 3 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Domain CityGate receives industry award
Domain CityGate, a 285-unit luxury apartment complex in Naperville’s CityGate Center, received an industry award last month in recognition of its quality and innovation.
The Chicago chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, a national trade association representing realty professionals, named Domain CityGate its 2023 Multifamily Development of the Year.
The Domain project, at 2132 City Gate Lane, has been in the works since 2019. Construction on the development finished in May.
Studio, one-, and two-bedroom units are now available. Rents range from $2,200 to $6,000.
