Buzz in the News
An arts district anchor turns 10 - Buzz Café has helped Harrison flourish
By Marty Stempniak
August 26, 2008
Laura Maychruk just wanted a Starbucks in her neighborhood. But 10 years later, she has what some say is a primary anchor in the burgeoning Oak Park Arts District.
Sunday marks the 10-year anniversary of the Buzz Café, tucked away just south of Harrison Street at 905 S. Lombard Ave. Over the past decade, the Buzz has morphed from a pie-in-the sky business idea, to a green-oriented local restaurant and meeting place.
Did the café's co-owner ever think she'd make it this far?
"I thought we had a good business plan, and, yes, I thought we had good ideas, but once I started working 16 hours a day, I didn't think I could last doing the work," she said. "I was wondering whether I could physically withstand the torture of running a business that long. When I look back, I do marvel at it because it's a lot of work."
Ten years ago, Maychruk lived a few blocks from the arts district. Taking part in neighborhood groups, she heard the recurring complaint that the area needed a coffee shop. She tried getting Starbucks to open a store nearby, but the chain didn't bite.
So Maychruk, 38, and her husband Andrew bought an underused commercial building on Lombard, spruced it up and opened Buzz Café. She left her job as a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, moved into an empty apartment above the store space and started running the joint.
"I wasn't intending to open up a cafe, it just sort of happened," she said.
Ten years and four children later, the Maychruks now live in River Forest and the café is still percolating, despite some lean years financially. Andrew kept his downtown job as an accountant, which helped to keep the coffee shop afloat, despite not turning a profit for the majority of its life.
"A lot of years, Andrew's salary has picked up the slack for the business," she said. "We also kind of justify it because it's fun to run, and it allows me to be with my kids and work."
While Maychruk has been watching her four kids mature, the neighborhood around the Buzz has undergone its own growth spurt. New restaurants like Trattoria 225 and Eastgate Café have opened. Artsy stores have joined the mix like CarefulPeach boutique and Prodigy Glassworks, along with retailers like the Brown Elephant Resale Shop and Val's halla Records.
The village has invested in the arts district, in the form of grants and streetscape improvements. But several business owners say the Buzz Café has helped spark the area's revival.
Doris Weinbaum-owner of Bead in Hand, a 14-year mainstay on Harrison-believes the arts district has become stronger in the past decade.
"I think it made a wonderful impact" Weinbaum said. "When the Buzz opened, I found that it established the area as a place where people could eat and then walk around and window shop."
La Majada Restaurant has also been an anchor on Harrison for 32 years. But the Buzz stays open from early in the morning and into the night, helping bring foot traffic through the day, Weinbaum said. It's also brought visitors to Harrison with political talks, musicians and other events, she added.
"When you survive in this business for 10 years, believe me you're pretty lucky," said Hector Haggar, son of La Majada owner Juana Haggar. "It feels even better to survive 32 years and we're going on 33."
Val Camilletti thought about the Buzz Café when she settled on moving her record store to Harrison from the more established Avenue Business District.
"We have many of the same customers," she said of the Buzz. "Lots of the young people who work there shop in my store, so there's a very natural connection. ... It's great to have it and I send people there all the time."
The Buzz also has a relationship with local artists by displaying their work on the café's walls and selling it if someone shows interest.
"I think [the area has] gotten more dynamic," said Chris Shumard, president of the Harrison Street Business Alliance. "More people have come in. Laura is very involved with the arts district. She's also involved with the community, and she's active with promoting the district as a whole shopping experience."
After starting off working double shifts, Maychruk now puts in about three hours a day at the café and does the rest from home.
Maychruk can't really say if she'd keep the café open for the next 10 years, but said she looks forward to seeing her children work there.
"So far it's been a good idea," she said. "I think Oak Park has embraced it and embraced us, and I think it's been a pretty wonderful 10 years."
