Our Bayshore branch serves a somewhat unusual community: the Bayshore Town Center mall in Glendale, where the branch is located. Many of the shopping center’s retailers are North Shore Bank customers, and they’re often in and out of the branch multiple times a day, says Branch Manager Gloria Rosenberg. “One older gentleman remembers the building of the original branch on Oakland and Lake Bluff,” Gloria says. “He was an existing customer at that time! He talks about attending the annual meeting where attendees were served popcorn and beer.” Besides the four employees on site at Bayshore, the branch is also staffed by a rotation of video tellers working out of Corporate. Our featured department last time was Human Resources.

The Bayshore crew: Gloria, Evan Sell, Video Teller Ashley Endres, Sakhone Phakphoom, and Karen Alvarado.

Personnel
Gloria Rosenberg, Branch Manager
Karen Alvarado, Personal Banker
Sakhone Phakphoom, Universal Banker
Evan Sell, Universal Banker

What is your community like? What’s it known for?
Our community is the mall: the people who work here, and the regulars who are mall walkers, or who just like to meet with friends daily and hang out. We also see people from the neighborhood and people who use the bus lines that come to the mall.

What annual or regular events are a big deal at the branches?
Every year on Black Friday, we prepare goodie bags or boxes for our retailer customers. We put in snacks like granola bars and candy, plus hand sanitizer and other things to help them get through their busiest day of the year. Everyone loves them, and we always get lots of thanks and comments.

Does your branch have any favorite or special customers?
We have many favorites. Many customers come in daily, and some come in several times a day — especially business customers who either own or run businesses in the mall. They not only come in to do a transaction, or pick up their night drop bags, but also to visit and talk with us. We also have several older couples who socialize in the mall and come in almost daily for one reason or another.

We did have one very special customer, Bob, who came in daily for coffee and a chat. He had a construction business, and every one of his employees was brought in to open a checking account when they started working for him. In June 2014, he decided to drive his antique Mercedes sports car in the Glendale Fourth of July parade and offered to advertise for North Shore Bank along with his own business. I was able to get the clings to decorate his car, and he and one of his employees drove the parade and gave out candy. The following Monday, he came in to return the clings and for a birthday being celebrated in the mall. Two of the branch employees happened to be there and were given cupcakes, and someone snapped a picture of Bob with them. Sadly, Bob died two days later. But everyone from the branch attended the funeral, and the picture was displayed on our back counter for over a year. He is fondly remembered and greatly missed.

What services or products seem to be most important to your customers?
Our customers appreciate our willingness to help them with whatever they need. We provide a lot of coin and change on a daily basis — often a couple times per day, for some customers.

Is there some music, or a TV show or movie or book or anything that’s notably popular among the people at your branch?
We like listening to an oldies station. Our favorite TV shows are on HGTV and the Food Network, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens is our recent favorite movie.

Any exciting developments on the horizon?
The branch will be moving to a new location in about a year and a half. We will be located at the mall on Silver Spring. This is very exciting, since we will have a drive-thru and of course be state of the art.