Public should decide which shops belong

Naperville Sun July 06, 2010

Public should decide which shops belong
July 06, 2010
By Bill Mego, Columnist

Up and down the City Road, In and out the Eagle, That's the way the money goes. Pop goes the weasel. Some people have written me, asking whether I think we should allow this kind of thing in Naperville.

The Eagle is a pub on City Road in London, officially on Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton. That's obviously not the part of the children's verse they're questioning, because if there's anything we have in this town, it's bars. In fact, in summer, nothing says "Naperville" like loud drunks and un-muffled motorcycles.

And spending lots of money in bars is certainly not controversial. No, it's that last line, what happens when he comes up a little short of money and the tailor, or hatter, pawns, or "pops," his flat iron, or "weasel." Yes, I know there are dozens of other interpretations of the verse involving Cockney rhyming slang, etc. Please don't write me. I already know more of them than a man my age should.

There are, in fact, a few snooty towns that don't allow pawn shops. So, essentially, the question I guess I was being asked was: Is an establishment that offers short-term loans collateralized by personal property less morally suitable for Naperville than blowing all your family's money in bars? Gosh, that's a tough one. So I thought I'd visit Naperville Jewelry and Loan, 635 E. Ogden, near the northwest corner of Columbia and Ogden, to see what a modern pawn shop is like.

Naperville pawn shop welcomes all

Naperville Sun March 16, 2009

Naperville pawn shop welcomes all
March 16, 2009
By DAVID SHAROS For The Sun

Naperville has a new business along Ogden Avenue whose time has evidently come.

In a city that boasts nearly every enterprise imaginable, Naperville resident Greg Holloway and his partner, Tom Brunzelle, have opened Naperville Jewelry and Loan — a pawn shop, owners say, "with a twist."

"There are other pawn shops around, but ours is the only one that is a licensed pawn shop, meaning we are licensed as a loan broker," Holloway said. "We offer loans to people for 30 days at a time, based on collateral."

Naperville Jewelry and Loan opened in late January and already has been active in terms of merchandise bought and sold, as well as providing a few clients with short-term loans. Holloway, 38, said he ran "a family-owned oil change business" for a number of years before the company went bankrupt, and his partner, Brunzelle, worked for 20 years as a Web site developer. Together, they possess a unique synergy.