A long-established local Christian retail chain in central Illinois has been resurrected by the former owner.

Hoerr's Berean Bookstore has re-opened two former Berean Bookstore locations in Peoria and Decatur, with a third, new site not far from the chain's other old store in Bloomington. Owner Dave Byrne closed the outlets in April, citing a downturn in business because of the economy.

The closure prompted operations manager Joey Hoerr and his uncle, Ken Hoerr--who owned the stores until selling them to Byrne in 1998--to form a new company to take over the operations. The new stores opened six weeks after the old ones closed.

"We wanted a ministry in the community, somewhere that people could come and grow in their relationship with Christ and get products that can help them do that," said Joey Hoerr, Hoerr's Berean president.

The Berean stores--not connected to the Cincinnati-based Berean Christian Stores chain that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection--date back to 1946. Ken Hoerr, a Peoria pastor, bought them in 1983. Joey Hoerr began working for the stores in 1993, staying with the business after his uncle sold it. In addition to a new name, the stores have added sitting areas, free coffee and free Wi-Fi, with a free conference room at the main Peoria location, also home to the corporate offices.

"We just believed it was what we were supposed to do," Joey Hoerr said of the decision by he and his uncle to re-open the stores.

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