Joseph's Marketplace in Crystal Lake to close

CRYSTAL LAKE – Joseph's Marketplace, an independent grocer in Crystal Lake for more than a decade, is closing.

Several store officials said Monday that the business, known for its fresh produce and some hard-to-find items, will close. But they did not say when, and they did not want to comment further.

A member of the store’s management team said they are not yet sure when the store will be closing.

A cashier at the store, which is in Crystal Lake Plaza on Route 14, could be heard telling a customer one or two weeks until close. Another said a month or six weeks.

Customers in the past couple of weeks have expressed disappointment on the store’s Facebook page about rumors that the store would close, while others posted that store employees confirmed the news to them.

Upon hearing the news, Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce President Mary Margaret Maule said it was “really unfortunate.”

“Joseph’s has served a unique role in the marketplace,” said Maule, who lived in Europe for five years and went to Joseph’s for certain items that she was introduced to overseas. “They have a lot of specialty offerings, a lot of European foods.”

On Monday, the store had not yet posted anything saying it is closing, nor had it advertised any going-out-of-business sales.

Some shelves inside the store were not fully stocked.

Joseph’s survived the recession after it opened in 2005, filling the space left vacant by an Eagle Food Center Inc. store.

It also bounced back from a three-month closure in 2011 after a partial roof collapse as a result of a powerful summer storm.

There's fresh competition in the grocery store marketplace in Crystal Lake. Several new grocers have opened along Route 14 in the wake of the recession. Mariano's plans to open a store nearby in April.

Maule lauded Joseph’s for always being active in the community, including its aiding in food drives to benefit the Crystal Lake Food Pantry.

A call to the property owner of Crystal Lake Plaza, Madison Corporate Group, was not returned Monday, a holiday.