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Why This Flower Shop Left Wicker Park For 'More Gentrified' Lincoln Park

By Ted Cox | January 18, 2017 6:17am
"Something we're trying to do now, because of the election and all the bad juju going around, we're trying to hire refugees," Cattails co-owner Atterberry said.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

LINCOLN PARK — The new Fullerton Avenue streetscape drew Lisa Atterberry to Lincoln Park, but not for the reasons urban planners envisioned.

When Atterberry opened her flower shop Cattails in Wicker Park 18 years before, the city was just redoing the sidewalks on Division Street, and when she saw the same basic work being done on Fullerton as she was considering a move there she thought, "Kismet."

So Cattails transplanted to 1434 W. Fullerton Ave., opening on Election Day in November. "It just sort of had the same feel," she added.

"It got prohibitively expensive in Wicker Park," said Atterberry, co-owner of Cattails. "I wanted a corner, and it's really hard to find a small corner that's inexpensive in the city."

 Cattails has moved to 1434 W. Fullerton Ave. after 18 years in Wicker Park.
Cattails has moved to 1434 W. Fullerton Ave. after 18 years in Wicker Park.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

The new address fit the bill, however, and the streetscape work had only good associations for her.

"I like it now that the sidewalks are done," Atterberry said Tuesday. "It's gorgeous.

"This is way more gentrified than Wicker Park was," she allowed, but that has yet to translate to abundant new business, even with the out-of-the-ordinary flowers the shop specializes in. "It's been slower than I hoped, although people are starting to realize we're here."

As people have shaken off the tunnel vision of the holidays in the new year and actually had a chance to lift their eyes from the pavement in front of them with a break in the weather, Atterberry has seen foot traffic and business pick up.

"Even Sunday, it was funny, just a little bit of sunshine and a little bit warmer, the neighborhood was totally alive," she said.

And, on the other hand, the parking is free on that stretch of Fullerton, a perk Atterberry calls "huge" after the "super-challenging" parking and persistent threat of tickets in Wicker Park.

"We specialize in flowers from Holland, and strive to offer flowers not seen in most flower shops in the city," Atterberry said.

Opening on Election Day, given the results, has also spurred her to adopt new initiatives.

"Something we're trying to do now, because of the election and all the bad juju going around, we're trying to hire refugees," Atterberry said.

It was already carrying work from the Arts of Life, a studio serving developmentally disabled adults, and incense made by Indian widows, as well carrying lines of cards made by refugees, so it's consistent with the Cattails mission and vision.

Now they're just waiting for business to blossom in the new location, and for people to beat feet along those new sidewalks, which is just what the city intended with the new Fullerton streetscape in the first place.

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