When thinking of downtown Lake Zurich, a couple key businesses come to mind: Offbeat, DiPiero’s, and Old World Bakery, but not all have the same effect on the community as My Flavor It! Place.

Cally Razes, co-owner of My Flavor It! Place, and her family started the business in 2003, and since then it has become hot spot for the town. Not many businesses get the swarm of customers that Flavor It gets every day, but it’s for good reason, according to Drew Kosir, assistant manager.

“Flavor It does so well for a variety of reasons,” Kosir said. “I think it’s a combination of the friendly, personal service and highly-regarded treats.”

Running a business geared towards the community is very important, Razes said, and one of her favorite parts of the job.

“It’s family friendly [and] family ran, so once you work here, once you come here, you’re part of the family,” Razes said. “We see the town and they come in and we watch them grow up and we hire them, and it’s kind of just a small town feel and we try to maintain that.”

With this small town feel, Razes has been able to realize the impact her business has on some of the people in the community.

“Every summer I always worked, I worked in the shop, even in college I came home and worked in the shop,” Razes said. “That taught me a good work ethic, and we try to pass that on to these kids. A lot of the high schoolers, it’s their first job, so we kind of teach them responsibility.”

Not only do workers learn responsibility, they also learn how to deal with large crowds of people. According to Razes, one of their most crowded days is during the Alpine Festival.

“The festivals are a blast because it’s just crazy busy,” Razes said.” We blast the music, we’re having fun. All the kids come in, this is the place to hangout. It’s a lot of fun because it’s non-stop but you’re in a positive atmosphere.”

Razes wants to expand My Flavor It! Place and bring this positive, family-friendly atmosphere to more towns than just Lake Zurich and Wauconda, where they have a second location. She plans to open a new location in Palatine within the coming weeks, and in Libertyville over the summer. Running a large local business can be challenging, Razes said; however, being on the front line with her staff is part of the key to success.

“I think it helps by having returning customers, Razes said. “They see that the owners are working behind the counters and they see we’re not just some corporate [business], we’re working, we greet them and we remember what their orders are.”

With a large crowd starting to form towards the end of my interview with Razes, it became evident that the family atmosphere is not just something Razes said, it is something the community feels and embraces.

“I went to LZHS, [and] I grew up in the town,” Razes said. “I babysat some of the kids that are now working for us so it’s my life and my family we’ve always done it. We’re just trying to better the town and put ourselves out there. Lake Zurich is a great town and [it’s where] My Flavor It! Place started.