Habitat for Humanity ReStore moving from Fox Valley Mall to Naperville, new restaurants open and coming

In the latest comings and goings of Naperville businesses, the Habitat for Humanity home improvement shop is moving from one local shopping center to another while new restaurants continue to pop up around the city, some recently opened and some on the way.

Naperville ReStore relocating

Habitat for Humanity’s Naperville ReStore is moving — but not too far.

The shop that sells affordable building materials, new and used furniture, appliances and household items to raise money for the nonprofit organization is relocating from its outlot location at Aurora’s Fox Valley Mall to a new space less than a mile away in Fox River Commons at Ogden Avenue and Route 59 in Naperville.

Plans were announced last week in a news release from Continental Realty Corp., which owns the Fox River shopping center.

Habitat for Humanity hopes to make the move by July or early August.

“We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be relocating to Fox River Commons,” Jennifer Taff, executive director of DuPage and Chicago South Suburbs Habitat for Humanity, said in a statement. The “size and layout of the space fulfills our exact needs from an operational standpoint,” she said.

Habitat’s new store will use 24,115 square feet of the 241,000-square-foot Fox River center, per the shopping center’s owner. About 10 employees will staff the business.

ReStores are both donation centers and retail outlets, reselling the items they acquire to generate proceeds to build affordable housing. Last year, the DuPage and Chicago South Suburbs Habitats constructed more than 20 housing units in the local area.

The local ReStore is moving because of redevelopment at the Fox Valley Mall.

It’s one of several tenants that have recently leased space at Fox River Commons, which was purchased by Continental Realty along with four other suburban Chicago shopping centers in 2022.

In previous interviews, Chief Operating Officer David Donato has said that Fox River was specifically acquired as a “turnaround project.” Last year, a third of the shopping center was vacant. As of this week, they have leased all available small shop space and two of three anchor spots, Donato said in an email.

Donato called ReStore a “brand I have always admired. … It supports the work of Habitat for Humanity, a wonderful nonprofit bringing shelter to so many people in need.”

Once the last anchor is officially leased, the only storefront space left to fill will be those previously occupied by Amish Furniture and Petland. There are also two roadside pad sites, which the company hopes to fill with national quick service restaurants, Donato said.

PureBerry Acai Bowls coming soon

Just in time for summer, PureBerry Acai Bowls is launching in South Naperville, according to owners Neepa Mehta and Dorothy Sisnett.

Located at 3224 S. Route 59, PureBerry’s soft opening could be as soon as Friday, pending final cosmetic work and inspections, the owners said.

PureBerry serves “soft-serve, organic acai bowls” topped with fresh fruit, granola and a variety of other toppings, Mehta said.

“It’s different than your usual acai bowls. It’s not going to be frozen,” she said. “It’s going to be a soft-serve consistency so it’s going to come out of a soft-serve machine.”

Mehta added that PureBerry is not a franchise. It will be independently run by her and Sisnett, both of whom live in Naperville.

“Neepa and I really are excited about this new venture,” Sisnett said. “We are elated about the product, we think we have an awesome product and we’re just excited to get spoonfuls into the mouths of our new potential customers.”

Recent openings

Several restaurants have joined Naperville’s business scene over the past few months.

Last Friday, Chicago-area chain Tacos Pros opened a new location in Naperville Crossings at 2860 Showplace Drive.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened at 1967 Glacier Park Ave on the east side of Route 59 opened at the end of January followed by BIBIBOP Asian Grill, a Korean-inspired quick-service chain, at 1309 S. Naper Blvd. in February.

On the way

Looking ahead, even more businesses are en route to Naperville.

Wu’s House, a Japanese steakhouse/sushi bar chain, is hoping to open in late June or early July, owner Michael Wu said.

Also coming soon, according to their websites, will be: Epic Burger, a chain with restaurants across the Chicago area, at 2555 W. 75th St.; Indian restaurant Desi Chowrastha; Indiana-based Parlor Doughnuts; and Diva Dance, an adult dance studio. No official opening dates or locations for the latter three businesses have been announced.

tkenny@chicagotribune.com