The holiday season brings us Christmas music, bell ringers and Santa Claus but, at Northwoods Mall, it also means the arrival of Sunglass Carts that only pop up at year’s end.
For Kevin Psinas, this holiday season marks the 15th consecutive year he’ll have 2 Sunglass Carts at Northwoods Mall, with a variety of items for sale.
But the mall is just one of 40 different venues that the 49-year-old Pekin resident hits during the year. “I love the variety,” said Psinas.
Whether it’s selling sunglasses at the Illinois State Fair – something he’s done the last 10 years – or dispensing goods at a covered bridge festival in Indiana, Psinas stays on the move.
But he wasn’t always a traveling salesman. Psinas first went to work for McDonald’s at 16, spending 14 years with the company, later serving as a store manager and mid-level manager.
“When I turned 30, I figured it was time for a career change,” he said. “One of the things I did was run a restaurant,” referring to Pacers Pizza on Willow Knolls Road.
Most of the traveling Psinas does takes place in central Illinois – such as the holiday show he attended last weekend in Carlinville – but he also sets up for the occasional sale in surrounding states.
At Northwoods Mall, Psinas said he offers a mixed bag of items. “You stay with the successful things at Christmas but there are always new things. This year, we have new Sunglass Carts that are 2 times large compared to the traditional mall carts.
“We go to gift shows and trade shows to see the new products,” said Psinas.
Items at his mall kiosk range in price from $14.99 to $100 for a six-foot stuffed giraffe.
The holiday show is always special, he said. “It’s always a very good time for us. The traffic at the mall is incredible,” said Psinas.
Having been a mall regular for 15 holiday seasons, Psinas doesn’t just see familiar faces. “We’re into a second generation of customers now,” he said of his display on the mall’s upper level at center court.
This year, Psinas’ wife, Amy, an art teacher at Pekin Community High School, will have her own Northwoods kiosk, featuring glasswork jewelry. “It’s been a huge hit in the past. We’ve sold it before but on Monday, she opened her own display,” he said.
Psinas isn’t the only entrepreneur that makes an annual appearance at the mall. “There’s a lot of competition but there’s also a lot of traffic,” he said.
Mall marketing manager Bob Schertz said 30 temporary Christmas tenants are on hand this year, the same number that visited Northwoods last year.
“That’s about as many as we can handle,” he said.
The temporary stores run the gamut from almonds to pet products and toys, said Schertz.
Rose Dikeh is another one of those traveling merchants whose wares are on display during the holidays. The Nigerian-born Dikeh has the Ethnic Image stand outside the Sears store at the mall.
“I deal in all kinds of jewelry, some of it focusing on African traditions and symbols,” she said.
With a variety of jewelry ranging from $5 to $50, Dikeh opened at 3 a.m. on Black Friday. “If they’re ready to buy, I’m ready to sell,” she said.
Hailing from Chicago, Dikeh travels widely in the Midwest. “I’ve been to the big African festivals in Chicago and St. Louis as well as malls in Milwaukee and Bloomington,” she said.
While the mall remains the center for holiday vendors, the Shoppes at Grand Prairie have featured Sunglass Carts in the past, said manager Dawn Shipman.
“We’ve had Hickory Farms and calendar stores open during the holidays in the past but, this year, we just haven’t had the room,” she said.
The Shoppes are currenty at 94 percent capacity, said Shipman.
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