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Downers Grove, IL —
The trendy women’s clothing boutique Urban Sole in La Grange had survived the worst of the financial downturn of 2008 and 2009.
Now, after more than seven years in operation, the business has succumbed to the smell of barbecue ribs.
That’s right, the store is closing and one of its owners, Mary Kral, says it is mostly because Q BBQ next door emits such strong odors.
“We’re selling off everything that we can,” Kral said last week.
The decision to close came about a month ago, she said. The business, located at 72 S. La Grange Road, began to receive complaints about the barbecue smell after Q BBQ opened in September 2009, Kral claims.
Kral said customers would return merchandise because of the smell, and her own children knew when the restaurant was smoking meat by the smell that clung to her clothes when she came home.
“We were just a friendly, hip, fun shoe, clothing and accessory store. We brought a little bit of the city out to La Grange,” Kral said.
She and her business partner, Honor Lorenzini, have no plans to re-open elsewhere. Kral added the decision to close was about 75 percent because of the smell and 25 percent financial reasons.
However, Q BBQ owner Michael LaPidus said Urban Sole’s owners had been good business neighbors. Q BBQ does not have a neighbor on its north side.
"It's tragic whenever any business is closing and it's innate that people try to blame other factors. I see it all over,” LaPidus said. “The fact is, there is no problem with the smell and I think that they had been struggling for years. I wish they weren't closing because they were such a good neighbor.”
Last week, Kral issued an email to 5,000 customers with a subject line that read, “It Stinks ... We’re Closing.”
Kral doesn’t know the actual date the store will close, but says it will be sometime this week. Phone calls Monday to the business went unanswered.
Patrick Benjamin, director of community development for the village of La Grange, said the village was asked to get involved with the conflict between the two businesses when Urban Sole filed a complaint against Q BBQ.
Benjamin said he spoke with the village attorney about the issue and was told the conflict should be resolved by the business’s owners and the landlord of the building. The building’s landlord did not return a phone call requesting comment.
The trendy women’s clothing boutique Urban Sole in La Grange had survived the worst of the financial downturn of 2008 and 2009.
Now, after more than seven years in operation, the business has succumbed to the smell of barbecue ribs.
That’s right, the store is closing and one of its owners, Mary Kral, says it is mostly because Q BBQ next door emits such strong odors.
“We’re selling off everything that we can,” Kral said last week.
The decision to close came about a month ago, she said. The business, located at 72 S. La Grange Road, began to receive complaints about the barbecue smell after Q BBQ opened in September 2009, Kral claims.
Kral said customers would return merchandise because of the smell, and her own children knew when the restaurant was smoking meat by the smell that clung to her clothes when she came home.
“We were just a friendly, hip, fun shoe, clothing and accessory store. We brought a little bit of the city out to La Grange,” Kral said.
She and her business partner, Honor Lorenzini, have no plans to re-open elsewhere. Kral added the decision to close was about 75 percent because of the smell and 25 percent financial reasons.
However, Q BBQ owner Michael LaPidus said Urban Sole’s owners had been good business neighbors. Q BBQ does not have a neighbor on its north side.
"It's tragic whenever any business is closing and it's innate that people try to blame other factors. I see it all over,” LaPidus said. “The fact is, there is no problem with the smell and I think that they had been struggling for years. I wish they weren't closing because they were such a good neighbor.”
Last week, Kral issued an email to 5,000 customers with a subject line that read, “It Stinks ... We’re Closing.”
Kral doesn’t know the actual date the store will close, but says it will be sometime this week. Phone calls Monday to the business went unanswered.
Patrick Benjamin, director of community development for the village of La Grange, said the village was asked to get involved with the conflict between the two businesses when Urban Sole filed a complaint against Q BBQ.
Benjamin said he spoke with the village attorney about the issue and was told the conflict should be resolved by the business’s owners and the landlord of the building. The building’s landlord did not return a phone call requesting comment.
One solution offered, Benjamin said, was for Q BBQ to raise the height on its chimney, which the restaurant did three times. Various concepts were discussed with both Urban Sole and Q BBQ, including the hiring of contractors to fix the problem, or the hiring of industrial hygienists to take air samples.
LaPidus said altogether, the restaurant spent $6,000 to heighten its exhaust chimney, the latest time being last spring. This helps the barbecue smoke travel away from Urban Sole, he said.
"We made a very costly attempt to address some of their complaints," LaPidus said. He questioned the claim that smoke was the main reason Urban Sole is closing.
“If the smell ran them out, how come they’re not opening up somewhere else in downtown La Grange?” LaPidus said. “That’s the test, right?”
