New crop of McHenry Riverwalk Shoppes set to open for business Friday

Tenants got their keys April 17 to start setting up their McHenry Riverwalk Shoppes for the 2025 season.

On Saturday, Amy and David Lukasavage were putting together display shelves for the brownies, chocolates, cookies and cakes they’ll be selling at Oh My Ganache, admitting they were a little bit behind their neighbors in getting the store set up.

The couple met in culinary school a decade ago and are now seeing if they can make a baked sweets shop their future.

“It is something we have both wanted to do for a while,” David Lukasavage said.

Across the walkway from their store, Tina and Justin Lawrence have been setting up a romance book bookstore since they got the keys. Since they were told in December that her idea for Hello Darling Books & Beyond was selected for one of the shops, they’ve had to build a business from scratch – including ordering books.

“To be 100% honest, it was a little rocky” getting started, said Tina Lawrence, who is perhaps better known as Tina Bree from her longtime on-air presence at WZSR Star 105.5-FM radio. “We literally started from nothing ... and in the last couple of months have built a business.”

The ribbon-cutting for the shops is set for 9:30 a.m. Friday, with the stores opening at 10 a.m. Once the season starts, the stores are expected to remain open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Christmas weekend. Some stores may offer more hours throughout the week but are not required to.

It is the third season for the tiny shops, a retail incubator created via a partnership among the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce, the city of McHenry and McHenry High School District 156.

It will be the second season that Kate and Lori McConville have operated Marvin’s Toy Store at the shops. The mom-and-daughter combo also owns Marvin’s Toys in downtown Crystal Lake.

“We will bring a little different variety in this year, items that are specific to McHenry,” Kate McConville said. Over the season last year, she discovered customers were looking for smaller items they could walk around with, birthday gifts they could take with them to a party and a lot of impulse buying.

“There were a lot of kids walking around” who wanted toys in the $10 to $20 range, which is different from what they see in downtown Crystal Lake, Kate McConville said.

Last season, The Pieceful Project also was across the sidewalk. The Lego, puzzle and game store, owned by Jessica Stetson, now has locations in Cary and on Green Street in McHenry.

This year, Marvin’s plans to carry games at its tiny shop, Kate McConville said.

Mike Harris runs The Olive Tap in Crystal Lake, but he wanted to try opening another shop in McHenry. The store features specialty oils and vinegars and other gourmet food. Having a McHenry location, even for just one season, is both a marketing effort and a test to see if there is a desire for a second store.

“I don’t ... believe people in McHenry know about us in Crystal Lake,” Harris said. “I don’t know if I have a desire to open a full second facility, but I won’t rule it out.”

He’s a little nervous about the new store’s small size and how full it may get, but he said that could be a plus if it means he’s able to explain products to multiple customers at once.

Either way, “it is going to be fun,” Harris said.