Wheaton Religious Gift and Church Supply reopens after renovation

WHEATON – A longtime downtown retailer is back in business after completing a major renovation.

Wheaton Religious Gift and Church Supply opened its doors Sept. 2, said Vice President Philip Taschetta.

“We wanted a fresh look and to make it look uniform,” he said. “The carpeting was really bad, so we put in new flooring, and from there we just decided to give the whole thing a facelift. The renovation just kind of snowballed.”

The store closed Aug. 1, he said, to install the carpet, fixtures, move the stairs and add three offices overlooking the retail space, new paint and shelving.

While the renovations are still ongoing, Taschetta said he and his brother, company President Joe Taschetta, are pleased.

“It’s a more professional look,” Philip said. “Now we have more shelves to hold more product, which gives us the flexibility to move things around and have things look more uniform.”

The original iteration of the store, Wheaton Card & Gift, opened in 1967 on Front Street in downtown Wheaton and focused on greeting cards. Its specialization shifted after sales of the religious items it carried skyrocketed during the first year, he said.

Now, Philip said, they sell “everything that a church could have,” from light bulbs to icons. Wheaton Religious Gift and Church Supply also has a full print catalogue, warehouse location and nationally visited website.

It moved to its current location at 113 W. Front St. in 2003.