Steve Spain, the owner and operator of the Costume Trunk, opened the first storefront in 1981 at 710 W. Main St. Still there more than 40 years later, Spain started as the owner of a small magic shop above the Rialto Theater throughout the mid-1970’s.
“That was a lot of fun,” he said. “And then the Rialto Theater came down to make way for the Civic Center downtown. So we moved down to where campus town is now and had a little shop there.”
Spain said a friend from a magic shop in Rockford made a suggestion: Halloween is coming up and Spain might want to stock some costumes for kids.
“So we stocked a few things like that, it went real well,” he said. “We actually enjoyed that more than the magic.”
Shortly after, Spain’s partner in the magic shop left to pursue a career in construction, so Spain moved ahead alone with the costumes. The range of his rental inventory grew exponentially over the years. At the beginning, it was basic costumes like witches, clowns and monks. Eventually, Spain saw a demand for seasonal costumes like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
“Then the final piece of the puzzle was historical period costumes for musicals and things like that,” Spain said. "Over 42 years it just built (up).”
The inventory comes from a wide variety of sources, including a costumer from Philadelphia named Ben Morelli, who made outfits for people as famous as Pavarotti. Spain said he appreciates the intricacy, attention to detail and careful craft typical of a Morelli costume.
“Ben passed away a couple of years ago, but I still have lots of his things,” he said. “But he made really beautiful stuff, high-quality things.”
Some of those costumes graced the stage of various Peoria theater productions, though pieces from Spain’s shop also appear at parades, parties and conventions. He said the costumes make any ordinary event extraordinary.
As a long-running staple West Main Street, the Costume Trunk also has seen a lot of other businesses come and go. Spain said the building, originally built in 1950, was a bridal shop for 30 years before he took over. More quaint, specialty shops line the street that Spain said used to be a prime spot for cruising.
“Kids in the '70s going through the Steak and Shake parking lot and going past the theater going down Farmington Road to Hunt’s,” Spain said. “It was just a different time but, you know, times change and you try and change with them.”
Through it all, Spain’s level of enjoyment from running the Costume Trunk hasn’t.
“I always said that I would do this till something more fun came along, and it never happened,” he said. “But you get to be a tiny bit of people's celebrations or productions or shows or performances. And I deal with a lot of interesting and creative people. And by and large, I enjoy coming to work every day.”
Now, Spain is moving to a new chapter in his life and said he's ready to pass the Costume Trunk on to someone else.
“I'm getting up there. And I'd like to make these kinds of decisions myself, you know, if I were to reach my demise, and I'd hate to leave it to my kids, it would be kind of a messy thing,” he said. “So, we’re just trying to find somebody if they're interested, that would be great. And if not, well, you know, so be it. We gave it a try.”
According to Spain, the goal is for the sale to include both of the store’s storefronts, its rental inventory, associated items, and the four small studio apartments above the store. Spain said two of the tenants have been in their apartment for around 20 years.
It’s still early in the process, but Spain said he’s already fielded some interested callers and set up a few meetings.
“But I know that selling a business is sometimes a lengthy process,” he said. “But we'll just see how it goes.”
