The SoHo Shops at Town Center, a retail incubator in South Holland scheduled to open in May, has announced its first set of 10 participating businesses.
The businesses will operate out of a collection of 10 tiny storefronts for a year. The storefronts will all be on the same plot at 16114 South Park Ave., in South Holland, forming an outdoor shopping mall to be open on weekends from May through December.
The goal is to give small business owners a chance to test out the experience of running a brick-and-mortar storefront with fewer commitments and up-front costs.
One of the 10 participating businesses is Cristallo, owned by Crystal Mitchell-Ward, which sells vegan leather handbags and accessories.
“I’m extremely excited about it, because I’m really wanting to get my product in front of people and actually have them experience it firsthand,” Mitchell-Ward said.
She said she hopes that allowing customers to physically feel and see her products will help grow her business and allow her to better connect with customers.
“I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to kind of get my business in front of consumers, and have a more so in-person experience,” Mitchell-Ward said. “Cause right now I’m just strictly online, e-commerce.”
Mitchell-Ward only opened her business in November, which at first made her hesitant about applying.
“At first I’m like, am I moving too fast? Because I’m like, I just started in November,” Mitchell-Ward said. “I was nervous during the whole process.”
Some of the participating businesses have more established presences. Johnny B’s BBQ, run by Johnny Perkins, has operated for several years and sells its barbecue sauces and dry rubs in Jewel-Osco supermarkets.
“I’ve always had aspirations of opening up a barbecue accessory store, just outside of a barbecue restaurant, that sells everything, all things barbecue,” Perkins said. “Exotic woods, charcoals, grills, smokers, sauces and seasonings.”
Perkins sees the SoHo Shops project as an opportunity to test that idea out. In addition to sauces and dry rubs, he plans to sell cornbread mix and “heat and eat” pre-cooked ribs and rib tips in his tiny storefront.
“I live in South Holland, been here 20 years. I’ve seen the growth in our community. I feel like Johnny B’s could definitely be an asset to the community,” Perkins said. “Even if we graduate from this and open something up, I feel like it fits with what South Holland’s trying to do.”
The 10 participating businesses were selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants, according to the announcement.
The plan is for the incubator to host a new cohort of 10 businesses every year going forward. Participating business owners will have substantial leeway to arrange and decorate their own spaces.
De Anna Love is the owner of Black Amor Candles, which she describes as a “masculine, luxury candle and grooming brand.”
“I wanted to be able to have a space where people can actually come and shop the brand, and actually experience Black Amor more than just, it being just candles, but actually have an opportunity to be able to create an experience for them while they’re shopping,” Love said.
Love said that if possible, she hopes to eventually open a more permanent brick-and-mortar location.
“If that’s in the cards, if I can find a location, that definitely is the long-term goal,” Love said. “I also would like to do a mobile boutique as well. Being able to take the boutique to different locations, to different businesses as well, for people to be able to have, like, private candle-sniffing parties and that kind of thing.”
Love does not live in South Holland, but used to work there and went to high school in the area, she said.
“I’m super excited, because my brand really fits in with the community,” Love said. “So I think this is gonna be a good match.”
Other businesses included in the cohort range include baked goods, pickled foods, and skin care and beauty products.
At an information session for the project in October, project representatives said they hoped to make the incubator a regional attraction, drawing customers from surrounding communities and Chicago as well as South Holland locals.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
