Mokena's Front Porch Podcast
Welcome to Mokena’s Front Porch – THE podcast for Mokena history and community!
Nestled in the heart of Chicagoland, Mokena began as a small farming community that flourished after the Rock Island train line arrived in 1852. Today, with a population of over 20,000, its rich past continues to shape its future.
Your hosts:
🔹 Matt – A lifelong Mokenian, local historian, and author of two books on Mokena history. His blog, Matt’s Old Mokena, serves as the foundation for many of our episodes, bringing forgotten stories of the village back to life.
🔹 Israel – A passionate storyteller who grew up hearing firsthand WWII accounts from his grandfathers. Since moving to Mokena in 2016, he has embraced its history, working through technical challenges as a first-time podcaster to bring this show to life. He’s a BIG fan of Mokena!
Join us as we explore the people, places, and moments that make Mokena special. Visit MokenasFrontPorch.com for more stories, updates, and ways to connect. You can also find us on social media!
Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and step back in time with us on Mokena’s Front Porch.
Mokena's Front Porch Podcast
Nick Clancy - Candidate For Mokena Village Trustee - 2 Year Term
Nick Clancy is a Mokena business owner, having started Clancy Bros. coffee in Mokena. This is Nick's first time running for elected office. Get to know Nick Clancy and be sure to vote on April 1st! Early voting starts March 17th!
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Find Matt's Blog here: Matt's Old Mokena
Photo & Artwork Credit: Jennifer Medema & Leslie V. Moore Jr.
Do you have a question, comment or maybe an idea for an episode, you can email us at:
MokenasFrontPorch@gmail.com
All right, nick. Thank you for sitting down with me today and talking. Nick is running for Village Trustee, and so just start. Maybe tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, thanks for having me, israel. It's a pleasure to sit down and a privilege to be able to just talk about what hopefully we're going to talk about tonight. But I'm originally from Plainfield, illinois, so I'm familiar with this area, will County. I have an aunt who's been living in Mokina for over three decades. My sister lives in Mokina, so I'm from this area. It's very familiar. It feels like home. I'm one of five kids. I'm the youngest. We always kind of joke around. We didn't have the typical traditional childhood. We were kind of over-churched homeschool kids that just had a. We sort of resisted that. But then, looking back, we're glad because it shaped us into who we are. We're all independent thinkers. Most of us are entrepreneurs. I think four out of the five own their own business, myself included. So our parents were doing something right, I would say.
Speaker 1:How long have you been in Mokina? Two and a half years, okay. So really, since the, was it right when the business opened, or shortly Was it after?
Speaker 2:Right before we opened, I found a townhouse in Grasmere Good, good.
Speaker 1:Well, so good. You've been at two and a half years. What's your impression of town? What do you think of Mokina? I love it here.
Speaker 2:I absolutely love it here. Um, when you first move into town, you're you're sort of just getting a feel for how the people are, and then you know the main major intersections, the Grange and Route 30, but then once you get settled in, man, you really just get a good feel for what's important to the people who live here. And you just get a feel for what's important in terms of you know what they want to see, what they don't want to see, and then having a coffee shop really gave me that sneak peek into sort of the deeper thoughts of the residents of Mokina.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I want to get into the coffee shop more, but you bring that up, but you know. So when you're hearing people, what do you hear from people? Um, you know they're coming to the coffee shop and talking about town, like what, maybe things they'd like to see, or that, uh, they like, or they tell you about the village.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you get a lot of South siders, a lot of people who grew up on the South side of Chicago that have migrated here, and I think what I'm learning is that a lot of these families that have been here for decades are now starting to have their kids who moved away come back, and so I've just had a lot of conversations with them that they're excited that their kids are now moving back into Mokina, and so, having conversations with the parents and now getting a chance to have conversations with the kids that are starting to lay roots down here and grow their families, they start talking about wanting a downtown.
Speaker 2:They start wanting to share their thoughts about what Mokina can be and not throwing the baby out with the bathwater and changing everything. It just means that there's just so much potential to maximize just what this town is capable of, and we have a lot of young people, a lot of young families that want to see that in their lifetime, and then a lot of people from my parents' generation that want to be champions of that, that actually want to see their kids in a town where they grew up in better than when they left it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, Talk a little bit about what do you do for fun when you're outside of the coffee shop. Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:I like to. I'm going to sound boring, but I like to hit up other coffee shops. I like to go into Chicago and just kind of see what other coffee shops are doing. I love spending time with my family. Like I said, I'm one of five, so there's always somebody to hang out with, there's always something to do and, yeah, when the weather's nice, I like being outside and playing golf. I coach flag football with my brothers, so I can't wait for flag football season to start back up. So, yeah, just being around, family, playing golf, being active, working out, love to read, so usually when I'm checking out the coffee shops, I usually have a book with me too.
Speaker 1:So coffee shops are very community-like, right. So is it the same in between coffee shops, like when you go to another one, are they, you know, they kind of want to talk to you? You know, is it a relationship like, do people want to, you know, get involved with each other absolutely?
Speaker 2:absolutely we. We have a term we use at the client at Clancy, where it's called familiar strangers, okay, so there's this kind of unspoken connection that you feel when you step into a coffee shop. But you're always tempted to want to push past that boundary of like, hey, these people know my name, they know my drink, like they know my routine, they know what time of day I come in, and so there's this familiarity that you just naturally build over time, that you become familiar with because you want to go back, you want to experience that feeling of being known and being seen, but at the same time you know that you can't be friends with everybody and you can't hang out with everybody. So I usually just try to keep it surface level, and that's usually how we do it at Clancy Bros too. It's just you get to know people beyond a certain point, but there's also room for friendships to be made too, any outside.
Speaker 1:You know other coffee shops that you really like outside of the area that you'd recommend or you found recently.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so how much time you got. So I'm always looking for cool spots, just because I love specialty coffee which is different than you know Starbucks, dunkin', those kind of things. So I'm always looking for cool spots in the different suburbs. But my favorite coffee shop is this place called Gaslight what a name, right? Gaslight Coffee Roasters in Logan Square, so it's like Milwaukee and Fullerton, okay. So they roast their own coffee. They buy really good coffee. They roast on the same machine that we roast on. So I'm kind of showing their support because they roast on a Diedrich, which is what we roast on, and I know the guy who does all their coffee and he's just a great dude. So I'm always trying to plug Gaslight for those people who are trying to get good coffee in the city.
Speaker 1:Very cool, yeah. So what, getting into the business a little bit, when you decided to bring or start a coffee shop, or how did you maybe one decide to start it and then two end up in Mokina?
Speaker 2:Love that question. It's a huge, long journey to get there so I won't get into all those details, but I started two businesses when I lived out in Arizona. I moved out there in 2015, started two businesses that failed and most people are like, well, that stinks and it did.
Speaker 1:What were those? What kind of businesses?
Speaker 2:One was an app. It was automated video editing software, so it was centered around going to events. So if it was a concert or sporting event, it would kind of splice both perspectives together and then generate like a 90 second highlight video of your time there. And so I spent a lot of time developing that and trying to get that up off the ground and it failed. It was not a good situation, but I just learned so much. So I almost feel like I got my master's degree in business just by failing at business my first time.
Speaker 2:And then it wasn't until I moved back in 2021 that I got that itch to start a business again. Sat down with my brother, chris, and he's like let's do something, man, what do you think? And I'm just like well, I love coffee. You know, I started roasting on the side, just kind of as a hobby. I used to work as a barista part-time while we were starting those other companies in Phoenix, so I had worked in it, I had a passion for it and this itch to be an entrepreneur and it was just kind of the right place in the right time and Chris kind of stoking the fire and getting that flame going.
Speaker 2:But we really didn't know what the next step was until my sister, rachel talk about timing calls us out of the blue and says there's this really awesome, amazing empty bank building on the corner of La Porte and Wolf Road. You guys should just check it out. It's sort of like a too good to be true location, and so we drove over there and we saw the realtor's information outside of the building. We're looking around and we're just like what is going on? Why is this building vacant? This is such a great spot on the corner here, and so we contacted the realtor and we were able to get in and it just started. The wheels just started turning. I'm like we could put the bar here. The roaster will go there, we can knock that wall down, kitchen here and before you know it, we were able to get all of our permits approved by the village, not without its. You know it's a process to start a business and how long was you know?
Speaker 1:you say you signed the lease or you started the process to opening day. How long did that take? Eight months.
Speaker 2:Wow. So it took us eight months, which, considering, is pretty good timing. To take an empty, vacant bank and to transform it into a coffee house in eight months is moving pretty quickly. And, um, you know, we had some things that slowed us down, but those things that slowed us down we were working with the village, um were were things that needed time. It wasn't something we could blow past, it was something that we needed to take time on and it involved safety and the patio, and there was an existing drive-thru that was already there and we were figuring out if we were going to utilize the drive-thru and if we weren't, it was going to be a patio. But it couldn't be a patio until we had proper structures that would prevent cars from getting so that kind of delayed things, but rightfully so. It was important that we did it that way.
Speaker 1:So how far, how close did you stay to you know your original, what you thought was going to be your timeline?
Speaker 2:We thought we were so optimistic. We're like we're going to get this done in four months. Man, we got everything planned. You know, we were go-getters and so it took double that. We thought we would do it in four months, but it took eight months. So yeah, it was a longer process than we expected.
Speaker 1:So what did you learn? What are some lessons you learned during that process?
Speaker 2:things that matter take time. Things that you want to do right take time. And there's no way of cutting corners. Well, I guess there is, but if you want to do it the right way, you don't want to cut corners. And if you're not going to cut corners, then you have to accept that it's just going to take a little bit longer. And so I learned patience is, um is absolutely necessary in starting a business.
Speaker 2:Things go wrong that you didn't think would go wrong. People that you relied on uh end up being unreliable, um finance it's. There's a lot of moving parts, and for all of it to go right is like an impossibility, you know. So I think next time, or the next coffee shop, whatever thing, whatever we do next, I'll just have a lot more wisdom, but also just a lot more understanding going into it that you need to be flexible and you need to be able to bob and weave with the ebbs and flows of just starting a brand new business. This was the first first of its kind, so no one gave us a playbook and said here's how to do it. You know, we did it all our own.
Speaker 1:I know, you know the community was excited for the whole as long as since that first sign went up or word went out that it was coming. You know it was a long, you know anticipated thing. So I'm sure to us maybe it felt like a lot longer at the time than it did. But now, looking at running for village trustee and looking back at that experience, what do you think you could take from that and make it easier or better, a smoother process for businesses coming in or businesses that want to build? How can you improve that process after going through it so recently?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. Israel and I think that is a big part of why I am running for trustee is to kind of take the wisdom that was learned from this process and use it to advance other businesses that see Mkina as an attractive place to start their business. I think for me, when we first were driving down Front Street three years ago, we just saw what Molkina could be. You just kind of have this revelation of like man, this downtown has so much potential. It's built to be special, it's built to be amazing. We just have to get the right people to buy into that. We have to get the right people that can catch that vision. Businesses take on all the risk, you know, because they're the ones putting up their own money and they're the ones taking all of their life savings, all of their time, energy and resources into starting a business. They need every advantage they can get and they need to feel like the wind is at their back. And that's an opportunity for the village of Mokina to support these businesses in that way, not to make it difficult, but to make it easier. And that doesn't mean that we we stop scrutinizing and stop holding people accountable. It doesn't mean that. It just means that we're pro-business, and being pro-business means that we want to hopefully attract the right people that fit our culture and our town to want to take that risk that fit our culture and our town, to want to take that risk.
Speaker 2:And I think if you know that there are people on the village board that are willing to work with you and willing to champion you, then that makes developers and entrepreneurs and small businesses that much more likely to want to invest in the downtown area and invest in Mokina. It's just, it's there, man, it's right there. So that's what motivates me and I believe that that I can help champion small businesses that want to come in here. But I also have a lot of people that and this is something that we're trying to work towards rewriting, in a sense, the reputation, Like you were saying, there's a reputation that Mokina isn't pro-business and that's not maybe entirely accurate. But if it's a reputation that's out there, then if people are trying to open up a business and they're looking around the different towns, they're overlooking Mokina when they shouldn't be because of this reputation that was maybe there before I even moved into town. So I want to work to rewrite that so that doesn't even need to be on the radar.
Speaker 1:What do you think as a trustee? How do you think you can use that position to help or what do you think your role would be interacting with, say, a new potential business coming in?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I think, um, just my past of being on teams is something that I think I I bring a certain dynamic to the table.
Speaker 2:That um represents what teamwork looks like, so I'm able to get things done by myself if I can, and if I can't, I will find somebody who can, and usually it's somebody with a completely different skill set, a completely different background, a completely different level of ability in that area. Ability in that area, and so knowing that I want to execute something, but knowing that it's going to take a team to do it, I think is an asset to the, to the village, because I know where I end and where someone else can begin. And so it does take a team to to make something a reality. And when it comes to small businesses coming into town and recruiting those businesses, I'll know which person needs to be called, which person needs to be set aside and asked questions to, and so that's kind of the approach that I'm bringing to. This is just it's going to take teamwork, it's going to take the right people being on the right seats and the right positions and ultimately, they just need to know that we're going to work with them?
Speaker 1:Yeah, great. So we've talked some about it, but maybe just tell what made you want to be a trustee and run for trustee.
Speaker 2:Well, it was probably just a number of things, but being able to have a relationship with some of the people who are already on the board just through coming into the coffee shop and having some innocuous conversations, random conversations, and seeing their heart and catching their heart because they care and I think that's what's attractive about wanting to work with people that care. And so having conversations with the mayor and asking him if I would have any interest and originally kind of being like no, I got my hands full. I have a business that we just opened. It's a lot plus other things that are going on in my life that I want to focus on, but I just I just had this itch. I don't know where it kind of came from, if it's just just the conversations I've had, or just um, a passion for wanting to see something so ripe for um, for change in a good way, see that through, to see that vision come to reality. That's what made me want to run.
Speaker 1:I think in the end, so you talked a little bit about downtown and we had talked a little before, and that's something I'm extremely passionate about. I live in downtown. I want to see an active, vibrant downtown. We see a spark of it, with, you know, the dock coming in and uh, zap being there now and and uh, some other things, uh, but talk about downtown what you'd like to see. You know, if you could wave your magic wand, how, what, what would you want downtown to look like?
Speaker 2:yeah, love that question because that's where a lot of my time is spent in between the years, you know, imagining and envisioning what things could be like. So I love the fact that Mokina has front street. It's just, it's got a nice ring to it and then it's just a nice long stretch of road that goes from Schoolhouse Road to Wolf Road. And to me that's kind of where we start is just let's get Front Street developed, let's have a hallmark main street for lack of a better term just a main street. That's going to be where you can basically park your car and go to six or more different businesses just by walking around. And I think that's kind of if you could define what makes it downtown.
Speaker 2:I think it's like it's a handful of businesses that are there where, if you were on foot or on your bike, you could walk around, whether it's ice cream, a deli, brunch, a boutique, a clothing store, a spa, a doctor's office, you could go to all of those places in a day on your feet and walk from your home or park your car and be able to walk around.
Speaker 2:But it's not just front street and it's not just having a row of businesses, it's also just the layout. So you have and I think the mayor has talked about this but Yunkers Park or Yunkers Farm, all of that land back there is really underutilized, and so I think that is also great potential for some bike paths, some trails. I envision amphitheaters, just places to do outdoor concerts and outdoor events and activities for when the weather is nice. So there's just so much you can do beyond just Front Street. That will be so beneficial for families that want to enjoy the land in their backyard, but it's going to take developers and it's going to take people who want to actually dig into that ground. But Front Street is kind of where my mind first goes, just having a row of businesses that people can frequent on foot, yeah, or people get off the train. You know the train tracks are right there too.
Speaker 1:No, and it's kind of. It's funny. Yeah, that's you'd love to see, that I'd love to see an active and it it reminds me of what it used to be like. You know, I talked to some with you know the history of things.
Speaker 1:We talk about the people that have been around. You know, back in the 80s and 90s even and that's what it was, you know you walk from shop, you had everything in downtown. You could get some groceries, you could get this or that, and yeah, you know it's a different time, but like there's still that there and there's so many good examples with Tinley and New Lenox and using their spaces to tie in and create community space, I think we do have a lot of opportunity in Mokena for that. Yeah, definitely Talk a little bit about how your experiences overall will make you a better trustee.
Speaker 2:Well, I've been a leader my whole life, and what I mean by that is I've just been in a position where what I mean by that is I've just been in a position where I've had to be the first to do something, or the one to take a risk, or the one to lead by example, or to kind of go head first into something that is brand new and no one wants to do it. Something my parents would always say growing up is Nick will do it. So it was kind of maybe a joke, but it's always stuck with me it's just Nick will do it Right. So it was kind of maybe a joke, but it's always stuck with me. It's just Nick will do it. And so I think that's kind of given me not a fearlessness necessarily, because it takes courage to still open up a business and do other things that are brand new. It's scary, but at the same time, being able to push forward even though you feel those emotions, I think is kind of what makes me who I am.
Speaker 2:So just a hunger to want to lead, but lead from a place of service, of servanthood. It's servant leadership. That's what it is, and especially in local politics, local government, it's about service. We're here to serve. It's about service we're here to serve, and if I have a gift of leadership, it's only as good as my ability to lead in a way that serves the best interests of the people who live here. So I think that's kind of what I bring. But I also bring vision and I bring a level of determination to want to see things be a reality. We can sit around this table all day long and dream about Front Street and all these possibilities, but we got to get it done. We actually need to work and act. So another side of that is my impatience of like come on, let's go. We can do this. We just have to cooperate. We have to work together.
Speaker 2:So I think it starts with a vision. It starts with good leadership. I think we have that with Mayor Frank Fleischer. He's got the vision and I think that's a big part of why I'm even sitting here is the conversations we've had of him also wanting all of this to happen before he's done with his service and so being able to kind of follow his vision and knowing that we're just here to serve. We need to back all of this up with a ton of action and we need the right people to work together.
Speaker 2:It's collaborative, which is the beauty of how our government is set up, is we do have to work together, and sometimes that's more difficult than you'd like it to be, and sometimes that's more difficult than you'd like it to be, but at the same time, it's a new opportunity to relate and connect to your co-workers and the people you're working with in a different way, and so if someone is different than you, you've got to be able to meet them on that level If that's going to make them feel like, hey, you listened to me or you heard my idea, and that's half the battle, that you're actually willing to listen to my ideas, my idea, and that's half the battle that you're actually willing to listen to my ideas. And so I'm just excited to have those conversations and to just get to know the people that we're going to be working with. And yeah, is that the answer? Yeah, that's great, yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's say if there's a criticism and somebody says, hey, you've only been here two and a half years, what makes you prepared to be a trustee?
Speaker 2:That's a fair question, very fair question. I'm just here to learn that's a big part of it is. I understand that I haven't lived here for 30 years, 20 years, 10 years, five years, near two and a half years. I understand that. But I've had so many conversations with people who have come through the coffee shop and we've I've been able to second-handedly get a rundown of this town um, just through the people who have lived here for so long. So in a way I feel like I've lived here longer than I have just because I've gotten to spend so much time with people who have been lifelong Mokina residents.
Speaker 2:But I would just say where I lack experience of being a resident here, I make up for in my passion and enthusiasm for wanting to see Mokena be that all it can be. But wanting to learn means also wanting to listen, and so I've had some great conversations just in the last couple of weeks as the campaign has started, just asking questions and just being like, hey, what do you want to see in your town? What does a good downtown look like to you? And when you start to connect the dots and you start to see common denominators of like, wow, okay, these aren't just random things people want to see. There's a cohesive narrative starting to connect here that people want a downtown and they're craving it, so they deserve it, and that's what I would say yeah, great.
Speaker 1:What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing the village over the next five to ten years?
Speaker 2:I would probably have to just say the passing of the baton, the passing of the mantle from one generation to the next generation.
Speaker 2:So I think what happens is a previous generation gets complacent isn't the right word, maybe comfortable and it's only human nature to want to seek what's comfortable and what's familiar, and this happens with every generation.
Speaker 2:The next generation comes along and says, hey, we see things differently, we want to do things differently.
Speaker 2:The old generation holds on to the past of what's familiar and is a little bit resistant to what change needs to happen. The people who want to make changes bite off more than they can chew and there's this tension, there's this tug of war that's happening. And so I think that is going to be a challenge over the next five to ten years is how do we steward the rich history of Mokina, of this awesome town, and honoring the people who really have built it, who have done the hard work of making Okinawa what it is and preserving that while still making room for change and progress and just taking it to another level. So I see that as a challenge, but it's only as difficult as a challenge is people's ability or inability to want to work together and hear each other out. So both sides, both generations, need a great deal of humility to say, hey, we need to pass the baton, but we need to pass the baton to people who aren't going to ruin or tamper with the goodness that we've created here over the last however many generations.
Speaker 1:So it can be tough to balance that desire to bring in new blood as well as learning and respecting and appreciating the experience and knowledge, and that that's have come from the time before. You know as well, and that can be a real challenge in a situation like this, for sure Talk. How would you so you say you win and you get into office? How would you challenge? How would you deal with disagreements with fellow trustees or the mayor? You know, something comes up and you don't disagree with them. What's your strategy to work through that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. I think I can just allude to how we make tough decisions at Clancy Bros. I have a partner right, it's Clancy Brothers, it's not just me and we have other people who are a part of the ownership of the company, that are very involved on the back end of the company, and what we have is what we call our true north. Our true north is shared vision. If we've all agreed that this is going to be the vision, this is where we're going. This is the standard that we're going to run the business. When it comes time to making decisions, we have to ask is this decision going to move the needle towards what we've already established as our end goal? And that has taken all of the guesswork out of it, and we really have just had amazing meetings. And when we do have to make tough decisions, it just brings so much clarity knowing that, hey, the vision has been set, the mission is set, this is where we're headed, these are the values and these are the characteristics of the kinds of people we want to bring into this team. These are the kinds of decisions we want to be making. That's going to push Mokina closer to what we want it to become, and so, when it comes to working with a team, you have to have somebody who sets the agenda and sets the tone and casts that vision.
Speaker 2:And not everyone has to agree with that vision, and sometimes that is the case. But when you come to a disagreement, hopefully there is something that is going to be your compass, that is going to guide you back towards a place of not compromise but agreement, where we can maybe disagree on certain things, but we can. We can agree on the bigger picture stuff, the macro stuff of like, hey, this is going to move the needle towards where we want to go, and so we need to be in agreement on this. But, um, I think too, it's.
Speaker 2:It's again. It goes back to the service thing. It's not about me. Yeah, we're all individuals up there, but we have to vote together, and so each one of us brings a different perspective, and that's a beautiful thing to some degree. But when we go issue by issue, line item by line item, you're bound to have a disagreement. And so my thought is collaboration. I just want to be able to collaborate, and if you can't, then you can't, and then you use the power of the vote to kind of be your last ditch effort to speak your piece. You vote a certain way, but if you can come to an agreement through conversation and collaboration, first by going back to your true north of what you're setting out to do in the first place, then I think that's half the battle.
Speaker 1:So, kind of as we wrap up, I have some more lighthearted questions, but first talk about your family a little bit. Your siblings, tell us who they are a little, and your parents.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my parents, mike and Rose Clancy best parents I could have ever asked for, gosh, they did so much for us growing up. When you look back it's like how did my mom homeschool five kids, how did my dad start a construction company from nothing and then build it to what it was, while having five kids and us being involved in everything sports, academics, just busyness but had great parents. They're still very invested in my life and I in their lives to this day. We're very close. My brother Mike he's the oldest, he's an attorney, he lives out in Scottsdale, arizona, he's got a big family, he's married and he's got six kids. My brother Wow, six kids. He's got six kids. Yeah, just had twins over the summer, wow.
Speaker 2:Four to six, yeah so they have a beautiful family out there in Arizona. My sister Beth. She's out here. She lives in Plainfield. She's married two kids. She works for a real estate development company out in Lamont.
Speaker 2:Chris, my partner at Clancy Bros, married two kids. He lives out in Western Springs. He and I coach flag football together and he's just a guy I look up to and always been a role model and a mentor to me, especially when I was really young. But so to be able to work with him has been awesome. He also has a construction company called Clancy Co Works, primarily out of Chicago on the north neighborhoods up there in the city and he does a really good job of taking old buildings. And it's ironic that we took an old building in Clancy Bros and we made it into something great. And that's what he does he takes old buildings and he renovates them, he flips them, he redoes them and he sells them. So he's really found his niche out there in the city. And then my sister Rachel, another entrepreneur, married to another entrepreneur. She's got two boys. She lives here in Mokina. Her company's called Boxed Gift Company.
Speaker 1:Yeah, talk a little bit about that in right in within your little complex there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, rachel. Rachel started in 2017 and it just started kind of as a a passion project. She just has this gift of wanting to give right and so she just is this generous person. She's's like, how do I take that and make it a business? And then she just had this idea of these like carefully curated gift boxes where people, if they're in a pinch and they don't have time to like go out and get a gift, they literally go right to her shop fill your box with these random.
Speaker 1:That's my wife's exact so she's done it a couple times. It works, works out great. Oh, it's great yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so she's doing great over there. She started out in her house, then moved to New Lenox and now she's here in Mokina.
Speaker 1:That's awesome yeah it's great and that strip, so there's a couple things in that other property there. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, first we have Fratello's. They do a lot of catering but they also have lunch and dinner for walk-ins and I'm pretty sure they have a pretty stellar DoorDash community because you always see cars coming in and out picking up orders really good Italian food. Next door is actually Clancy Bros Wholesale. So we have a second business it's the wholesale arm of the company where we just roast. So we not only roast for ourselves but we roast for other businesses in this community and then all over Chicagoland and is that part open?
Speaker 1:Is that open to the public at all or not? It's not.
Speaker 2:It's like our roastery where we roast most of the beans, but it's also an active commissary too. We have a full kitchen in there that's been approved of Will County Health Department for people who want to use it as a commissary, but we use it to make all of our pastries, so all of our pastries are in-house. So it's a kitchen roastery. And then the last unit is in-touch design. I think that's what it is. You'll have to double check InDesign or InTouch Design and it's just an interior design boutique company out in that corner unit. So, yeah, we have neighbors and they're all great, so it was cool to see that building finally get some tenants.
Speaker 1:Well, the whole corner. You know that building's been vacant as long as you know. We were coming on nine years and I know it was before that too, so it's great to see the whole thing active now. It really brings life to that corner. So, besides Clancy's, what are some of your? What's your favorite breakfast restaurant?
Speaker 2:I would probably say just like, historically, the original Pancake House. Just growing up, going there after church and just getting a Dutch baby, you know, super nostalgic. So when I moved back into the area that was like the first place we went to. I was like it's right down the street now. That's funny, this could be dangerous.
Speaker 1:So I would say that Okay, how about a favorite area restaurant?
Speaker 2:In the Mokina area. What's?
Speaker 1:your call. I mean, you know, play to the voters or not, let's see. It doesn't have to be, you can go anywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like Cultivate in downtown Frankfurt. They sell our cold brew there, so shout out to Cultivate. They have really good sandwiches, salads over there. It's not really in this area, it's a little bit of a drive, but downtown Lamont, I really like Wood Paddle Pizza over there. They just do a really good job and just great people over there. The owner, jonathan, is a really nice guy and they have a terrific chef that totally revamped their menu. So the pizzas are really good, but they just have these other food items that are just like top-notch. So that's always a good spot, even if you're just looking to chow down on a pizza or looking to have like a nice date. So it's like it's just best of both worlds, great spot wouldn't peddle.
Speaker 1:All right, we won't strike you too hard for it not being a Mokina restaurant. How about your favorite Mokina community event?
Speaker 2:I was really, really excited about the food trucks that we were doing. I mean, I know that's not a single event, but it's. You know it's a weekly thing and a lot of people started coming to it. You know, especially when it first started, you weren't sure if it was going to take off. And then, boom, you know, people really did show out for it, so that was great. But, dude, the 4th of July parade is freaking awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm biased because it goes right by Clancy Rose and we have, you know, our little tent out there and just serving up coffee and cold brew and iced tea to people who have just been camping out since 5 am, and are you guys open during the oh yeah? Yeah, yeah, we're open and uh, it's just. Yeah, it's fun, it's just a fun day for us because we get to just see all the floats go like right by. Oh, that's cool, and then everyone's just camped outside, so that's great. Yeah, fourth july is awesome yeah, me too.
Speaker 1:I agree that's my favorite community event too. How about your favorite thing about mochina? I'd say two things.
Speaker 2:First thing is no one gives mochina enough credit for how like uniquely positioned it is on the map. Like you have, you have lagrange and then you have 30, but then it's sort of Mokina's sort of tucked away a little bit and I think it lends itself to being like it has a feel that New Lenox doesn't have, that Frankfurt doesn't have. It's just Mokina has its own feel and that feeling is it's like a small town, it's a hometown, it's a small town, it feels tucked away. But because you have those big roads and Wolf Road going through, you know that you're one shot away from getting back into the hustle and bustle too. So it's like it's a very uniquely positioned on the map, which I love that it's like that.
Speaker 2:But number two, just the people man telling you it's like has blown me away just in the last and I get emotional even just talking about it because especially the first year, I was behind the bar a lot, you know, just making drinks, just because I had to be. You know it was a brand new business and everything had to be running right, so I couldn't afford to not be there. But you just have these random conversations and people just saying, like man, we're so glad you're here and thank you for choosing Mokina. And it's just like you can't beat those those little connections over time. And on top of those little connections you develop friendships just through that and you really get a snapshot into the heart of Mokina and it's just great people that live here and so Shout out.
Speaker 1:Danny Potter, and so shout out Danny Potter.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I got a story about Danny. But yeah, man, he's like, it's my, it's my favorite customer right there. Man, when you, when I first met Daniel, you know I didn't know what to what to do at first, cause I didn't know him. And then he would stand, you know, in his like designated spot and he would say hello to everybody and everyone knew him. Everyone would say hi back. It's like this guy knows everybody in town. Somehow him just being there made everyone comfortable Because we were new and it's like this new coffee shop, but Daniel's here, that just makes it better. So, yeah, shout out to Daniel.
Speaker 1:Potter. He's a staple. I have a similar story. I take the train downtown and for a long time Danny would be there every day and would wave at the trains and then knew every conductor and like hey, where's Frank today? He knew their schedules and then, as I got to know him, I mean now I get calls twice a week.
Speaker 1:I love Danny, he's great he knew all about that, of course of course we're going to talk to danny too soon, so right, um, what would you say is maybe the, the local business that you support the most?
Speaker 2:we used to go to zap taco a lot um over the summer, and we still do so. I would say Zap Taco is up there, and then would it be weird to say Brookhaven Brookhaven grocery store. I live right over there, so I'm there pretty much every day grabbing my dinner. But, to be honest with you, I think this is a perfect opportunity to make a point which is like the fact that it's kind of difficult to even think about. That is is what motivates me to want to make it a no-brainer. Yeah, yes, that's where I go. That's where I go, and for some people, I'm sure it's, it is a no-brainer. But I want the, I want the downtown to be a place where there is just thriving local businesses, where people cannot wait to go back and they're not unsure about if they should go or not. It's just like no, that's our spot.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate this. I'll say you and Clancy Brothers have been very supportive of the Lions Club and given us the coffee the last two years, which has been awesome for the pancake breakfast we do, yeah, so it is always great to see businesses coming in and you know wanting to be involved and get active and supportive in that. So thank you both and you all at Clancy Brothers for doing that, and you know, just thank you for taking the time to talk to me and anything else you want to share. If you want to make your pitch or say why people should vote for you, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, thanks, israel. It's a pleasure sitting down with you and appreciate the opportunity as well. Yeah, the last closing remarks I would make would just be we're here to serve the people of Mokina. We're here to serve the people of Mokina. The people of this community deserve to have a viable downtown and they deserve to have a place where they can be proud of A downtown that's in their backyard, that they can walk to, they can ride their bikes to, they don't have to travel, they can have peace of mind knowing that everything that they need and want in a healthy community and a healthy town is all here.
Speaker 2:It's all here and um, and some might say that it's already there and we don't need to change anything. But based on what I've heard from the people that live in this, in this community, is they, they want that. So it's not that we want it and you should want it too. It's you've communicated that you want it. Now it's time to go to work. It's time to. We want it and you should want it too. It's you've communicated that you want it. Now it's time to go to work. It's time to go to work Great Well.
Speaker 1:Thank you, nick. Be sure to check out all of our videos and on the different candidate interviews and be sure to vote on April 1st in the election. This is really important and in these small elections every vote really does count. It's not a large vote total, so if you want to make a difference. This is the election. So thanks again, nick, appreciate it, appreciate it absolutely. Thank you.
