Welcome

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is proud to present the 67^th Annual Meeting and 2024 Retailer of the Year Luncheon, an event to celebrate retail in Illinois and the daily impact it makes for communities across the state.

Retail is an economic anchor for the State of Illinois and the local governments within it. Illinois’ retail industry is the second largest source of revenue for the state and the largest for units of local government, making it the single most significant economic engine in Illinois.  Retail is central to the services state and local governments are able to provide for the public. Additionally, retail employs one out of every four Illinoisans and accounts for 16 percent of the state’s labor income.

Beyond the economic numbers, retailers are an integral part of our communities, and they provide the essential goods and services needed to live and thrive. The breadth and depth of retail is vast; it includes but is not limited to hardware stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants, convenience stores, entertainment facilities and lodging. If you buy any type of good or service, chances are it came from a retailer, large or small.

Furthermore, retailers generously support local charities, teams, parks, food banks, schools, and countless other programs, and continually engage their local communities. Retailers are the first to fill needs during natural disasters and at other times of need, often starting to provide aid well before government assistance arrives. Retailers are the cornerstones of every community they serve.

IRMA is proud to present the 2024 Retailer of the Year Award to Platt Hill Nursery.

Platt Hill Nursery was a featured retailer as part of our We Are Retail campaign.  You can view their story by clicking the link below.

Mark Robertson, Co-Owners, 2Bears Tavern

The 2024 IRMA Leadership Award is presented to Mark Robertson, co-owner of 2Bears Tavern Group. Aspiring to maintain safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, Mark and his husband, Mike Sullivan, purchased Crew Bar + Grill in 2010 to save it from closure. Their purchase ensured Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community maintained the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ sports bar, especially at a time when the LGBTQ+ community was less accepted in traditional sports bars. Their success with revitalizing Crew led to the creation of 2Bears Tavern Group, now operating five LGBTQ+ focused establishments in Chicago – The SoFo Tap, Meeting House Tavern, Jackhammer, 2Bears Tavern Uptown and Marty’s Martini Bar, which joined the 2Bears Tavern Group in September 2024.

Growing up in rural Illinois, Mark was no stranger to feeling different and unaccepted.  His upbringing instilled a drive to dig deeper than the assumptions people made of him and to never accept the status quo. Despite a successful career as a CPA, he often hid his true self to avoid discrimination.  Discovering that being his authentic self was vital to his fulfillment, Mark transitioned to hospitality to focus on protecting and creating spaces for the LGBTQ+ community; this is where Mark found passion and meaning as a business owner.

In the early years of entrepreneurship, Mark and Mike balanced working as a CPA and attorney during the day and, at night, ran the bar businesses. Mark quit finance in 2014 to focus full time on their hospitality business and Mike joined him full time in 2021.

At a time when LGBTQ+ nightlife spaces are shuttering at an alarming pace, 2Bears Tavern Group prioritizes creating and preserving safe, welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. They actively support and foster a culture where both patrons and employees can be their true selves, free from judgment and full of acceptance.

Understanding that a commitment to the community is paramount, 2Bears Tavern Group actively supports neighborhood nonprofits, social groups, educational organizations, LGBTQ+ sports leagues, and community arts. They also treat their team, who Mark says are the key to their success, like family. Fostering an inclusive environment that values the support and growth of team members, employees can be themselves 24-7 while enjoying the comprehensive benefits and income package they deserve.

With appreciation for his decade-plus dedication to hospitality, we present the 2024 IRMA Leadership Award to Mark Robertson of 2Bears Tavern Group.

Mark and 2Bears Tavern Group were featured in our We Are Retail campaign. Click the button below to view their story.

Every retailer has a story to tell. From family businesses stretching generations to budding entrepreneurs, neighborhood staples and new pop-up ventures, retailers are the faces we see repeatedly, the answers to our everyday needs and the trusted contributors to life’s moments – big and small. We Are Retail shares the stories of independent Illinois retailers through videos, photos and blogs. The We Are Retail campaign is designed to raise awareness of the impact retailers have on our lives and in our communities. We invite you to learn more about what motivates retailers, as they share how the profession can be challenging but also incredibly rewarding.

The retail industry is the second largest revenue generator for the state and the largest for units of local government. One of every four workers in Illinois work in retail. As such, the retail industry is the single most significant economic engine in Illinois. As goes retail, so goes Illinois. As the voice for retail in Illinois, IRMA keeps abreast of the vast number of issues facing Illinois and how it impacts the retail landscape.

In the Retail Perspective, updated in June 2024, we provide an overview of policies that guides us in broad topic areas and highlight a few sample issues under each as to how they impact retail and the consumers we serve.

The Retail Perspective delivers important information surrounding data privacy, credit and finance, environment, labor, retail crime, pharmacy and healthcare, regulations and licensing, alcohol, tobacco, and taxes.

The Illinois Organized Retail Crime Association (ILORCA) administers and oversees a statewide intelligence-sharing platform for improved coordination between retailers, law enforcement agencies, loss prevention specialists, and other stakeholders to combat criminal enterprises. Membership in ILORCA is completely free.

2023 – The Home Depot

2022 – Groceries of Southern Illinois

2021 – Ulta Beauty

2020 – All Illinois Retailers

2019 – Casey’s

2018 – Saputo’s

2017 – 7-Eleven, Inc.

2016 – Darvin Furniture

2015 – Aldi, Inc.

2014 – Kozy, Inc.

2013 – David F. Vite

2012 – Lehan Drugs (Tim Lehan), DeKalb

2011 – Potash Markets (Mel & Art Potash), Chicago

2010 – Bob Jones, American Sale, Tinley Park

2009 – Al Weiss, Uncle Dan’s LTD, Chicago

2008 – JC Penney Company

2007 – IRMA Charter Members (IRMA’s 50th Anniversary)

2006 – Lee & Sherrill Blankenship, Village Commons Bookstore, DeKalb

2005 – The Phillips Family, Phillip’s Flowers

2004 – Bob Abt, Abt Electronics, Glenview

2003 – Gary & Deanna Martin, Scotchmon’s, Watseka

2002 – Mike Roberts, McDonald’s

2001 – Gary & Dale Kirlin, Jr., Kirlin’s, Quincy

2000 – Retailers of the Century

1999 – Greg Josefowicz, Jewel-Osco, Melrose Park

1998 – Mary & Phil Good, Good’s Furniture, Kewanee

1997 – Carol & Jim Baum, Baum’s Morris

1996 – Robert Mariano, Dominick’s Finer Foods

1995 – Daniel J. Skoda, Marshall Fields, Chicago

1994 – Charles Walgreen III, Walgreens

1993 – Jerry Henderson, Henderson’s, Sycamore

1992 – George Kutsunis, GWK Enterprises, Geneseo

1991 – Fritz Fehrenbacher, Fehrenbacher’s, Joliet

1990 – Bill Fisher, Fisher’s Appliance & TV, Cherry Valley

1989 – Richard Niemann, Sr., Niemann Foods, Quincy

1988 – Harold Gaede, Gaede’s, Wheaton

1987 – Bernard Brennan, Montgomery Ward, Chicago

1986 – Martin Newman, Martin Newman Shoe Co., Jacksonville

1985 – Hugh Muncy

1984 – David O. Webb, Robeson’s Department Store, Champaign

1983 – Greg Ziegler, Lyle A. Ziegler Hardware Co., Elgin

1982 – J. Faye Wham, The Smart Shop, Centralia

1981 – Bill Clapp, CLapp’s Supermarket, Dwight

1980 – Gernon Henderson, Henderson’s, Lombard

1979 – Martin Seidel, Seidel Apparel Co., East St. Louis

1978 – Art Holmes, Schwenker-Mougin, Inc., Moline

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• Chicago Wedge Salad
• Roasted Airline Chicken
  • Grits
  • Asparagus
• Tiramisu