Walking a beaten path
At its downtown confluence with Jefferson and Chicago avenues,
Washington Street becomes an eddy of commerce where pedestrians cross
from curb to curb and slow as they pass storefronts, reading restaurant
menus or window-shopping.
That foot traffic is what makes Washington Street an attractive spot for a new business, said Two Bostons owner AdreAnne Tesene.
The business, about four months old, is one of the newer stores to open
on Washington Street, and for Tesene and her husband, Andy, it is their
first foray into entrepreneurship.
The shop, named after their two Boston terriers, Rosco P. Coltrane and Daisy Duke, caters to dog owners with upscale tastes.
There is a case of homemade dog biscuits that look startlingly like
human bakery goodies. There are collars and leashes in a range of
colors and patterns, and baskets of dog toys.
There also is a shelf of cat goodies for those mixed-species households.
When the couple started talking about the shop a year and a half before
they opened, they knew they wanted to locate in downtown Naperville.
"We looked at other downtowns, but they really didn't have the right
feel," Tesene said. "You can't really ask for a better location.
There's foot traffic and all the dogs that walk down here and on the
Riverwalk."
The fenced-in area in front of the shop is good for pet adoption events
and they have plans to add a "yappy hour" to the shop schedule — a
chance for dogs and their owners to socialize.
For the new business owners, their days start early and end late. Andy joked about how his best work is done at 10:30 p.m.
"It's very exciting because it's all up to you to make it work," Tesene said.
7/17/05
