Morning Star Catholic bookshop in Lombard closing in July
A downtown Lombard shop described as a place so peaceful it compelled some customers to whisper is closing its doors next month.
But downtown Lombard won’t be seeing a vacancy in one of its largest storefronts when Catholic bookshop Morning Star Books & Gifts closes.
Another downtown Lombard shop, FairyTales Inc., will be moving from 9 S. Park Ave. to Morning Star’s 28 W. St. Charles Road location in August, leaving behind a smaller vacant space that Lombard Town Centre Executive Director Karen Stonehouse said should attract tenant interest.
Morning Star’s closing comes after 12 years in business and two difficult ones struggling over the decision of whether and when to shut down.
Owner Chris Regan said she wants longtime customers to know “how hard it is to have an independent small business in the world of Amazon and big box stores.”
“We used to be insulated from that, but apparently, we’re not anymore,” she said.
Morning Star opened in 2000 in a 53,000 square-foot space that formerly housed two department stores. Regan and her husband, Bob, originally planned on opening a pizza parlor, but changed their minds after visiting Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a place where some Catholics believe the Blessed Mother appears, on a religious pilgrimage.
They moved from Michigan to Wheaton and found their Lombard storefront at the heart of downtown — St. Charles Road and Park Avenue.
The store attracted visitors from other states who heard about it from Lombard-area relatives, and employee Marylou Johnson said she remembers selling an item to a man from Ireland. Morning Star was known for its “rescued section” of religious items people no longer wanted; these were sold at garage sale prices to bring them back into spiritual use, Johnson said.
“It wasn’t a chore to go to work. It was just a beautiful place to be,” Johnson said. “People would come in and say ‘I love it in here; it’s so peaceful.’”
The store also was known for its life-size cardboard cutout of Pope Benedict XVI, and for posting pictures of customers with the cutout on its website.
But high gas prices led to fewer visits from customers and the price of jewelry and other merchandise Regan wanted to sell kept increasing, she said. Regan encourages customers to come in and say goodbye, or buy a book or gift as the store tries to clear its inventory.
The exact closing date hasn’t been set, but it will be sometime in July as FairyTales Inc. takes over the lease Aug. 1, said Rochelle Pokorn, who owns the store with her husband, Jim.
“We are, of course, disappointed about Morning Star moving out of there. It’s never good to see any retail leave the downtown area,” Pokorn said. “But we’re excited about expanding and it’s a beautiful spot.”
FairyTales sells collectible bears, figurines and other gift items from its store at 9 S. Park Ave. and from its website, fairy-tales-inc.com
Some of Morning Star’s products, such as its line of Willow Tree figurines and its selection of baby items, furniture and home decor, will incorporated into Pokorn’s store after the move.
“I’m deeply concerned about continuing to keep her customers happy because I know they’re not thrilled to see her go,” Pokorn said. “I’d like to carry some of her more popular items so they know they’re welcome.”