IndieBound Naperville was created in 2008, inspired by a group of independent booksellers across the country. Anderson’s Bookshop owner Becky Anderson brought that idea to Naperville with a twist.
“IndieBound originally was a book thing. It was a bookstore organization and they tried to get independent bookstores to all sign in. Becky thought it was a great idea for independent businesses in Naperville to start to get together and learn from each other,” said Greg Gordon, owner of Dog Patch Pet & Feed and the IndieBound member who runs the group’s meetings.
“IndieBound is an organization that we share best practices, we support each other when there’s problems or we have issues, we do so much for each other, that just builds community right there in that group and that extends out to the whole city,” said Anderson.
Eleven years later, the group counts 143 organizations as members, in industries ranging from retail to restaurants to everything else. They meet on the first Monday of the month, usually at Kreger’s Brat and Sausage Haus.
“It’s a networking thing,” said Bill Kreger, owner of the venue and IndieBound member. “It’s just a good group of people where we can get together, we can talk about our businesses. We don’t solve any big major problems, but we enjoy each other’s company, and it’s a good group of people.”
Indiebound’s meetings often include a guest speaker such as a city official or a local business leader.
The casual meetups offer the group’s members a chance to learn more about Naperville’s local shopping culture and heighten awareness of the importance of buying local.
“When you shop at a local independently-owned business, you’re shopping with someone who’s invested in this community, they probably live in this community, and they give back to this community in countless ways,” said Anderson.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
