Eva's Bridals on the Move Again

Eva's Bridals of Oak Lawn is moving to its second temporary location since a fire gutted the store on Nov. 17.

The bridal salon had set up shop temporarily in a former Men's Wearhouse space on 95th Street just days after the fire, but it turned out to be more space than the owner needed.

"All we're doing is delivering dresses and returning phone calls," said Ronia Ghusein, the third-generation owner of the popular Oak Lawn-based bridal salon. "I don't want to be rushed into a permanent home or feel that I have to do it now."

Eva's, which is not affiliated with any other Eva's bridal stores in the Chicago area, will reopen this week in a strip mall at 10808 S. Cicero Ave., next to Mr. Gyros. Ghusein said the salon is working with customers to replace the dresses that were lost in the fire. Some of those gowns were for weddings that are to take place in December 2011.

The Cicero Avenue temporary store is in a former photographer's studio, with built-in rooms where customers can try on gowns. Ghusein said the store her grandmother started in 1964 still isn't selling gowns, "because there is nothing to sell."

"We're still operating," Ghusein said. "We're just not generating sales. But our manufacturers are cutting material and waiting for the word from us."

Ghusein reaffirmed her vow to stay in Oak Lawn and reopen the family business that had anchored the corner of 95th and Cicero for more than 30 years. She has been meeting with realtors and architects in planning a new space.

"I want to take my time with this and do it right," Ghusein said. "We want Eva's to be a be a great, beautiful store. We plan to be here for a long time and don't want to be rushed."

For now, Ghusein and her staff are going through paperwork and calling up customers. Miraculously, she said, the flames did not touch the store's ledgers or purchase orders. All of the store's computer records, however, were lost.

"I kept hard copies of everything," Ghusein said. "We lost all of our electronic records. We've taken the computers to repairman, but no luck. We're still trying. Maybe there is a computer guy out there who can fix them."

Losing the store was like losing a second home, Ghusein said. Silly things such as watching a U2 concert and remembering how a manager took her to her first U2 concert when she was 12 bring the loss home.

"I didn't realize how much of the store is my life, just so many different parts of my memories. That's the hardest part of it," Ghusein said. "I was raised at Eva's. My playpen was in alterations. I played dress-up. I started making buttons at the age of 6."

Customers should continue using the hotline phone number that was set up the night of the fire — 630-747-1911. Ghusein said she expects to have the store's regular number — 708-422-5599

Meanwhile, she remains upbeat and hopes to have a permanent space by February as Eva's heads into its busy season.

"I'm really excited for the future," she said. "I've never been more excited to get to work than I am now."