(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The city says this weekend's NASCAR Street Race will provide a boost for the local economy, but some local businesses say it's actually doing the opposite for them.
Kristin Enola Gilbert, co-owner of Exile in Bookville, 410 S. Michigan Ave., says she's closing the bookstore for the weekend because the shop really is not accessible due to barricades put up in front of the Fine Arts Building.
Noise disruptions due to the race also contributed to the difficult decision, Gilbert said.
“It’s a huge, huge loss to us,” she said. “This is one of our busiest weekends of the year. Independent bookstores across the country – not just Chicago -- need every single dollar that they make during the summer to carry them over in their slow winter months.
“It can make or break a book store.”
Exile in Bookville, which normally is open Saturdays and Sundays, will not reopen until Wednesday, Gilbert said.
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