Joseph’s Marketplace in Crystal Lake closes

CRYSTAL LAKE – Joseph’s Marketplace closed Friday evening.

Customers tried to enter the independent grocery store up until the last minute before it shut its doors for good around 5 p.m., store manager Ron Presta said.

Presta said Friday was a consistently busy day with customers coming in for the last time.

More than 95 percent of the retail space in the store was empty Thursday afternoon. The store had advertised steep discounts in recent days, and the stocking of shelves continued to dwindle in recent weeks.

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 caused by a powerful summer storm.

Many in Crystal Lake and on social media have speculated that the anticipated opening of Mariano’s this spring, across the street on Route 14, led to the decision to close.

Joseph’s Marketplace management has declined to comment on the reason for the closure.