Western Springs Coronavirus: How Downtown Is Faring

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Casey's Market was one of the few places open Tuesday on Burlington Avenue. Most were shut down because of the coronavirus emergency.

Casey's had a few customers, but it was a far cry from last week. Before the butchershop opened at 9 a.m. Thursday, a line reached all the the way to Oberweis Dairy a few doors down, butcher Tom Truver said. It was the same thing Friday.

But this week has been different. "Everyone who shopped last week bought all they needed. Everyone's well-stocked," said Truver, who has worked at Casey's for 23 years. Another reason for the drop in business, he said, is that people appear to be taking the governor's shelter-in-place order seriously.

Despite the deluge of customers last week, Casey's appeared to be well-stocked Tuesday. Truver said the store gets much of its meat from restaurant suppliers. Because of the slowdown in the restaurant business, he said, places like Casey's has been able to get shipments quickly.

Early Tuesday afternoon, plenty of parking was available in downtown Western Springs. Many people were walking and jogging.

Western Springs retirees Tom and Marcia Sullivan were walking their dogs on Burlington Avenue. Tom recently retired as the nation's coronavirus emergency was beginning.

"Usually at mid-day, you can't get a parking spot here," Marcia said. Tom added, though, it was not as bad as Hinsdale's parking situation. "Absent the coronavirus, there are usually a lot of people here," he said.

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