A trainer, a baker and a children’s-clothing retailer? This Wilmette block is in business

What do a children’s shop, a bakery, a fitness studio, and a condo building have in common? They all have plans to open in the 400 block of Ridge Road in Wilmette.

June Children’s Shop, Gratitude Bakeshop and The Vibe Fitness are soon-to-be neighbors on the block’s east side, opening across the next few months, and plans for a three-story, six-unit condominium building will be in front of the village’s Zoning board of Appeals on Nov. 5. 

If approved, the condo building will open at 421 Ridge Road, the former home to beloved community staple NorShore Meats, as The Record previously reported.

JUMP TO: THE VIBE FITNESS | GRATITUDE BAKERY | JUNE CHILDREN’S SHOP

This new energy on the block comes amid a series of revivals in Wilmette, including the much abuzz redevelopment of Plaza del Lago, which The Record has followed closely.

Part of the impetus for these improvements stems from the village’s comprehensive plan, adopted by the board on June 25, 2024.

The plan outlines a roadmap for policy and land use to guide Wilmette’s development and explicitly mentions the growth potential of Ridge Road.

“It feels like it’s going to change Wilmette for the better,” said Lauren Edmonds, owner of The Vibe, one of the incoming businesses, of the new commerce on its way to the block.

The Vibe Fitness

This already established fitness studio is tentatively set to move from its Evanston location into the larger, Wilmette studio at 410 Ridge Road on Dec. 15. 

The building, formerly home to the Heritage Trail Mercantile antique mall, which relocated to Northfield, has been undergoing renovations since the lease was signed in April. 

Edmonds, a Lake Forest native and Evanston resident, said the space feels kismet. 

“This space is really in the middle of where our clients are already coming from … so it all just came together, [and] Wilmette was always one of my top choices of places to be,” she said.

The Evanston studio has only been open for a year and a half, but Edmonds and team have already outgrown the space. The Ridge Road location will have two studios instead of one, with the primary studio fitting 35 people, as well as a large lobby and, Edmonds said, room to grow.

Personal training will be on offer in the second studio as well.

Classes are a marriage of various exercise formats, which Edmonds has been teaching as an instructor and personal trainer over the past 20 years. Their focus is on strengthening, toning and resistance training through offerings like HIIT Fit and Bounce + Sculpt.

For Edmonds, the collaborative, community experience of the classes is key. 

“The [extent of] collaboration among all of these wonderful people in one space during a class is something I can’t really describe, and it’s like the best high in the whole world,” she said. “So, I hope I get to keep doing it for years and years to come, and I hope that Wilmette is ready for us, because we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Gratitude Bakeshop and Cafe

Owner and baker Justin “JJ” Holmes is bringing some serious dough to 418 Ridge Road sometime this winter. 

Holmes, whose family has lived in Evanston for approximately five generations, is ready to introduce his menu to Wilmette, which includes standouts like his twice-baked pistachio croissant filled with a house made pistachio cream, and ham and cheese danish, topped with a chive-infused oil.

With cookies, brownies, scones and croissants all already listed on his menu, now live on the bakeshop’s website, Gratitude offers no shortage of savory and sweet options.

As for the space, patrons will get to see Holmes in action as the floorplan allows for visibility into the kitchen.

Indoor seating will be available year-round, so patrons can dine in or take their pastries to go.

Although he has worked in bakeries across the U.S. since graduating high school, it wasn’t until 10 years ago, while working at a bakery in Upstate New York, that he realized he was ready to go out on his own and could do it. 

Now, the time is right. And although Holmes said it doesn’t quite feel real yet, he does feel excited and anxious at once.

“I don’t know when [it will feel real],” he said. “I’ve worked for people who have opened their own business, and I’ve been a part of three different business openings. So, it might not feel real until I’ve been open for a month or two.”

June Children’s Shop

Currently eyeing a Feb. 1 opening at 416 Ridge Road is June Children’s Shop, a carefully curated collection of clothing and children’s art toys and activities designed to encourage self-expression.

Owner Stacy Lucier, a Winnetka resident of two years, said the Ridge Road location felt like the right fit for several reasons.

Not only is Wilmette supportive of the arts, Lucier said, citing the annual art fair, but a significant percentage of Wilmette’s population is said to be 18 years of age or younger, according to recent census data, making it a prime location for a store geared toward kids.

Lucier regularly sees firsthand how important it is to encourage children’s self-expression and creativity from a young age.

“I have a soon-to-be 5-year-old daughter, and, of course, as a mom, I wanted her to wear cute, smocked dresses and whatnot,’” Lucier said. “She looked at me one day and said, ‘I will only wear pretty dresses.’”

For her daughter, “pretty,” means sequins and pink; though Lucier might not gravitate toward that herself. 

“She came to all of that clearly on her own,” Lucier continued. “And who am I to tell her any different? If you think that’s what beauty is, and you love it, and you feel good in it, I want her to wear that and have that.

“The more we can encourage our kids to foster their own opinions and perspectives on things, especially what we wear and what we choose to do with our own bodies, I’m all for it.”

That’s why Lucier hopes to build more than a clothing store. 

One of her goals is to incorporate small classes into the space where children can come learn about the environment and art in hands-on ways. She is even considering seeking approval for a community mural on the side of the building.

The brands, too, that Lucier plans to carry are global, ethical and sustainable.

One can expect to find arts and crafts toys, such as puzzles by French brand Djeco, which commissions the design of their puzzles from various artists, and clothing (for newborns through age 12) that spans the gamut of European and international fashion from brands like Emile et Ida, Molo, and Oso & Me. 

“It’s going to be fun,” Lucier said of the store opening and all the action on Ridge Road. “When in your life do you get to be a part of [something like] this? It’s cool.”

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