Tara Allen wears a lot of hats: wife, mother and registered nurse, to name a few.
And, for nearly five years, she has been the owner of Greener Goods Shop and Refillery.
When asked what inspired her to found the business, Allen told The News-Gazette that before opening Greener Goods, she had been reselling clothing on Poshmark.
“There is a subsection of the reseller community that focused on sustainability, and that was how I learned about the insane amount of waste and pollution that comes from the textile industry,” she said.
That, combined with videos and documentaries on the effects of single-use plastics, left Allen angry and wanting “to change the world.”
She initially opened the shop in Mahomet in February 2020 and relocated to 110 S. Neil St. in Champaign in April 2023.
And now, nearly five years after the business’ inception, Allen is looking for a new owner to take the reins.
“My life is very full,” she said. “I’m a mom, a wife and an RN. Recently, I’ve felt that I would rather be spending my time outside of the shop walls. I’m proud of what I’ve created and ready to pass the torch. I might even become my successor’s best customer!”
The shop’s goal is to help people reduce the amount of waste they produce, Allen said.
One of the main ways Greener Goods works toward this goal is through its refillery service, which features soaps, detergents and bath products in bulk.
Customers then bring their own reusable containers from home, fill them up with these products and pay based on weight, with the empty container weighed beforehand and subtracted from the total after filling.
The shop also offers “alternatives to everyday items that come in plastic packaging,” Allen said, such as toothpaste tablets and toothpaste packaged in aluminum or paper.
Anyone who’s interested in buying the business can contact Allen at [email protected].
Her current lease for the space ends in March.
When asked what would happen if she doesn’t have a buyer by then, Allen replied, “I’m choosing to believe that I will have a buyer. I’ve put 5 years into building Greener Goods. So many people in CU are thrilled (and sometimes surprised) that Champaign is home to a refillery. It needs to stay open and I think that a new owner with fresh energy and ideas will only improve it.”
The Circle K at 1501 N. Lincoln Ave. in Urbana, pictured Wednesday, has shut its doors. “PERMANENTLY CLOSED,” a notice on the front door stated. “COME SEE US AT OTHER LOCATIONS AROUND TOWN!”
Circle K at Lincoln and Bradley closes
The Circle K at 1501 N. Lincoln Ave. in Urbana has shut its doors.
As of Wednesday morning, a notice posted on the front door stated, “PERMANENTLY CLOSED. COME SEE US AT OTHER LOCATIONS AROUND TOWN!”
The Conrad’s Grill in Campustown has shut its doors for good.
Conrad’s Grill closes
The Campustown location of Conrad’s Grill has also shut its doors for good.
Mike Rane, one of the managers of the LLC that owned the location at 301. E. Green St., said it typically closes for a few weeks over the holidays while students are out of town and did so this year.
“We chose not to reopen following the break because we just couldn’t generate enough sales to support rent and labor costs,” Rane told The News-Gazette. “Between that and people getting comfortable with food being delivered to them through DoorDash and the like, the break-even number was pushed too high for basically eight months of busy and four months of super slow.”
A Baldarotta’s van outside the restaurant’s new location on Griggs Street in Urbana on Oct. 29, 2024.
Baldarotta’s sets ribbon-cutting for new location
Baldarotta’s new brick-and-mortar location at 208 W. Griggs St. in downtown Urbana, which launched in November with a soft opening, will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
“We absolutely love our new location and have been having so much fun in the kitchen creating new sandwich options, deli options, and our pastry chef has absolutely been killing it on the desserts,” the business shared on social media.
Champaign Macy’s safe — for now
Good news for local department-store shoppers: the Macy’s at the Market Place mall isn’t on a list of closures announced by the chain on Jan. 9.
However, the store’s future remains uncertain, as more locations are expected to close.
Macy’s Inc. said that the 66 announced closures are part of its “Bold New Chapter strategy,” which was originally announced in February. The store said at the time that about 150 locations would be closed through 2026.
“This plan is designed to return the company to sustainable, profitable sales growth, which includes closing approximately 150 underproductive stores over a three-year period while investing in its 350 go-forward Macy’s locations through fiscal (year) 2026,” the company said in its latest announcement.
The sole Illinois store on the closure list is at White Oaks Mall in Springfield.
Kohl’s also announced a slew of closures on Jan. 9, stating that 27 “underperforming” stores will shut down by April.
The list includes two Illinois locations in Plainfield and West Dundee.
Champaign Station, a six-suite strip center at 507 W. Town Center Boulevard, recently sold for $5.1 million.
North Champaign strip mall sold
Commercial real-estate brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap has announced the sale of Champaign Station, a six-suite retail strip mall at 507 W. Town Center Blvd., for $5.1 million.
Property records show that SCP Champaign LLC sold the property to Prudent Growth, a private-equity firm based in North Carolina, on Dec. 4.
“We sold this property in 2020 to one of our clients and watched as they successfully executed their value-add business plan,” said Alex Perez, first vice president of investments at Marcus & Millichap. “They then gave us the opportunity to sell it for them, and we found another client who was attracted to the now-stabilized deal and the favorable real-estate fundamentals of multi-tenant retail in a vibrant college town.”
Perez and Chris Garavaglia, investment specialists at Marcus & Millichap’s St. Louis office, marketed the property for the seller and procured the buyer.
The real-estate firm said the strip mall is “fully leased to a mix of e-commerce resistant, restaurant and service-oriented tenants.”
Lodgic offering free day passes this month
Want to know what it’s like using a coworking space without the commitment?
Lodgic Coworking at 1807 S. Neil St. in Champaign has announced that it is offering free, one-day passes, with the promotion lasting until the end of the month.
“If a guest comes in during January, takes a tour, follows us on social media, and leaves a Google review (they can leave the Google review after their experience working here) they can stay and work for the day or get a free day pass to redeem at their convenience,” said Creative Director Emily Atkins.
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