THE CORRELATION OF FORCES IS NOT FAVORABLE TO THE LUCINDA STRIP MALL.

A Northern Star columnist surveys the decay.

In DeKalb, one of the most treasured places for NIU students used to be the Village Commons Bookstore. The store was the top destination for students to purchase textbooks, NIU merchandise, art supplies and cute Christmas ornaments for their parents. But last year, VCB was unceremoniously shut down after 50 years partly due to a lack of student traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the store may be gone, the entire strip mall, 901 Lucinda Ave., needs to come back.

Within the span of a couple of years, Village Commons Bookstore, The Hot Spot and Pita Pete’s have all closed with nothing coming to replace them. While some businesses, like Cast Iron Coffee, have come out of the pandemic, it’s sad to see a once vibrant strip half full with one of NIU’s most prominent businesses shuttered forever.

The loss of VCB was sad enough, but The Hot Spot was a great convenience store that also provided great sandwiches and ice cream. Pita Pete’s had a great selection of food for students, most notably vegan students.

There are fewer students, vegan or otherwise, than there used to be, and that has been the case for years.  It doesn't help that Illinois was a tax hell long before pot-bellied dictator governor J. B. Pritzker used his corona tyranny to destroy restaurants and bars.