Local Matters: See How This Community Fights For Small Business

At Patch, we believe local is what matters most. Local is where we call home, where we send our kids to school, where we shop and eat and play and lay down to sleep at night.

And we know that local businesses are the heart of our communities. We encourage community members to use Patch as a platform to support these businesses. That’s why we were touched when we saw a post by Lake Bluff resident Albert Boese who took the time to tell us about a business facing difficulties in his town and what the community is doing to help.

We hope this post will inspire you to tell us about what you’re doing to make your community a better place.

Here is the post:

Lake Bluff’s Daily Grind to Lose Lease

By Albert Boese

I recently learned that the iconic merchant, The Daily Grind once again faces a crisis of business interruption in the least, and going out of business entirely, in the worst case scenario. How did this come to be? In late 2010 Daily Grind founder and proprietors, Rick and Deborah Harness faced another lease confrontation that passed, but this time, the die appears to be cast. Without prior notice, apparent provocation or breach, property manager Lake Effect Holdings LLC presented The Daily Grind with notice they are unwilling to renew the current lease, no explanation of this action has been provided.

Now we have a repeat and more odious crisis as the communications on the lease matter from Lake Effect Holdings indicates intractability and finality. Simply vacate the property by the date specified, January 31st, 2015.

Not so fast, and not so easy. Let’s start with the sentiments of the community. The loss of this staple merchant in the village will have serious consequences impacting the appeal of the Lake Bluff central business district. This is also a huge PR set back to the otherwise harmonious community of Lake Bluff, unfamiliar with merchant-landlord conflicts, in great contrast to Lake Forest. Finally, it raises a serious question of fairness, when the relocation of the business of the Daily Grind surely must; impose a major financial burden on the Harness’. This is not a candy store where the infrastructure consists of a few display cases and a cash register. Or a real estate office with a few desks, some phone lines and computers. No, this is a complicated installation with exhaust and other air handling systems, commercial ovens and refrigeration, where the bulk of the cost is the labor to install. That investment is non-recoverable and relocation would necessitate a duplicate of those costs.

Denying The Daily Grind lease renewal potentially poses an existential threat to their business and imposes burdens on the residents and customers in the Village and the area, who have cherished the presence, quality, service and convenience of The Daily Grind. Rick and Deborah Harness have earned the trust and loyalty of their patrons by devotion to the business and by their hard work seven days a week, nearly 365 days each year. They deserve better.

In the end, they may lose the legal battle, but they will have won the public sentiment and moral war. Let’s hope, however, better instincts will prevail.

Tell us about the small businesses that matter to you and how you are helping to preserve them in your community. Share a photo or story on your local Patch or tell us in the comments below.