Street Market Draws 130 Vendors

With merchandise like 1900s Texaco gas pumps and photos of Babe Ruth on his last visit to Yankee Stadium, the Lake in the Hills Street Market gave residents a unique shopping experience in its opening weekend.

The open-air market at 8601 S. Route 31 — about one-quarter of a mile from Route 14 just past Wal-Mart — kicked off over the weekend. Owned by Nick Sarillo, with son Tony managing the operation, more than 130 vendors took part in opening day on Saturday.

“It’s to give these small-business people and artists an outlet where they can make some money,” Tony Sarillo said.

The street market will be open the second and fourth weekend of each month this summer. The hours will be from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The street market is expected to operate into October.

What Did Vendors Have at LITH Street Market?

The market showcases more than just crafts, Sarillo said. Unique, vintage and one-of-a-kind merchandise are among the items featured by vendors from around the Midwest.

With antique gas pumps, signs and globes his specialty, Randy Ross of Hampshire had a wide selection of Sinclair, Texaco, Citgo and more vintage equipment.

“I’ve got every era,” said Ross, with his prices ranging from between $300 and $15,000 and some of his pumps dating to the early 1900s.

Set up under a tent across the way from Ross, Jon Hotter of Jefferson Wis., sold vintage sports photos. Once a photographer for the Big League, Hotter made the prints from the original negatives.

“You just don’t see these,” Hotter told a prospective customer at the market Saturday, showing him a black and white of Babe Ruth during the 1932 World Series. “This is a premier shot.”

Among the prints are a shot of the first Cooperstown induction ceremony and a 1991 Cooperstown shot of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Ernie Banks that Hotter himself shot. A photo of Babe Ruth during his last visit to Yankee Stadium, two months before he died, sells for $75.

Selling Goods for a Good Cause

Selling jewelry put together by residents of a halfway house, along with authentic Coach purses and other items, Barbara Pijanowski of Crystal Lake had one goal being at the market — to raise money for the needy.

“We’re in the midst of helping a couple get into an apartment,” said Pijanowski, who is donating 30 percent of her sales to a halfway house in Chicago. “We’re just helping people get started.”

She and her husband, Mike, own the Nantucket Inn in Crivitz, Wis., where they hire only low-income employees who are without cars and would otherwise not have a job, she said. The couple provides them transportation to and from work.

Vendors can pay for a weekend of space or can sign up for the entire season, Sarillo said.