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Home is where the hardware is for Mr. & Mrs. Fix-it Flower shop owner comes up with a Novel idea for her business

You’ll find sugar and ice everything nice at a Lena cocktail lounge

Jeweler prides herself on creating precious pieces

FEBRUARY 2025

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PUBLISHER Jennifer Heintzelman

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Sheri Capuzi poses for a photo with Santa Claus during an event at the lodge on Dec. 14. Capuzi said she enjoys the many events and activities at the lake.

ven if you tried a different drink every day at Sugarbakers Cocktail Lounge, it’d take you the better part of a year to get through its entire menu.

No, there’s nothing lean about its drink selection, but there is something Lena about it: That’s the village about a half-hour north of Lake Carroll that Sugarbakers calls home.

It’s the kind quaint little spot on the map — about 3,000 people at last count — where you probably wouldn’t expect to find such a long list of libations, but with around 200 different drinks in the mix, Sugarbakers can find something to fill anyone’s glass, whether it’s a wine glass, shot glass, beer glass or martini glass. Straight up, on the rocks, neat, or shaken not stirred — you call it and the spirits will be willing.

Sugarbakers boasts an impressive wine selection — more than 60 — including vegan varieties made with organic grapes. “My customers are looking for exclusives and upscale ones,” manager Becky Ozburn said.

Manager Becky Ozburn and her bartenders serve up cocktails, martinis, wines, beer, and more at the lounge that originally opened in 2019 as a wine and boutique business. Since taking over as manager in December 2023, Ozburn has changed things around and added to the mix. Gone is the boutique, having made way for the cocktail lounge, where more than 60 cocktails and over 20 martinis are served, along with 60 different wines, and just as many bourbons, by the bottle, glass or flight. Seasonal cocktails are also available from time to time, such as a recent selection of Christmas martinis.

With so much to choose from, it’s no wonder the staff goes for more than just the “Wow!” factor when they concoct a cocktail or mix up a martini: There’s also the “Cow!” factor — as in “Holy Cow!”

“You bring a martini out such as the peanut butter cup,” Ozburn said, “and they’ll see the swirls of chocolate and the whipped cream as you’re mixing it, and they’re like ‘Wow!’

“If one person has it, it takes off and someone else will want it. They get mesmerized by you whipping that up and creating it, and then when they taste it, they’ll be like, ‘Holy cow, that tasted like a peanut butter cup!’” she said. “It’s always fun to hear them say that.”

Martinis have been selling just as much as the wines, Ozburn said. “They are the big thing with people young and old. It’s classy. They like the mixes and like to see us make them, especially when they’re fun and different. They’re fun and exciting.”

Customers can kick back and relax with a drink in a lounge that offers seating at the bars, tables or in comfy sofas, an inviting atmosphere to share a drink with friends. There are two bar areas, one by the bourbon selection, and the main one up front with the counter made from floorboards salvaged from the building’s prior tenant, a bowling alley.

The lounge also hosts special events recent offerings include a Christmas Vintage Ceramics Workshop and White Elephant Christmas Pajama party — and occasional music acts. The duo Lady and the Tramp are on tap for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, performing light music, jazz, and folk music (check out Sugarbakers’ Facebook page for more information).

Sugarbakers

Cocktail Lounge owner Duane Canon and manager Becky Ozburn like to mix things up with their selection of bourbon, wine, martinis and cocktails in downtown Lena.

Sugarbakers’ expanded drink menu has brought more people through the door, including those who weren’t into the whole “boutique” vibe, Ozburn said.

“The women who sit and drink and want to have their guys in here, too — in order for them to stay, that’s why we added that,” Ozburn said. “They love it. Now the guys come in and have their bourbons and the women come have their martinis.”

Sugarbakers sources its wine selection from near and far, both domestics and imports. Some come from Chicago suburbs, such as Lynfred Winery’s fruit and dessert wines from Roselle, and some have come cross-country, from the West Coast. Others have quite a few miles on them, coming from around the world, including Argentina, France, Germany, Italy and New Zealand, each ready to satisfy the most discerning palate.

Above: At a table, at a bar, or relaxing on a couch, Sugarbakers offers a variety of seating for customers who want to bend an elbow, and if they’re bending it with bourbon, there’s plenty to pick from.

At left: If the Sugarbakers name sounds familiar, that’s because you may have run across it at the Lake Carroll Farmers Market this past summer, where the cocktail lounge sold a selection of its sangrias and party accessories.

Drink up

Sugarbakers Cocktail Lounge, 141 W. Railroad St. in Lena is open 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Find it on Facebook or call 815-369-9990 for more information.

“My customers are looking for exclusives and upscale ones,” Ozburn said. “They want that good cabernet, they want that good chardonnay, they want something that packs a punch. We’re taking them up a notch, and people are loving it. They may be a little more costly, but I tell them that they are going to get what they pay for, and I have no problem selling it.”

There’s even a couple of nonalcoholic wines, too: “You wouldn’t even know that it is nonalcoholic,” Ozburn said. “I’ve poured it for a few people without saying anything about it and they said it was really good.”

With its impressive selection, Sugarbakers has attracted a growing number of kindred spirits who’ve come to appreciate the variety and atmosphere that the Lena lounge offers.

“We get people who walk in here and are just in awe,” Ozburn said. “One of the first things they say to us is that this is something that should be down in Chicago. They don’t expect this, and they’re getting that upscale feel, and that’s what I want them to feel when they walk through the door.”

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or as long as Gary and Jane Koeller can remember, finding the tools they needed has been as simple as walking through the front door of 104 E. Main St. in downtown Forreston.

Today, they’re still walking through those doors — but now they’re unlocking them too, as owners of Koeller Forreston Hardware.

For as long as the lifelong Forreston couple can remember, the store has been part of their community, dating back to the late 1800s when it first opened. Today, as the latest in a long line of owners, the Koellers are not only keeping a store with more than a century under its tool belt going, but making their own mark at a place that’s become a Forreston fixture in this town of 1,500.

Gary, Jane and their part-time staff pride themselves on being able to help do-it-yourselfers do things themselves, connecting them with the tools they need and the expertise they can use for projects big and small. It’s a profession that puts them in the company of other small-town hardware stores across the nation, a segment of the small business community that’s faced its share of challenges in a time when big box stores and online shopping have reshaped the business landscape.

Jane and Gary Koeller, owners of Koeller Forreston Hardware.

But the Koellers like to think they offer the kind of service that people won’t find clicking on a mouse or standing at a self-checkout. They know that goods and customer service are like nuts and bolts: They need each other in order to work — and they know their nuts and bolts.

For the Koellers, the local hardware store is a tradition that’s worth preserving, a place where a home handyman or woman can come in looking for that certain something they need for a project, and find a friendly and familiar face waiting to help them. They’ll do their best to answer any question that comes their way — what matters most, they say, is being willing to help, as they’ve done since they took over the store in 2015.

“People want to do things themselves,” Gary said. “If they go to the big box stores,

If you need to know the nuts and bolts of how to do a project around the house, the staff at Koeller Forreston Hardware can help — and they can sell you the nuts and bolts, too. “People want to do things themselves,” said Gary Koeller, himself a licensed plumber.

a lot of the time you don’t get that service. What we do here is tell them, ‘This is how you need to do it,’ and give them step-by-step instructions. You don’t want to leave out Step B because Step C won’t work; you’ve got to go step-bystep.”

In the century-plus that it’s been around, the store has expanded, today taking up five different buildings, enough space to provide customers with all their hardware needs, from paint to power tools and more. Affiliations with Hardware Hank and Do It Best have helped the Koellers bring many familiar brand names and promotional deals to better

Hardware, however, is just a part of what customers can expect when they come to the store. They’ll also find housewares, toys, pet supplies, sporting goods, auto supplies, fish ing bait and home decor. Need to ship something via UPS? Have a new key cut? Got some dry cleaning to drop off for Freeport’s Sanitary Cleaners? Want to make an appointment to see the Rug Doctor? Koeller Hardware can help. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Don’t give up: The Koellers can order it for you.

Jane Koeller of is the “Grandma J” of Grandma J's Sweet Treats, selling a variety of colorful freeze-dried candies. Find it on Facebook for more information.

Freeport, Shannon, Polo, different towns, that are just like, ‘Wow, this is amazing what you have, it’s a really nice hardware store.’ We have so much stuff that people don’t realize exactly what we have.”

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Over in the store’s Country Corner, customers can find locally made yard art, home furnishings and more: “With our Country Corner, we can offer little niche things that you’re not going to find in other places,” Jane said.

“We can offer a lot of different things.”

Making the store a one-stop shop has helped in its success, Jane said.

“I think people will be surprised about what we have,” she said. “We have a lot of people who come in, whether it be from

They also offer a place where budding businesses can find a friend: The Koellers like to support local artisans by giving them a place to sell their crafts and creations — such as beef sticks from Johnson’s Processing in Chadwick and soap from Oregon Soap Shoppe — and they’ll also recommend local contractors to customers looking for help with projects.

CODY

The tin ceiling at Koeller Forreston Hardware retains its look from when paint was first sold there decades ago; the colors showed customers what paint was offered then. The store is still matching colors today, but the color gallery has gotten a lot bigger

The Koellers also set aside counter space to help raise money for local fundraisers, community betterment programs or people who are dealing with serious health issues. With its Change for Change program, customers can drop some coins or cash into a jar to help a different cause each month. September’s is for the Forrestville Valley Youth

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Mentoring Program, which helps local grade-schoolers connect with after-school mentors.

“It’s a real nice way for people to feel like they’re helping someone,” Jane said. “Maybe they’ll throw their change in, or a couple of dollars, and all of that money goes to whoever we’re doing it for that month.”

Competition with big box stores in larger communities has been an ongoing tug-of-war for small businesses like the Koellers’, but they’ve sharpened their competitive edge by providing personalized service — knowing customers by name, taking an interest in what they’re working on, or going the extra mile for them, literally, by delivering bigger products.

Connecting with customers is something Gary enjoys doing; and if it’s a customer with a plumbing problem, he’s happy to use his experience as a plumber to lend some helpful advice.

“There aren’t too many times when, even if we’re already helping another customer, we won’t acknowledge that they came in, nine times out of 10,” Gary added. “They might be quite a few steps through, but by being able to say, ‘Hey, Joe, how are you doing?’ It’s that kind of atmosphere that we want to have.”

The Koellers have also instilled that philosophy in their two employees, Chris Tillery and Karl Klasek, who’ve become a trusted part of the Koeller Hardware team, taking care of things when their bosses are out of town at national hardware conventions.

“I can’t say enough about how good our two part-time employees are,” Jane said. “Because of them,

we can go to the hardware shows and have people who we can trust implicitly to be able to run the store, open it and close it, and handle the customers. That’s really huge to have people like that working for you as well. It’s really important. They do a great job.”

When she’s not running the store, Jane keeps active in community events as the chairwoman of Forreston’s annual Sauerkraut Days planning committee that meets once a month. She also enjoys making freeze-dried crunchy candies — frosted cupcake saltwater taffies and chocolate layer bites, to name a few — that she sells as Grandma J’s Sweet Treats, both at the store and at local markets (find it on Facebook for more information).

Koeller Hardware, 104 E. Main St. in Forreston is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Find it on Facebook, go to koellerfor restonhardware.com or call 815-938-2240 for more information.

Making their business a place “Where hometown hardware tradition continues” is more than just a motto for the Koellers, it’s a belief in the importance of a local business making connec tions with their customers and their community.

“The thing that really goes with what all we have is that we have phenomenal customer service,” Jane said. “We will call people by name when they walk in the door. It’s a really big deal. You can park right out front and talk with us, get the information you need, and you can be on your way. You can get the part that you need. That’s how we can get ahead of the big box guys.”

Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

Even with more than two decades in the business, Jennifer Brooks can’t say that she’s seen it all when comes to jewelry.

But even if she hasn’t seen it, she can make it.

Jennifer is one of the Brooks behind the counter and behind the name of Brooks Jewelers in Oregon, the city’s first jewelry store in nearly 40 years. The shop, which opened in September 2024, sells and creates custom jewelry as well as doing repairs, cleaning, inspection and appraisal, and engraving.

It’s the custom jewelry part of her job where she really shines, though, just like the pieces she creates.

“I like the emotional payout,” Jennifer said. “I absolutely love it when someone comes to me [for a repair] and goes, ‘This has been in my family for years,’ and it looks rough where the mounting looks cattywampus and things are missing. Then you bring it back to them as new as you possibly can, and the look on their face — they get a real good look at it and there’s tears. I get hugs, it’s wonderful. It’s why I do it: all those memories wrapped in one.”

Jennifer Brooks works on a piece of jewelry at Brooks Jewelry in downtown Oregon. She brings 22 years of experience to the shop she and her husband own.

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Jennifer is willing to tackle most any project, big or small and she enjoys the challenge, whether it’s turning people’s precious memories into precious metal, or translating someone’s vision in their head to the ring on their finger.

Most of the pieces in the store’s showcases – which range in price from $35 to $4,000 – are ones Jennifer has made. Don’t see what you like? Talk to the Jennifer or her husband Nick; they can either order it or have it made in the store.

The Brookses spend a lot of time in their workshop at the back of the store, both making and tending to pieces without having to send them elsewhere — it’s all done in-house which makes for shorter turnaround times, typically a day or two.

Jennifer handles the jewelry, while Nick handles much of the store’s business aspects and engraving. Engravings can done on a variety of surfaces, including slate, metal, mirror, glass, wood and leather. Personal touches can even be added, like having an inscription done on a piece of jewelry in a person’s handwriting.

While not necessarily a new trend, the technology behind lab-created diamonds (LCDs) has improved in recent years to help the stone last longer. They were first introduced to the jewelry market in the 1980s, and are, chemically, still a real diamond and still made with carbon, but are less expensive than a diamond created naturally. The first LCDs wound up

turning yellowish and weren’t as stable, but technological advances in the past few years have made it difficult for the naked eye to tell the difference between a lab diamond and the real thing, Jennifer said.

“They’re cleaner, are less expensive and more environmentally friendly because they are grown in a lab instead of being mined from the earth, and so the clarity and color can be controlled a whole lot better,” she said. “I carry it because I know the younger generation today is more financially savvy and being more ecologically minded.”

Jennifer has been a jeweler for 22 years, and recently felt it was time to take her talents to the next level and have a place of her own, she said. She attended Gem City College’s School of Horology, an accredited trade school in Quincy. During that time, she’s been involved in thousands of wedding jewelry decisions — sales, consultations, sizings, repair, cleanings, appraisals.

As far as recent trends go in the ring scene, rose golds and micro diamonds are popular right now, as well as halo-style rings where the center stone is surrounded on all sides by smaller diamonds or gemstones, Jennifer said. She’s also noticed that rings with more flash, or “bling,” to them are becoming popular, but cautions that the more parts put on a ring, the harder it can get to keep all those pieces on the ring.

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Whether it’s repurposing a special piece of jewelry, repairing a diamond in the rough so it’s good as new, or creating a piece from scratch, Jennifer Brooks has the tools and talent for the task, and when the job is done, the smile on a customers face makes her day. “I like the emotional payout,” she says. I hope that they always feel welcome, respected and that I have done everything that I possibly can to make their wish come true.”

“I’ll help people pick something that not only looks intricate, but is actually sturdy and stable,” she said. “It’s going to be worn forever, you want it to withstand some of that wear. The more bling you put in, the less stable the ring becomes. While some things may look real great, they aren’t so great in the long run.”

Custom jewelry is Jennifer’s specialty, and she’s already taken on several one-ofa-kind wedding projects since opening. She shares some of her creations on the businesses’ Facebook page each week.

For some customers, jewelry can be like a link to a special person or cherished memory, and custom pieces can honor those parts of their life and keep them near and dear. Among the projects Jennifer has had a hand in: A bride who wanted to have her father’s ashes incorporated into a restored add-a-pearl necklace; a groom-to-be who wanted to propose to his fiancee not with a ring, but a horse-themed pendant made with stones from an old promise ring; and a woman who wanted her late husband’s wedding ring to be cut and flattened into a piece of a necklace.

“It’s very emotional and very cool that you can do little things that mean so much to people,” Jennifer said.

When it comes to customers, Jennifer has experience with both ends of the spectrum: the ones who know exactly what they want to the ones who aren’t even sure where to start. The best piece of advice she can offer is to have a price in mind beforehand; that way, she can narrow down the search to find pieces with the four C’s of jewelry — carat weight, color, clarity and cut — that will fit into another C: cost.

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“Have your budget fixed before you start shopping, and tell the person you’re working with what your budget is,” she said. “It’s not a secret. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. That allows me to be able to give you the best deal for what you’re paying. We can find something in-budget.”

The thrill of creativity makes the Brookses enjoy what they do, knowing full well never knowing what’s going to walk through their front door as far as an idea or story goes.

For the Brooks, customer satisfaction is the jewel in their crown. If they can find something a customers likes, that they can afford, and that will bring them joy for years to come, then they’ve done their job.

“I hope that they always feel welcome, respected and that I have done everything that I possibly can to make their wish come true,” Jennifer said. “They’ll come in with an idea, and I hope to far exceed what they were coming in with.” n

Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

jewel

Brooks Jewelers, 113 N. Fourth St. in Oregon, is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Find it on Facebook, go to brooksjewelers.net or call 815732-2374 for more information.

amantha Ritchie loves a good book.

She’s also pretty fond of flowers, so much so that she turned her blossoming talent into a business shortly after graduating from college in 2013, when she bought a flower shop in Savanna. For more than a decade she peddled petals and gifts from her downtown store, River Valley Designs.

Recently though, she decided it was time to turn the page at her longtime business. But how? She gave it some thought, and then thought some more.

“I was trying to wrack my brain to find something that would compliment flowers really well, and something that the community needed,” the Savanna native said. “I wanted a gathering space.”

Then it came to her: Why not create a the kind of business that would be one for the books?

ERIN HENZE/SHAW LOCAL NEWS NETWORK

Samantha Ritchie opened The Novel Bloom in downtown Savanna on Oct. 18, having turned the former River Valley Designs flower shop she owned for 11 years into a business with books, beverages and blooms.

Ritchie decided to make room among the blooms for books and create a space in the community where like-minded lovers of literature could come together. She just needed to plant the seed and help it grow, which is what she did last year, transforming River Valley Designs into The Novel Bloom.

“We worked most of the year to renovate and revamp everything,” she said.

The novel new shop shop opened Oct. 18, with shelves filled with books amid a welcoming space to read on a comfy couch or cozy chair — and that’s not the only addition to her business bouquet. Coffee, espressos and teas are served all day from a small bar, and monthly signature drink specials are offered. After 2 p.m., a variety of local wines are sold by bottle or glass, along with espresso martinis. Muffins and bagels are prepared fresh each morning.

The combination of books, drinks and flowers may not sound like a natural fit, but for Ritchie, they go together like roses and baby’s breath.

“At first, the books and coffee and flowers sounds completely different, like three different businesses in one,” Ritchie said. “When you blend them, it makes a lot of sense. I feel like it’s a little bit of an indulgence maybe. They evoke emotion a little bit, too.”

When it comes to the food and drinks, Ritchie is keeping it simple. She said she doesn’t plan on expanding the bar or drink menu, or add a kitchen, but rather focus on the selection she has.

ERIN HENZE/SHAW LOCAL NEWS NETWORK

“When I opened, I wanted to have a small menu, but do it real well,” Ritchie said. “It’s more for my customers because I want them to know what to expect when they’re coming in.”

As for the books, well, that’s a different story. Customers will find a wide variety of books in various genres — fiction and fantasy, non-fiction, history and mysteries, sci-fi, horror, biographies, true crime, romance, and more. It’s a selection that’s always changing and evolving. Ritchie lets her employees have a say in what titles the shop carriers, as well as seeking out advice from her distributors and gauging what her customers are looking for. If customers want a particular book and it’s not on the shelves, Ritchie can order it.

In a time when tablets have replaced tomes for many readers, Ritchie loves being able to offer books that people can hold in their hands instead of their handheld devices. There’s just something special about being able to crack open a book — the smell of the paper, the feel of the pages — that you can’t get in a digital download.

Be lost for words ... Novel Bloom owner Samantha Ritchie likes to think of her shop as more than just a business, but a place that brings people together.

“I hope they can come here to unwind and create connections ... relax and get lost in a good book.”

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NEWS NETWORK

SUBMITTEDPHOTO

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When Samantha Ritchie decided to turn River Valley Designs into The Novel Bloom, she gave her business a makeover, inside and out, giving the front of the building a facelift with an eyecatching new color scheme and other cosmetic changes.

“They are kind of making a resurgence,” Ritchie said. “People want physical books. I feel the younger generation wants to have a physical book again. They kind of want to collect. We’re seeing a lot of people who will read something on a Kindle and love it so much that they come in and find it or order it in a hardcover just to have it on their shelf.”

As for the part of the business that started it all, you won’t find displays filled with flowers; those are kept fresh in the backroom, where Ritchie can make arrangements for any occasion: holidays, weddings, funerals, or “just because” — and with Valentine’s Day coming up, she’ll be plenty busy.

Much of Ritchie’s floral work had been done over the phone or online, which is all well and good for the bottom line, but she wanted something more: some face-to-face time with her customers. Adding books and drinks to the fold was a way for her to make that happen.

“One of the things I was lacking when I was just doing the flower shop was face-to-face communication and interaction with people,” Ritchie said. “So much of my client communication was over email, and I was spending so much time on the computer, all day long. It’s not me, I like to move around constantly. Having more foot traffic has been really cool to be able to have connections with my customers.”

Ritchie has a couple of employees who help her during the day. Abbey Schmidt works the morning shifts, and often brews the coffees that kickstart customers’ day. She’s also found some of the books in store to her liking; at the start of the year, she was in the middle of reading “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster,” by Adam Higginbotham, a historical account of the 1986 nuclear disaster in present-day Ukraine.

Food for thought ... Want a snack while you look for books? Customers can get coffee, espressos and teas all day at The Novel Bloom, along with wine and espresso martinis after 2 p.m. Muffins and bagels are prepared fresh each morning. Ritchie keeps the menu simple so she can focus on doing a few things and doing them well.

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Novel Bloom, 218 Main St. in Savanna, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Find if on Facebook, go to thenovelbloom.com, email thenovelbloom@ gmail.com or call 815-273-2325 for more information.

... Samantha Ritchie (center) and employee Abbey Schmidt talk with a customer at The Novel Bloom. Both enjoy the interactions they have with customers. “It’s just really chill and nice, and everyone who comes in here has been real nice,” Schmidt said.

“It’s just really chill and nice, and everyone who comes in here has been real nice,” Schmidt said. “I like to read, but not really fast; it takes me about six months to get through a book. I really like the historical books and nonfiction.”

Ritchie also leads a book club, which meets the second Tuesday of each month, that discusses and shares thoughts about a “book of the month.” January is set aside for a grand reveal of which books will be featured for the next 11 months; this year’s reveal was Jan. 14 (call or check online for a list). In order to be in the club, members have to buy the featured book there, Ritchie said.

“Books bring people together,” she said. “Maybe you’re more introverted, but still want that connection with someone, books are a really easy topic. We’re gathering people of similar interests, and they can gush over the books they’ve read and talk about their last five-star read.”

Ritchie also hopes to add occasional events at the store: One of the first ones she’s planned is a Galentine’s Day Crowns and Cocktails event on Feb. 13, featuring a guest bartender and a workshop to create fresh flower crowns. She’s enjoying the increased interactions with customers, and meeting folks who share similar tastes, both in coffee and books. She also hopes for the same with her customers

“I hope they can come here to unwind and create connections if they’re coming here to have coffee with a friend, relax and get lost in a good book,” Ritchie said. “When the world can be chaotic, sometimes it can be a lot of people’s therapy and way to escape a little bit. It can be a quiet, safe space for individuals who may want to go out and do something that’s not more of your traditional outing.”