Berwyn Shops: This “Homegrown Project” Offers a Place To Thrive for Small Business Owners

To make something big, we must start small. At Strong Towns we talk about taking one small step forward at a time, making incremental changes and adjusting to the environment as we go along in developing a Strong Town. Berwyn, Illinois, a suburban city outside of Chicago, did just that by paying attention to their community needs and discovering what they could do right now.

“We had a gap in our offerings and our resources for startups, so we started brainstorming the best way to support our local businesses,” said Kendra Shaw, Berwyn Shops project manager.

Berwyn noticed a need for community-centered places in their city and took thoughtful, incremental actions in filling it. Berwyn Shops: A Homegrown Project, is a nest of twelve 12-by-15-foot cottage-style shops designed to be a personable incubator spot for beginning businesses. This simple design gives business owners the opportunity to experiment with the local market before making a large investment into a full-blown storefront operation.