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Love Your Local Businesses

Celebrate Valentine’s Day and show your love of Evergreen Park by shopping at local businesses this month! We’re pleased to present the following Valentine’s specials from local businesses:

  • Core Fitness and Physical Therapy is offering Thai Yoga Massages for $50 (usually $75) in February, plus a free winter hat with purchase of a gift certificate.
  • Durbins is making heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day! Order yours today. 
  • Marquette Bank is celebrating “Love Where You Bank Day” February 14 with a phone wallet giveaway.
  • Romantic dinner? UNIDAD is offering an amazing 3-course prix fixe menu for Valentine’s Day, $150 per couple.
  • Meijer is well stocked with Valentine’s gifts, including flowers, candy, candles, home decor, baked goods, apparel, and more.
  • Monat – Anti-Aging Hair Care, Skin Care & Wellness Special Sale! His & Hers hair, skin & wellness customizable packages available upon request Contact Amy 708-745-4432.
  • Culver’s knows you’re hungry and is offering a BOGO two-scoop, create-your-own dish for you and your valentine!
  • Smallcakes Cupcakes & Creamery will have Valentine’s cupcakes, cake pops, and chocolate-covered strawberries for sale on February 13 and 14.
  • Hayat Home Medical Equipment is offering 15% off purchases up to $150; 20% off for up to $300; and 25% off when you spend up to $600. They also are offering BOGO on their CBD products, and free masks and hand sanitizer with the purchase of a walker.
  • The Center for Self Actualization is offering a special class on Valentine’s Day at 7:15 pm: Heart Chakra Yin Yoga. Register here.  Also, get 50% off a 10 Yoga Class Pack (Only $70) now through February 15.
  • Getting married soon? Book GigiCocoEvents as your wedding planner, and get a discount on their services.
  • Cool Clouds Vapor Shop has 30% off their popular Creaky Bones CBD balm.


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Chamber of Commerce Week in Evergreen Park

Illinois Chamber of Commerce Week is September 12–18, and we’re celebrating with a couple of fun opportunities for our  business members and residents, too!

Join Us for Lunch & Bingo

Please join us for our first ever Lunch & Bingo event at Durbin’s of Evergreen Park on Friday, September 17. Your ticket includes your choice of lunch items and an hour of bingo. This event will be held in person at Durbin’s.

Get Lunch & Bingo tickets

 

New EP Apparel is Here for Chamber of Commerce Week

We’re also designing an embroidered polo and a limited edition T-shirt to display everyone’s civic pride as residents and business members in Evergreen Park. Check out the unique design and place your orders today!

Pre-order EP Proud shirt

 

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Our Welcome Bags are Here!

The Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce created a reusable canvas shopping tote to welcome new residents and businesses to the village this year. We worked with members Jim and Laurie Cleary of the Argus Company on the design, and then filled it with information and offers from member businesses.

Thanks to the following sponsoring businesses that made the welcome bags initiative possible:

Our Member Services Coordinator Kelley Moroney has already delivered the first batch of filled bags to new residents and businesses, with help from Evergreen Park Mayor Kelly Burke. We’re delighted to offer this service to welcome new families and business partners to our wonderful community!

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Summer Shopping in EP Contest

Now more than ever, our locally owned businesses need to know that our community has their backs. We’re inviting you to show us how you’re supporting small businesses in the Village of Evergreen Park with our new Summer Shopping contest!

This local shopping campaign includes all Chamber of Commerce members in Evergreen Park. It begins July 1 and runs through August 15. Shoppers can enter to win prizes every week!

Enter Contest

How it Works

Customers who spend a minimum of $10 at three (3) or more different local businesses that are Chamber members can enter our weekly raffle. Every week, one lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card to a member business of their choice. At the end of the contest, we’ll hold a Grand Raffle and will give away four $25 gift cards to EPCC member Raising Cane’s!

Dates: July 1–August 15, 2020

Details

  1. Summer shoppers who support local merchants, purchase gift cards/certificates, order food (delivery or take-out) or pay for services will be entered to win gift cards to local businesses.
  2. Receipts from any EPCC member business will qualify, so please check our Directory for a full listing.
  3. To enter, take photos of your receipts and submit them to us via the Enter Contest form below. The receipts should be for at least $10 each and include a purchase date from that week.
  4. You can take one photo of all three receipts, so long as they’re all legible, or upload three separate photos.
  5. Please also submit photos of purchases that we can feature on our social media. (This step is optional, but encouraged.)
  6. For every three receipts you submit, you will receive one entry. Multiple entries are allowed, as long as the receipts are from different businesses.
  7. When you upload your receipts, you’ll also need to include your name, phone number and email address so that we can contact you if you’re a winner.
  8. We will select a winner every Saturday.
Enter Contest
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Shop Local & Keep the Green in Evergreen!

The holidays are a wonderful time to spend with loved ones, embracing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the season. When you shop and plan your celebrations this holiday season, why not stay in Evergreen Park? There are plenty of festivities and shopping events right here in the neighborhood!

Shopping locally instead of online or in another municipality means more of your dollars stay in the community. In fact, one percent of every purchase made in our village comes back to Evergreen Park. Just by shopping here, you are reinvesting in our neighborhood!

Holiday Special Dates & Promos

Here’s a roundup of special deals and holiday fun you can take advantage of this holiday season in Evergreen Park. Please check back regularly, as we’ll be updating this list. Your local businesses and the Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce thank you!

Shop Local Receipt Raffle—Nov. 29 through Dec. 27

Shoppers, our receipts raffle is underway, and winners will be selected every Friday in December! Don’t forget to turn in your receipts from local stores to qualify for our weekly drawings through the month of December. You may drop off receipts at our local Culver’s, Evergreen Bank Group, or the Evergreen Park Public Library. Winners will be announced on the Chamber’s Facebook page. Be sure to like our page and turn in your receipts to qualify for our giveaways!  

Caught Red Handed Shopping Local—Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30

Chris from the EP Podcast and Kelly from the Chamber of Commerce will be scouting local businesses and awarding raffle tickets to shoppers. One winner will be selected in a drawing on Mon., Dec. 2! The prize is a $25 gift card to a Chamber business.

E.P. Rec. Dept. Presents A Dickens Christmas—Dec. 7

This family-friendly event includes train *and* trolley rides, live reindeer, face painting, cookie decorating, hot cocoa, a life-size puppet performance, strolling carolers, a visit with Santa, and a Christmas tree lighting with the mayor!

Santa Visits First National Bank of E.P.—Dec. 14

Enjoy cookies and beverages courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce, plus photo opportunities with Santa, and other family fun!

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Evergreen Park Earns A’s on Report Card at Annual State of the Village Luncheon

Evergreen Park is a great place to live, work, study, and do business, according to its number one fan, Mayor James Sexton. He presented a snapshot of the Village’s progress over the past year at the 2019 State of the Village Luncheon, held September 26 at the new Community Center.

“The future of this village has never been better,” Sexton told the gathering of Chamber members, local officials, and reporters. ‘The large national retailers have found Evergreen Park, and they are enjoying themselves here. More and more are coming.”

The Village issued 514 business licenses to brick-and-mortar locations over the past year, Mr. Sexton said. New developments and expansions include the following:

  • The Olive Garden plans to take over the space previously occupied by Applebee’s at 95th and Western. They will demolish the existing structure and rebuild, opening in late 2020.
  • Core Fitness has expanded its facilities, doubling its studio space and allowing them to greatly expand their fitness center in addition to their physical therapy and other services.
  • LA Fitness may move into the existing Planet Fitness space at 95th and Western.
  • LePar Animal Hospital purchased the old Souzy’s restaurant next door and plans to open a pet grooming and daycare business there.
  • A restaurant called 95th Street Barbecue is opening where Famous Dave’s used to be.

The Mayor also reviewed the Village’s balanced budget, which was just over $28 million this fiscal year. He praised the two local school districts, which account for more than 70% of Village expenditures. “Without good schools, you don’t have good kids. And if you don’t have good kids, you don’t have a good town,” he said.

He also commended the Village’s law enforcement departments. With 62 full-time police officers, Evergreen Park has more than double the national average, Mr. Sexton said. The Police Department provides funeral watch and vacation watch services to local community members, offering to stop by a residence three times daily to make sure the house is safe. For businesses, they offer Walk & Talk service, in which an officer parks a patrol car outside a business, gets out, and walks around.

Throughout his speech, the mayor urged residents and business owners alike to keep the Village of Evergreen Park strong by shopping within its borders. He urged the audience to remember our longtime small, family-owned businesses, including Barraco’s, Evergreen Doors, and Wolf’s Bakery.

“One percent of most everything you buy in Evergreen Park comes directly back to this Village,” he said. “. . . So please, if you have the opportunity, shop here and shop local.”

Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce Officers and Mayor James Sexton post at the 2019 State of the Village Luncheon September 26 

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Shop Local Contest & Holiday Specials

It’s easy to ‘shop local’ when you have businesses that work hard to keep their customers coming back. Here are some Evergreen Park shops that are offering holiday promotions during the month of December. Taking advantage of their deals is a great way to reinvest in  your community and help ‘Keep the Green in Evergreen’.

Also, don’t forget about the Chamber’s Shop Local contest, which encourages local shopping and rewards the winner with gift cards from our Evergreen Park businesses. The contest rules and holiday promotions are shown below.

The holiday shopping season kicks off with the Chamber’s Community Celebration on Saturday, December 1. Join us!

Learn more Download ‘Shop Local’ flyer

Shop local flyer listing holiday specials from Evergreen Park businesses

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Submit Your Holiday Promos to Our Shop Local Campaign

The Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce is launching our holiday Shop Local campaign, and all members are invited to participate! Send us your details on holiday promotions or discounts for the month of December. We will publicize them in digital and print materials as part of our ‘Shop Local’ campaign that runs December 1–31.

The ‘Shop Local’ campaign will include a brochure advertising holiday offers from Chamber members. Residents are invited to save their local shopping receipts throughout the month of December. At the end of the month, they can exchange each shopping receipt from a business located in Evergreen Park for an entry in our ‘Shop Local’ contest, and a chance to win $500 in gift cards from Chamber members. A winner will be selected January 8.

‘Shop Local’ kicks off with a community celebration on Saturday, December 1, from 10:00 am to noon at First National Bank of Evergreen Park. We’ll have your promotional information ready to share, along with carolers, cookies, hot apple cider, and a visit with Santa. All Chamber members are encouraged to attend!

Submit a holiday promotion

 

How to ‘Keep the Green in Evergreen’

We’re fortunate to have great shopping choices in Evergreen Park. Yet our local businesses are competing with others in the greater Chicago area, suburbs, and online. What can Evergreen Park businesses do to stand out from that crowd and help keep shopping dollars in our community? Quite a lot, actually. Here’s a primer on how to ‘Keep the Green in Evergreen’:

Focus on your customers

Make personal service a top priority, and you’ll have repeat customers who enthusiastically recommend you to others. Have your employees greet customers, offer to help, and make sure they are satisfied. “Evergreen Park is special because of the personal connections we make that show we matter,” said Nicki Seidl, president of the Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce. “Personal connections cannot be outsourced.”

Share your expertise

EPCC members are business owners and executives with extensive experience in their fields. Sharing some of that knowledge can benefit local residents. When you attend professional development events or read timely articles in your field, look for information that might interest Evergreen Park residents. Then share it! Write a press release for local media, a guest column on the Chamber’s website, an email to your customers, a blog post on your website, or a social media post. Offer helpful tips in a friendly, accessible style.

Give back

Show that you care by reinvesting in the community in some way. You could join the board of a local nonprofit, donate goods or services to a family in need, volunteer for a charitable organization, or establish a scholarship for a deserving student.

Reward customer loyalty

Create a loyalty program for returning customers—with discounts, advance notice about new products or services, and information on special offers. It could be as simple as a monthly email to your customer list, a coupon, a list of specials, or a punch card.

Host engaging events

Give your customers a reason to visit you. Organize special events that are fun to attend, useful, or both. Use these opportunities to strengthen your personal connections with local residents.

Join the chamber

Studies show that people are more likely to shop with a business that belongs to a chamber of commerce. Why? Chamber membership adds credibility. It shows that a business is professional and actively involved in the community. And it provides a host of benefits through networking opportunities, free publicity, professional development, and more. Join the Evergreen Park Chamber today!

Connect with customers

Use every tool at your disposal to build relationships with your customers. Maintain a website that is mobile friendly and updated with new information. Build an email list of customers and write to them regularly. Post on social media. Send postcards, brochures, or catalogs in the mail. Make personal phone calls. Get in front of your customers as often as you can, and let them know they matter!

 

‘Keep the Green in Evergreen’ is the chamber’s motto and a phrase every resident and business person should keep in mind. When consumers are more aware of the power they have to keep their community strong through their spending choices, chances are they’ll do just that.