Business: Naperville Trolley & Tours Ltd.
Address: Naperville
Phone/website: 630-355-2242; www.napervilletrolley.com
Owners: Annette Wehrli, 62, of Naperville
Years in business: 31
What does your business do? “We provide fun, safe and memorable transportation for weddings, corporate events, birthdays, historic tours, school graduations, anniversaries. I’ve even done funerals. The beauty of a funeral on a trolley is you’re all together on one vehicle,” Wehrli said.
Why does your business card say “Trolley Chick”? “My dad was the Trolley Meister, so I needed a nickname. I bought the company from him.”
How did the business start? “Dad started the company in 1995. Don Wehrli. He was retired, went on a trolley ride in Washington state, came home and said, ‘I’m buying a trolley.’ My mom and us seven children got together and said, ‘Dad’s lost his mind.’ He ordered a trolley, parked it in front of Oswald’s Pharmacy on Jefferson on July 3, 1995. I started helping him in 1999. I purchased the business from dad in 2014.
“When I started helping, he needed email and a website. I was starting my divorce proceedings and needed a part-time job where I had the flexibility to work around my children’s schedules. Two boys, they’re 26 and 31 now.”
Do you enjoy your work? “Find a job you love doing and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Who said that? Mark Twain?”
What’s your background? “My name is Wehrli, but my mom is a Knoch. I’m half Knoch, half Wehrli. … I was a criminal justice major. I never planned on getting into this. … I was a civilian employee for the police department. I left there after five years. Then I was a cocktail waitress in Chicago at the Marriott on Michigan Avenue, making more money then I’d ever made in my life. They were on expense accounts and just threw money at you.”
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How many trolleys do you have? “Three. We got up to five at one point, but five is too many. It’s a lot to coordinate. A lot of insurance and maintenance. … Dad would run them into the ground. My fleet is beautiful.”
What does a trolley cost? “It started out at about $190,000. Now they go for about $225,000. I call them my condos. They all have names. This is one named Irene after my Grandma Knoch. There’s Jean named after my mother. My newest one is Sarah, named after my eldest niece.”
What are the historic tours? “They start up in June, my historic trolley tours of Naperville. Those are every Tuesday at 11 a.m. We meet here at the trolley stop (at Jackson Avenue and Eagle Street). People sign up online.
“We go throughout downtown, through the historic district by North Central College, down by Centennial Beach, past Naper Settlement, the police and fire departments. It’s an hour. I talk about fun stories. … $25 per person. … August is when they get full. June is a good month.”
Why has this business lasted 31 years? “Dad always said Naperville is the trendsetter to the nation. When he brought the original trolley here in ’95, the original yellow one, we all thought he was crazy. He really was right. My dad grew up here, the middle child of 13. Naperville is the trendsetter to the nation. When we do a trolley tour, a historic tour, a holiday light tour, a Halloween tour or a wedding, it’s always a celebration. Even the funerals are a celebration because we’re all together.”
When are you busy? “December is our busiest month. I started booking my private Christmas tours on May 1. I booked 91 private tours in one day. … On Aug. 1, people can book public tours for Christmas and Halloween. There are so many lights in Naperville for Christmas and Halloween, we have three different tours, northern, southern and eastern.”
Are you a driver? “Yes. I have seven drivers. They all have day jobs except for me. I love to drive. It’s so fun. It’s easy to drive. It’s all about the mirrors.”
What about weather? “Each trolley is fully enclosed. Each has air and heat. In January and February, I’ll give you a quote, pencil you in. I won’t send a contract until a week or 10 days before because it could be 20 below with a foot of snow.”
Have there been any celebrities on your trolley? “(Olympic swimmer) Michael Phelps. (Former Chicago Bears quarterback) Jim McMahon. (PGA golfer) Jason Day. (Retired WNBA player/Naperville native) Candace Parker.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Learn every aspect of the business, not just the fun part. I know how to check the oil, the coolant and tires. … Pay for a lawyer and an accountant. Get to know a banker.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at [email protected].