Rachael Jones paced the tree-lined streets of downtown Homewood in August and wondered how to solve the problem of empty storefronts.
Village officials like to call the downtown a “continuous shopping experience” because there are so many stores right next to each other, and the brown brick sidewalks are easy to navigate even when wheeling the widest of double strollers. New shops like the Starbucks near the tiny Spanish-style Metra station mix with local traditions such as Van Sipma’s, a jeweler in Homewood since 1968.
But there were seven empty storefronts in prominent locations among the 55 stores and restaurants in the one-square-mile downtown…Please click here to read Stewart Warren’s story in the Tribune.