A Passion For Reading and a Rolling Suitcase Become One of America's Top 100 Businesses

Sandy Koropp stands at her bookstore in Wheaton with the rolling suitcase from which she used to sell books.

It’s only been 9 months since Sandy Koropp opened the doors to the physical space that is Prairie Path Books, Gatherings and Great Reads.

But she has been selling books from a rolling suitcase since 2014.

Koropp majored in English and she has a law degree as well. But she had three children in three years and took a break from her career. When it was time to go back to work, she wanted to open a bookstore.

“My son is 15 now,” she said. “I really wanted to always have a bookstore.

“I told my husband and he laughed and said those are closing not opening.”

But for Koropp not only is her store open, but it is one of the top 100 finalists for the US Chamber of Commerce Dream Big Small Business Awards. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. eastern, March 4.

“We were nominated by the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce,” Koropp said.

Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kerry O’Brien said any business could apply, but Prairie Path was one of the businesses she encouraged to apply. One of the others was River City Roasters, who are also in the top 100 businesses.

“Those were the two that let me know they were applying,” she said.

That original nomination required Koropp to fill out paperwork that was daunting to her, not because it was so involved, but quite the opposite.

“The application question was ‘what is your 30 second elevator speech,’ which is torture for me because I am an English major and a lawyer,” she said. “Thirty seconds is not enough.”

The space that PPB finds itself in is a unique arrangement. Nestled in the back corner of the Tom’s Price Furniture Store, the opening of PPB was in some ways kismet.

During the year that Koropp was selling books out of a rolling suitcase, she came up with an idea. A passionate cook, she would cook out of one cookbook for a month and at the end of the month, she would have people over to her house for a cooking demonstration. Opening a traditional bookstore might have meant that she had to give that up. Her existing space, though, a model apartment at the back of Toms-Price Furniture, has a kitchen she can use to continue having cookbook demonstrations. The next one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., March 26.

The community can vote for Prairie Path Books, Gatherings and Great Reads to be one of the seven finalists for the Dream Big Award. Community members will vote and select the 7 regional finalists. From those 7, one finalists will be selected at America’s Small Business Summit June 8-10, 2015 in Washington D.C. The overall winner will be awarded $10,000.