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November 2013
Bloomington-Normal Area
Featured Article
Complimentary
gingerbread house
A Bloomington-Normal Treasure, Refreshed
Inside Articles
You Are What You Wear
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Is Your Nail Polish Safe?
NOVEMBER 2013
Contents
Feature story photos by élan Photography
FEATURE S T O R Y
Gingerbread
House Toy Store
A Bloomington-Normal
Treasure, Refreshed
page 18
ON THE C O V E R
Is Your Nail Polish Safe?
page 8
More Ways to Watch TV
page 15
Kate Greene, local owner of The Gingerbread House
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You Are What You Wear
page 28
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4
Photo by Chandi Kesler
feature story
First row: Gingerbread House new owners, and sisters, Beki Greene, Kate Greene and Nikki (Greene) Hall
Second Row: Gingerbread House employees ,Lori Brandon, Carol McNulty, Anna Bachman, Pam Riley, and Theresa Garrett (not pictured)
gingerbread house
A Bloomington-Normal Treasure, Refreshed
W
hen Tami Jarecki, the original
owner of The Gingerbread
House, passed away in May
2012, her husband and business
partner, Stan Jarecki, wasn’t sure what
would happen to the business Tami
began and nurtured for over 40 years.
Along came the Greene girls — Nikki (Greene) Hall, Beki, and Kate — who
took a collective deep breath, and, with
the encouragement of their mother and
father, Debbie Greene and Ron Greene,
stepped in to buy the business in November 2012, just before the Christmas
rush. Beki, a labor and delivery nurse
at a local hospital, chose to be a silent
partner, while Nikki and Kate agreed to
18
share responsibility for managing and
overseeing their investment.
The girls, who grew up in rural
Bloomington, remembered the Gingerbread House as the place to go for fun.
“It was really cool; we loved to go to this
great house full of toys,” says Kate. Her
sister, Nikki Greene Hall, now the married
mother of two small children, adds, “I
remember it was an adventure, coming in
and seeing Tami. She would talk with us.
It was really crowded and really fun.” — It
still is.
Making It Work
These days, though, the fun comes
in different packages — at least for Nikki
and Kate. Which toy vendors should they
deal with, and how should they begin?
What was the best way to keep up-todate with what’s new and fun in the toy
industry — and did they really need a new
computer system? And perhaps most
importantly, what about the competition — other toy stores, as well as online
competitors like Amazon?
Those challenges represented
a learning curve Nikki and Kate were
anxious to overcome. Nikki, who earned
an MBA from the University of Chicago,
took on responsibility for the business
side of things. Installing a new computer
system took several months and involved
mastering various aspects of the busi-
ness, including payroll and other business accounts. She is able to manage most of those
responsibilities from her home in Chicago, using online management tools like Dropbox to
communicate daily with staff on site. Regular
trips to Bloomington are easier with Amtrak,
and help her to stay on top of what is going
on at the store.
Kate, who holds an accounting degree
from the University of Illinois, had been working at a Chicago-area toy store. That experience engaged her passion for the experience
of play, and ignited her interest in developing
activities that would offer a combination of fun
and learning for children. During the transition
period, Kate oversaw vendor accounts, and
managed the transition to a computer-based
inventory system. As the on-site manager,
she also oversees staff, day-to-day operations of the store, investigates new product
lines, and imagines new opportunities to
serve clients.
Gingerbread House has its very own storyteller, Carol McNulty, who brings life to the
characters in our books and toys every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Getting Started
Once they got past last year’s holiday
season, the new owners began making a few
changes. Walls are freshly painted, windows
are newly highlighted, and kid-friendly prints
hang on the walls. “We’ve refreshed the
space, making it even more kid-friendly,” says
Nikki. At the same time, they made an effort
to retain the charm and fun behind the store’s
success. “Fred the frog is still here,” Nikki
says, referring to the beloved Gingerbread
House mainstay.
In addition to refreshing the physical
space, the sisters have expanded the Gingerbread House’s online presence, adding
a Facebook page and updating the Ginger-
19
Employees Theresa Garrett and Pam Riley demonstrate that attention to customer service continues to
be one of the hallmarks of the Gingerbread House.
As part of the updates at the Gingerbread House, the
sisters have made the store even more kid friendly by
providing more space to test out the toys. bread House’s webpage. Visitors to the
website will find information about the
Gingerbread House, including a short
history of the business, hours, and services including things like toy assembly,
birthday baskets, and doll adoption.
Visitors can also click on a page offering
eight icons, which represent different
ways play stimulates growth and development in children. When a visitor to
the website clicks on one of those eight
“play icons,” a brief description of the
value of that type of play is displayed,
along with a short list of recommended
toys, all available at the Gingerbread
House.
Although customers cannot order
online, they can call the Gingerbread
House with questions, pre-orders, and
even a kind of “toy carry-out.” Nikki says,
“If you call ahead with an order, we can
get it ready for you to pick up. We’ll even
wrap it for you.”
That attention to customer service is
one of the hallmarks of the Gingerbread
House. “It’s one of the things that make us
unique,” says Kate. “Our staff is knowledgeable about our products. They can
help you find just the right toy, and even let
you experience a toy before you buy it.”
20
Children can experience the thrill of bringing
home a new baby through an adoption event
at the Gingerbread House
Good Help isn’t Hard to Find; They
Came with the Store
That might be because, altogether,
the staff of the Gingerbread House has
over 50 years of experience at their
jobs. In addition to retail experience,
each member of the staff has years of
experience as a parent, grandparent, or
teacher, giving them firsthand experience
how children play and learn.
“They are amazing, an awesome
team,” says Kate. “They all care so much
about the Gingerbread House, they are
extremely hard workers, and they know
everybody who comes in.” She gives the
staff a great deal of credit for making the
transition to new owners a smooth one.
“We could not have done this without
them,” she says. “They know the product
lines, and we all have fun together.”
That sense of fun helped the staff to
make the transition, as well. They have
been involved in testing new toy lines
and spotting trends, while helping keep a
sense of Gingerbread House traditions in
place.
Looking Ahead…
Kate admits to looking forward to
the challenges that lie ahead. “We want
to see the Gingerbread House grow, and
be part of this community.” To that end,
in November the Gingerbread House
will initiate “12 Days of Giving,” a holiday
event in which 10 percent of retail sales
on 12 different days will be earmarked for
local nonprofit organizations that support
children in central Illinois.
The Gingerbread Facebook page
and website offer customers regular
ideas, updates, and insights into the
world of play and children. New toys are
introduced occasionally on that page, as
well as updates about events happening
at the Gingerbread House.
Another 42 Years… or More
Although the store stayed open
through the change of owners and the
subsequent “freshening,” the community
still had a lot of questions about what,
exactly, was going on at the Gingerbread
House. After all the planning, painting,
and persevering, the Gingerbread House
and its new owners were ready to let all of
central Illinois in on the fun.
On a hot, sunny morning in July, a
crowd of friends, family members, community leaders, and customers gathered
on the front porch of the Gingerbread
House for a Grand Reopening. Charlie
Moore, CEO of the McLean County
Chamber of Commerce, offered a few
warm words of welcome, then presented
a plaque to the new owners. Kate used
a pair of oversized black scissors to cut
the ribbon draped across the front steps.
Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner said,
“This is one of the greatest examples of
specialized retail in our community.”
In remarks a moment later, Stan Jarecki, who still occasionally helps out, said,
“This is a perfect Summer Sale day… on
a day like this, we’d have been sitting out
here with fans.” Amid laughter from the
crowd, he added, “I hope Nikki, Beki, and
Kate have another 42 years of serving this
community.”
It’s a hope the whole community
shares.
The Gingerbread House is
located at 603 South Hannah Street
in Bloomington and can be reached
by telephone at 309-827-8811 or
309-827-0355. Find them online at
gingerbreadhousetoys.com
By Holly Schurter