New look for Old World Village

Marie Ekberg

Cyndie Bischof was 2 years old when her father, Joe Bischof, developed

Old World Village in 1978, and she has witnessed many of its struggles

and failures firsthand.

Now, like a loving older sister, the 23-year-old fledgling entrepreneur

feels compelled to help the mock Bavarian hamlet on Center Avenue, filled

with an eclectic array of services, shops and restaurants, to achieve

success any way she can.

“I want to create a new era at the village,” she said.

Armed with a sizable inheritance from her grandmother, Bischof envisions

an Old World Village that offers something for the younger generation,

like music and movies, as well as the trademark European import stores.

And perhaps most of all, she’d like to form a merchants’ association to

coordinate the efforts of the individual business owners who usually

operate independently.

Bischof had inspiration for her plan.

“When I experienced the wonderful atmosphere of small shops in Amsterdam

I decided it would be a perfect concept for Old World,” she said.

She said she wants to draw the younger generation to the village with

attractions including an alternative movie theater screening European

films.

“The key is the night life,” Bischof said. Her restaurant has already

started a new nightclub, Europa.

“But that means longer opening hours and less complaining about noise

from the entertainment facilities,” Bischof added.

There is hardly any foot traffic through the village’s cobblestone

streets now, and many business owners have had to find new ways to

survive.

“It’s the closest thing to a cemetery,” said Gifts of the Spirit owner

Carol Roesel, who plans to move out. “Here, I hardly make 5 cents a day

and I am embarrassed when visitors ask me why it is so dead.”

Many shops in the village have closed, some surviving only a couple of

months.

Mary Perez knows this firsthand. She had to close her art gallery two

months ago after selling only two paintings in a year. And her paralegal

business is going shutting down in January because of new laws that come

into effect.

“You have to do a lot of stuff to make ends meet,” said Perez, owner of

Mary’s Magic Closet.

Some merchants are using cyberspace to market themselves and sell their

products. Others arrange special events, such as a Russian music evening,

that draw customers to their store.

Erwin Hermanns’ crystal and nutcracker store benefits from the more than

10,000 people on their mailing list and invites world renowned porcelain

artists and nutcracker makers to their store each year.

“If businesses would take responsibility and do more marketing by

themselves, it would bring in more foot traffic,” said Hermanns.

Many retailers claim part of the reason for dropping sales is the shift

by businesses to service, rather than retail.

“Soon there will be no specialty stores to visit and it will be a dead

village,” said Alfred Skistimas, owner of Edelweiss Inn.

Skistimas and most other business owners are embracing Bischof’s plan to

revitalize the village.

“Cyndie’s plan is exactly what this village needs and what it is designed

for,” said Skistimas.

These plans will most likely meet resistance from some of the older

residents who want peace and quiet.

“There is a lot of old world thinking,” Perez said. “We need to get new

blood in here.”

And that is just what Bischof has in mind when she suggests the creation

of a merchant’s association that will screen which businesses will be

suitable for the new Old World.

“But that is discrimination not to let the owners rent out the building

to any business they want,” argued Jack King, the owner of the Associated

Financial Services Group.

Bischof also has plans to launch monthly festivals like Oktoberfest to

bring more activity to the center, and to attract investors to open new

shops.

Bischof passionately believes her plan will be successful “because it is

nothing that anyone can imagine.”

“It’s time to gear the Old World Village to a new generation,” she said.