Call Center Company in Naperville, IL

Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to spotlight students excelling in academics, athletics and community service.

Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff

NAPERVILLE, IL — Illinois is full of bright, driven young people making a difference in and out of the classroom. That’s why Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to spotlight students excelling in academics, athletics and community service.

This submission comes from Anika Agarwal, who nominated Sanya of Illinois.

If you know a student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured as a Star Student on Patch.

What is the star student’s name?

Sanya

Find out what's happening in Napervillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

What grade is the student in?

7

How do you know the star student?

Friend

Tell us about your star student's accomplishments and why they deserve to be recognized on Patch!

Sanya Agarwal, a vibrant and creative 7th-grade student, deserves recognition for her exceptional initiative, leadership, and dedication. After acting in a school production of Matilda, Sanya was inspired to write her own original play, crafting a full 1-hour screenplay and later refining it into a 30-minute version to fit her cast. She organized daily FaceTime rehearsals with her friends for over two months, directed the performance, and continuously supported and encouraged each cast member. Her ability to lead with kindness, bring people together, and create something beautiful speaks to her talent, perseverance, and generosity. Sanya is not only an artist but a true friend and role model.

What three words best describe your star student?

Creative, compassionate, determined.

Keep up the great work, Sanya If you know an outstanding student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured on Patch.

This content is brought to our community in partnership with T-Mobile.

NAPERVILLE, IL — Residents raised some concerns about vehicle access, fencing and light exposure during a public hearing meeting about a proposed Casey's General Store on Ogden Avenue in Naperville.

Developers are proposing to replace the Bucky's gas station at 20 E. Ogden Ave. with a 3,218 square foot convenience store. The proposal comes four years after Casey's General Stores acquired the Bucky's chain in 2021.

A zoning variance is being sought "to allow the developer to replace three light fixtures "within a major arterial setback," according to city documents."

The public hearing was held Wednesday night as part of the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, with commissioners voting unanimously to recommend approval for the requested zoning variances.

The new building is designed to stand at 24 feet and five inches, with six-foot high stockade fences on the property's west and south sides.

Find out what's happening in Napervillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

During Wednesday's meeting, Ray Wileman, who owns property near the Ogden Avenue site, told commissioners he'd prefer a taller fence that is maintained regularly.

Wileman said, “The existing fence is garbage. I know that you’re planning to tear it down and put a new one up. I just want to make sure that it’s going to be maintained. For the last four years, it’s half falling down.”

He said that with the current six-foot fence it's hard to see anything at nighttime other than "Bucky's, all lit up."

“What I would like is something bigger than an eight-foot fence," Wileman said.

He added, "The new Casey’s is going to be a lot taller, so I’m just asking for a bigger fence."

Resident Gary Leavenworth brought up concerns about vehicle access to the Casey's General Store.

“I couldn’t wait for the Casey’s at Ogden and Naper Boulevard to open," Leavenworth said, "only to find I couldn’t get in and out of it."

“If you’re going north or south, you can’t get into it. If you’re going west, you can’t get into it and so people are doing bonehead moves trying to make it work," Leavenworth said.

“Washington and Ogden Avenue is another very, very busy intersection," Leavenworth said, adding, "I want to just make sure you’re looking at that access to this site."

Commissioner Wright, who lives nearby, said, "I too, agree with you on the traffic piece."

"I'm really intrigued by the removal of that first entranceway," he said. "I've almost been rear-ended there multiple times, so I think it is a real improvement to this."

Wright continued, "It will maybe make people pay more attention because you're moving down Ogden a little bit farther before you turn in heading east."

Council Chair Oriana Van Someren said she, too, has had issues while driving along Ogden near the Bucky's and believes removing the entrance will help mitigate traffic problems.

The zoning request now moves to the Naperville City Council for review.

NAPERVILLE, IL — Inspired by her mother and aunts, who were doctors and nurses, entrepreneur and mother Louisa Schneider will bring Rowan piercing studio to downtown Naperville. The studio, which hires licensed nurses for its ear-piercing, has exploded in popularity since Schneider opened her first brick-and-mortar store in 2020.

Set to open in about a month at 50 S. Main St., the Naperville location will be Rowan's 76th ear-piercing studio to open in just five years.

"Our goal has always been to provide the safest, most celebratory ear-piercing experience to all," Schneider told Patch.

She explained that she came up with the concept for Rowan because she sought a "piercing experience that was as safe as it was celebratory for [her] daughter."

"At Rowan, every piercing is a milestone, and every milestone can be celebrated with a piercing (or a new pair of hypoallergenic earrings!)," Schneider said.

Find out what's happening in Napervillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The nurses at Rowan do not use piercing guns, but instead use a hand-pressured piercing device or a single-use sterilized needle. The earrings are made with hypoallergenic 14K gold or stainless steel and available in more than four dozen designs.

Customers can get a traditional earlobe piercing or opt for the following piercings:

Schneider's mother and her aunts also spurred her to name the piercing studio Rowan. She told Patch these women, her mentors and inspirations, grew up in Rowan County, North Carolina.

The first brick-and-mortar Rowan studio opened miles from Rowan County in Manhattan. Schneider's concept took off, with 76 stores throughout the U.S. The Naperville store is their fifth location in Illinois. There are Rowan piercing studios in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park, the West Loop and Oakbrook Center.

"We’re on track to have 100 studios open by the end of 2025," Schneider said.

"We're beyond thrilled by the incredible feedback we've received across all our studios," she added. "It means the world to us when customers share their experiences, and we're so grateful to celebrate this milestone with them."

Schneider told Patch the "lifestyle-center feeling" of downtown Naperville "just felt right" for their newest Rowan store.

"When we went to visit the area, we knew it was a perfect fit."

A popular suburban grocery store is expanding into Naperville.

Construction is underway at 1244 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville for a Heinen's Grocery Store, according to a news release, with the 46,000-square-foot store expected to open later this year. An exact date was not provided.

The new store marks Heinen's fifth location in Illinois. It's also the first Heinen's to be located in the western suburbs, with other stores in Barrington, Glenview, Bannockburn and Lake Bluff.

Approximately 70% of produce at Heinen's stores is sourced from Midwest farms in peak season, the release said. In addition to a produce department, the store will have a butcher shop, seafood department, deli, specialty cheese shop, a prepared foods section, a bakery, a fresh flower market, delivery and curbside pickup.

The Naperville store will also have a beer, wine and liquor department, where those 21 and older can take part in in-store tastings and wine and beer by the glass while they shop, the release said, as well as an "Eat at Heinen's" Department, offering fresh-made tacos, bowls, quesadillas and burritos, along with indoor and outdoor seating for customers.

Renderings for the Naperville store also show a self-check-out area, along with a sushi counter.

Hiring for the Heinen's Naperville store will begin in May, the release said.

"We look forward to serving the Naperville community later this year—and can’t wait for you to experience the Heinen’s difference," the store's website said.

The grocery store was founded in 1929 by Joe Heinen, a butcher from Shaker Heights, Ohio, the release said. The store remains family-owned, led by the third and fourth generations.