CONTINUING RETAIL LEGACY IN HISTORIC SYCAMORE LOCATION By: Kelsey Rettke
Lacey and Devin Goodeill bought the Sycamore branch of Rustic Roots, a local boutique shop on Maple Street birthed from its sister store in Dixon.
“We were keeping the idea kind of quiet,” Goodeill said. “Sweet Earth had a name of itself. The Paras had been there for 25 years, so a lot of people knew them and had a relationship with them and can’t wait now that we are going to take over the space.”
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Fast forward 498 days and the Goodeills just recently sold their home in Sycamore to so they could buy the location at 341 W. State St., the longtime local retail haven that most recently had been Sweet Earth. Sweet Earth owners Rich and Roseann Para retired in December, and Goodeill is more than ready to fill the vacancy by laying down roots and building a home for her family of five in Rustic Roots’ soon-to-be new location.
The Goodeills will be the fifth business owner to call the historic building home. In 1909, G.H. Lindberg and Oscar Johnson opened the Economy Variety Store at the downtown space. Twenty years later, the store was remodeled and rebranded The Ben Franklin Store. In 1936, the neighboring building to the west was added as an expansion, with an archway cut through the middle to connect the two stores, which were at that point operated by the children of the original founders.
“Oh my goodness, it’s amazing,” said Lacey Goodeill, 28, of the response she’s received since making the relocation announcement in late August on social media.
Another remodeling occurred in 1957, according to records from the DeKalb County History Center, with Gerry and Carol McLain the next couple to take over operations of the Ben Franklin store, where they remained for nearly three decades. In April 1996, after 28 years, the McLains sold the business to the Paras.
ON MARCH 1, 2020,
Rustic Roots features farmhouse and bohostyle decor, including textiles, planters and pots, ceramics, pillows, signs and home goods, among others.
10 | September 2021 | DEKALB COUNTY MAGAZINE
The store remained the Ben Franklin store until 2009, when it was rebranded as Sweet Earth until the Paras closed it to retire on Dec. 31, 2020 after nearly 25 years. Just a few months later, enter the Goodeill family. Lacey and Devin, who works with his family’s pest control business, and their three children: Myles Goodeill, 7; Lainey Goodeill, 5; and Aniston Goodeill, 2. “Lacey and Devin will be able to pursue their business dreams and achieve their goals just as we did 25 years ago,” Rich Para said. The Goodeills will undertake this new adventure together. They recently sold their home in Sycamore to pay for the downtown building, and plan to renovate the top floor above Rustic Roots’ new home, where they’ll live. “I don’t remember the exact date we made an offer to the Paras, but they accepted right away and that was awesome,” Goodeill said. “Within a week, we had our house on the market. It took us about three weeks to sell it. It’s just one of those things. We knew we couldn’t do both, so we just decided to go all in.”
